by Francois Chastanet

280 pages
20 x 27 cm
Published 2007

Despite laws, pixacoes have taken over Sao Paulo. Literally meaning `trace' or `stain' and dating back in its contemporary form to the mid-1980s, pixacoe 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 pixacoes 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, Sao Paulo Signature deciphers for the very first time an unparalleled graphic universe.