Brazil's Anti-World Cup Graffiti

It takes a lot to take soccer-mad Brazilians' minds off soccer, but the upcoming World Cup seems to have done the trick. To be fair, hosting the soccer spectacle comes at a very inopportune time as Brazil's economy has become moribund after a long growth spurt powered by the China-led commodities boom. However, with the prices of commodities having come down to earth even if they remain elevated, they are merely hovering the stratosphere instead of the exosphere.

Against this backdrop, vastly underestimated costs of building stadiums in multiple cities--at Brazil's insistence, not even FIFA's--has drawn widespread criticism. Some of the frustrations are being vented in often-violent street protests. Let them eat football? However, others have chosen to express these sentiments through more artful means.  As it so happens, Yahoo! has a photo essay on this very topic--World Cup-bashing by ordinary Brazilians with some artistic abilities.The Guardian has more.

The debate rages on whether graffiti is street art or a public nuisance. The world-famous Banksy for one would argue that it's art since he's exhibited in any number of famous museums, but not all of it reaches his standards. In any case, it's certainly gotten the attention of Brazilian government officials, especially the current left-of-center government since social issues and development are foremost in its voters' concerns.

UPDATE: See Quartz on why Brazil is in a sour mood for the World Cup.