PIXAÇAO - SAO PAULO SIGNATURE
CHASTANET, FRANÇOIS
Despite laws, pixaçãos have taken over São Paulo. Literally meaning trace or stain and dating back in its contemporary form to the mid-1980s, pixaçõe is a striking form of graffiti unique to the city that developed when Sao Paulo writers began creating imaginary calligraphic signatures influenced by hybrid blackletter, historic letterforms and the logos of heavy metal and hardcore bands. Claiming the architectural facades of the city as their canvas, the omnipresent pixações are a true calligraphic shock that have caused a deep aesthetic transformation of the face of Sao Paulo. With more than 125 photos as well as a detailed analysis of the phenomenon, São Paulo Signature deciphers for the very ?rst time an unparalleled graphic universe.
The astute analysis which is expanded upon in this volume opened my myopic eyes to a system of writing and ethic of creation that rises above even the most high-spirited and emblematic American graffiti. Steven Heller
