In today’s class discussion we talked about commissioned art versus street art, and the placement of both of those within the city. While it was mentioned that commissioned art works within the sociopolitical boundaries, because it is controlled to an extent, I think the same can be said for street art. Non-commissioned art/murals/graffiti is powerful in that it tends to live longer than in less affluent or commercial neighborhoods, where beautification is not at all a priority; however it can be argued that art in high-traffic areas is equally powerful in its brevity. The artist knows that the work is only temporary, yet has the opportunity for more attention if it created on the side of a building in frequented tourist or commercial hub. The art is special in its rarity. This reminded me of Mobstr, a street artist in the UK, whose art gained popularity on the internet by creating an almost conversation with the city’s beautification department. This relationship, of art created to be destroyed formed an almost symbiosis, giving Mobstr a method for moving his visual story forward, every time something of his was erased, it provided space for him to create something new.
He shows how ignored words can be important...
And takes the idea of underground art...
Sorry for the long post guys, but his stuff is all really incredible and definitely worth paying attention to.
To learn more about Mobstr and see his art, visit http://mobstr.org/the%20written%20word.html
What a fabulous collection of graffiti! Love the ongoing conversation. The beautiful side of street art is subject only to the artist's opinions, agendas, and of course wacky sense of humor. Too bad all art isn't qualified by the same, but we do have to make a living. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting point you made about street art. The best thing about these pieces is that they are a battle: they can't be done when people are looking and are constantly being removed by people who pay for space and claim ownership over it. In this way, it becomes a battle over who truly owns a city. Is it the people who live in it, or rich men many miles again who want to sell things to those people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this it's wonderful! I really like what you said about "art created to be destroyed" and I think you are right about it allowing for very powerful statements. It also goes a step further in exposing how "we" or the city make choices about what art gets to stay and what gets covered up, basically deciding what qualifies as art. While it makes me sad that some of Mobstr's creative art and writing gets painted over, the fact that the artists uses that opportunity makes it more hopeful.
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome! I loved the first sequence of images, it was almost like censorship was not a bad thing in that case, as it allowed the progression of a story. I suppose the message of that is that censorship is only as powerful as you make it, and that you can use it to further advance your messages.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not to find this inspiring. I love that his perseverance is quite apparently stronger than that of those who are trying to censor his words. In conversation with this, I visited the UK last summer for studying abroad, and also spent an extra week there with my Dad, and it amazed me which areas had a lot of graffiti and which areas did not. I didn't see much of it at all in Oxford, and I don't know if that's due to it being cleaned off or if it's simply due to the respect people have of the architecture there. In London, however, it was everywhere. It was so apparent, that for my Dad's birthday I bought him two books filled with random London street art (they sold them in the Bay Tree Bookstore). I'm sure there's a conversation available as to the morality of binding together a collection of other people's work (graffiti or otherwise) and selling it for profit, but in relation to the topic at hand, I love what Mobstr has accomplished here.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the images you shared with us. Graffiti art is a subversive act within itself and has its own subterranean culture associate with it. The street art up in San Francisco is pretty impressive and allows the artist to comment on the state of the city. Recently, a friend of mine sent me a photo of a graffiti elephant wearing a royal Thai headdress. Not only was the art beautiful, but it was also making a statement about cultural appropriation (there was text with it, but I can't remember what it specifically said).
ReplyDeleteIt's another way to demonstrate an individual's relationship to the city in which they dwell.