Stephan Doitschinoff aka Calma is a Brazilian artist and anarchist, who chooses the medium of graffiti to express his ideas and present his artistic talent. Doitschinoff has had an extremely religious upbringing; he rebelled his families religious ideologies by no longer going to church. He later studied how religion an politics work in the same way, observing how these practices act as a form of controlling people. Also, he studied symbolism and psychology, focusing on the ritual, which is evident in the recurring images that feature in his work.
The artist moved to the countryside to carry out his research. He wanted a quiet, solitary studio space, where he could do his paintings. He then went out onto the streets, and painted on the walls of local houses. During the talk there was a short documentary that followed Doitschinoff doing his work. In the video we see him go to a village to paint the graffiti. After that he receives help from the community who accept his work, as they know that he is not there to make money, but just there to be an artist. He always tries to connect different Brazilian rituals with this new kind of art. At first it could seem the two are not similar, but he shows ancient chapels that have been decorated with his graffiti. This collaboration of old meets new creates a visually stunning piece of art. Later the video shows the traditional, religious people from the local community, were satisfied and incorporated his art into their ritual.
His work is the epitome of graffiti as art. Both the artist and video clearly demonstate how graffiti can be a respectable and aesthetically pleasing art form, and therefore should be recognised as one.
