Screen PDF - Daab

––– Street Art
2.0
Foreword by
Wayne Anthony
The streets of our fair cities are blessed with an electricity
which can only be described as its pulse, heartbeat or feeling
To an untrained eye big cities appear unforgiving, intimidating,
and even overwhelming. Each corner we turn bears the
hallmarks of a soulless machine with no conscious thought
for the people that walk those rounded pebbles. Commerce
is the language of this age, its arsenal stares back at us from
billboards, printed media, TV networks, computers, cell
phones, and retail outlets. Permission is not sought, requested
or demanded from the general public. In any one day, citydwellers
are exposed to thousands of images masterfully
constructed to play on our emotional insecurities, urging us
to buy more products, consume more goods or devour the
planet. Sanctioned heroes of the day instruct you how to
feel, dress, think, and act in accordance with their paymasters’
wishes. The business model works so well that most are
unaware of its existence, although for some their vehicles
of communication are the very cities themselves.
When graffiti arrived in certain hotspots around Europe
circa 1980, it was the impoverished locals that quickly adopted
this art form as the language of the streets. A dialect only
members could translate. People still have trouble reading
traditional graffiti today, although it doesn’t stop them from
admiring the lettering, colors, and shape or form. Whilst the
media and general public define the meaning of street art,
graffiti writers hold them in contempt, arguing that today’s street
artists are nothing more than glory hunters searching for fame.
Street Art 2.0 announced a new ideology sweeping throughout
cityscapes, towns, and villages. Graffiti writers design
their pieces for other writers, whereas street artists of the
new generation create works with mass appeal. Traditionally
the honor of decorating public walls fell solely at the feet of
writers;; today, a global network of artists brought together
by way of the cosmos and the information superhighway are
currently reclaiming the streets and painting some of the most
breathtaking temporary art forms you’ll ever witness.
Size varies according to artist or message. The flamboyant
may place a large piece in a public area that cannot be avoided,
others follow a less intrusive method requiring voyeurs to
venture out into the environment and discover works on their
own merits. Beautiful art isn’t only found along main streets in
populated areas;; if you’re awake street-art graffiti can be found
practically anywhere. Purists take their work off the beaten
track in search of buildings deemed ugly by a community and
transform such lonely sites into something to be loved or enjoyed
by surprised voyeurs. Breathing new energy into the architecture
of cities built upon the rigidity of left-brain orientation.
On any given morning the world awakens to random acts
of creativity produced by artists with no personal agenda other
than evoking thought beyond consumption. Such individuals
show great courage when operating outside the orthodox arena
of contemporary art by challenging the latter’s right to create
public art. It’s a risk-all game with serious consequences for
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losing players. Among the tools of choice are spray cans,
posters, stencils, wheat-paste, markers, ceramics, chalks, and
stickers. Art experts declare a true masterpiece stands the
test of time, whereas street-art graffiti last anything from an
hour to twenty-five years. The most historical graffiti pieces
on earth serve nothing more than memory so today’s art
aficionados are blessed with technology. This ensures true
immortality for these innovative artists who have singlehandedly
brought our streets back to life. Street-art graffiti
puts the human back into the mainframe, allowing the public
to interact with a man / woman-made object as opposed to
mass-manufactured advertisements and commercials with a
soulless message. We are alive and the very nature of this
art form shows the world that everyday people can contribute
to the environment using uncensored grassroots techniques.
No stone is left unturned, anything or everything that filters
through the universe or media can be fused into Weapons
of Mass Creation.
–––