See No Evil, Saturday 20 August

For a city council to sanction an international show of graffiti by allowing a whole street to be garishly daubed asks many questions about the meaning and consumption of art. Isn’t graffiti supposed to be transgressive? Aren’t street artists politically-inspired and subversive outlaws? Not any more it seems.

See No Evil, a kind of festival of graffiti, powerfully demonstrates this journey from deemed wanton vandalism to acceptance by the art and political establishment. It opened on Saturday with sound-systems blaring and ugly buildings transformed by vibrant colours. So many images adorn the walls in the grim Nelson Street area. A towering pin-stripe-suited and bowler-hatted city gent brandishes a spilling tin of paint. A monumental fox gazes into the sky. A woman and her baby stare into nothingness, or do they stare at us? A bird perches on the hand of a Magritte-like figure with a bird-cage as a head. Then of course there’s the incongruous spectacle of street artists actually creating their works while you watch as opposed to doing a quick spray-job and being chased out of town by the police. On one level it is the perfect riposte to the vandalism of town planners who so disfigured Bristol city centre in the 1960s, on another it is a self-conscious gesture by today’s street artists that graffiti has come of age even if it has lost its subversive subtext.

The case against any kind of street art is that it is merely decorative or illustrative and that it aspires to the condition of commercial art (oh the irony!) It is mere kitsch, and therefore anathema to Greenbergian notions of the avant-garde. Its subject-matter seems infantile, relying on a comic-book aesthetic and a manga state of mind. Some of it can be witty, of course, juxtaposing unlikely images to make a political point, but as such it becomes no more than graphic sloganeering.

I like graffiti, but great as this show is, it completely misunderstands why street art exists at all. Graffiti is defined by its impermanence. Like land art, where a photograph may be the only record of a vanished physical object, graffiti is prey to change and extinction. It’s a willing victim of a kind of urban Darwinism, covered by subsequent and perhaps more sophisticated versions of itself. So for a city council to promote and preserve street art is a bizarre thing indeed. This show succeeds in at least demonstrating the diversity of street art practice in the world today - there are artists from Europe, the UK and the USA - but this is an essentially emasculated version of graffiti however entertaining, dramatic and thought-provoking it may be.

A Day at Womad 30 July 11

I only could manage a day at Womad this year - here are my impressions of the acts I saw:

Hassan Erraji's MoRoccan Rollers - a good start to the day with high energy North African grooves and some entertaining Oud-playing. Hassan must be the Jimi Hendrix of his instrument, playing it in all sorts of positions and with a real percussive attack.

Khaira Arby Never seen her before, but this Malian singer was pretty impressive and really held the open air stage. Some fine guitar-playing in her band.

Shunsuke Kimura & Etsuro Ono Some great Shamisen-playing and a nice ambience.

Faiz Ali Faiz My annual Qawwli fix was provided by a great singer and his equally impressive vocalists and percussionists. A glorious highlight of the day.

Samuel Yirga Pristine Ethiopian chamber jazz from the young pianist and his group. Lovely sax solos too. I would have loved it just as much if I hadn't had that nice pint of Bounders cider.

Vieux Farka Toure This was OK but frankly there was not enough light and shade in his guitar-playing and the set relied too much on some musical cliches. File under rock with a pinch of desert blues.

Aurelio Far and away the best act of my day, and one of the great performances I've seen recently. Beautifully-controlled changes in tempo and irresistible sultry vibes. Aurelio's guitarist, an unassuming Peter Kay lookalike, turned out to be a genius, playing at least one gorgeous and miraculous solo. Unforgettable.

Las Balkanieras Oh dear oh dear. A dreadful sub-Eurovision mess, They should watch more of the song contest and perhaps they'll improve.

Axel Krygier Extraordinary and surreal. What I saw and heard defies description. If insane dancy electronica, pantomime humour and extrovert showmanship are your bag, he's your man. If you don't like any of those things, he's still great.