ASS4 - Project 4 - Street art

Research point Identify examples of street art on the walls near you. If you live in a rural community this might be a problem as street art tends to be largely an urban phenomenon. If necessary, pick some examples from the references below or through your own research. Write a short commentary about how this work interacts with the environment. How important is the context to understanding what the work is trying to do? Reflect on whether you think a particular piece of graffiti is ‘art’ or just vandalism. Use your learning log to document your reflections.

   This research task is one I am going to love I am a huge fan of street art and have been to some wonderful places over the years to see and capture photos of this form of art. I have been to Bristol's huge street art festival and I live not far from Digbeth in Birmingham where they also hold festivals and the walls around there are ever changing with artists making their mark in the city.

     Whilst on my honeymoon before Christmas I went to Miami and was very fortunate to visit a district called Wynwood. Wynwood was known in the past as a run down area filled with old factories and warehouses. In 2019 Tony Goldman an American real estate developer and arts visionary stumbled upon the area. He saw it as a blank canvas and set out to transform the area into a centre for cultural exploration—with the help of the world’s most innovative and recognised street artists around.

   Within just ten years, The Wynwood Walls has grown into a phenomenon in its own right, known as a milestone in artist careers. Every wall over 6 blocks is covered by street art, with new ones popping up every day. The Wynwood Walls has become one of the highest-profile street art destinations in the world and had 3 million visitors a year. It is a place where artists are free to express themselves, showcase their work and also gives artists exposure to the world.

Here below are just some of the street art that I saw:

Above entrance to Wynwood Walls 

Below Artists collaborating on some street art:

Below a unique way of street are using cement and then etching out an image on to the wall.

Above: This was the first time I have seen this style of street art and I think its pretty amazing not only because of what the art is but also how it is create and the size of it (it went all the way round the building). It must of taken ages to etch out and create such a masterpiece.

Below Art around the streets:

Below: Artist at work - I love this design with adding flowers and detail on top of the animals.

Below street art and an artists graffiti tag on the shutters.

Below further street are I liked:

Tagging Around Urban Areas

   Tags like the images above from Wynwood Walls are basically a graffiti artist's signature which they put in places they have visited. They can either just be their name in a loose style, a typography style  or the use of a stencil depending on the artist. I don't really find this as attractive street art but in an urban area like Wynwood it compliments the Street art, theme, atmosphere and its a way of letting visitors know of artists that of been there. 

    Another way (which I prefer) that graffiti artists put their mark on a place is by sticking stickers in the areas such as on a few lampposts, an electric box or a wall. They are usually small prints of their own logo or art to which people recognise them for.

     However vinyl stickers are actually bad for the environment due to the microfibers in them, I have done a bit of research and there is now stickers that are more planet friendly so Artists can still sick these around without damaging the environment so I hope in the near future these are used more.

   In the West Midlands we have a graffiti artist who instead of stickers uses magnets where he places them on to anything metal in the streets. They are intended for people to spot them and to take them home. A year ago I was lucky enough to come across some of them and I took home two which was awesome.

Street Art Ways it is created:

   Street art is created by using many things but the main ones are by hand with spray cans or using stencils by pre-planning their designs. Artists also are known to use other materials such as cement, wool (called yarn bombing), weatpaste and plastics as of late to recycle them. 

Street Art interacting with the environment

All Artists create great street and some first look at an area  before hand to create street art that interacts with the environment around it.

Some examples below:

https://www.boredpanda.com/street-art-interacting-with-nature/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

    As you can see above these artists have too the area they are looking at inn to consideration and then used nature as a medium in their work. It is very attractive and fun to the viewers who spot them and also a clever way for the artist to make there work merge in to the environment. 

   Street Art brightens up any area. It is an eye catching way to create lively spaces in any city. It is also used as a form of way-finding or navigation, where buildings become unique landmarks in the landscape.

    The location of a street art piece is a  really conscious decision and graffiti artists aim to express their views the public sight and gain more recognition and respect based on the reach of their work.

    In today's world street art has created its own genes in cities such as “creative spaces”, “creative industries” and “creative tourism”. It helps transform urban areas that were previously disused or derelict environments to where people  can now go to socialise, admire the art and build communities where there once was nothing. 

My Final Thoughts

      I really enjoy street art, I think in today's world it has become more popular and now seen as art rather then vandalising an area.  I haven't spoke much of him but like Banksy (a well known street artist) their work is even preserved (I saw one of his pieces in Bristol and the council had put see through army proof material on top of it to protect it.). People flock from all around to see famous street art and upcoming artists too. 

     It also makes a place have a atmosphere and people identify an area based on the street art in it. I think our cities would all look the same if it wasn't for street art, it also brings life in to cities. 

   When I am in in Digbeth looking at the street art around me, I feel happy, it makes me feel the creative atmosphere and knowing there are other people who like art too. It brings people and communities closer together. 

    However, street art in many places its classed as illegal and you can get in to trouble if caught, but I think cities need to take note of Wynwood in Miami based on how there once was a run down area and now its been transformed by art which brings in around 3 million visitors a year. It create spaces in cities where artists are free to express them selves without being classed as a criminal and a place where people can go to enjoy art too. 

Exercise: Street art Creatively develop a range of ideas that explores how your illustrations or drawings would work within the context of street art. Think about what media you would use, the scale you’d work at, where you would site your work and what it would be about. Producing street art without permission can get you into trouble so, unless you have a place where you can work safely and legally, simply mock up your ideas. Reflect on how the contexts you have chosen have changed the nature of your illustrations. What conversation has gone on between the work and the place?

    For this exercise I have thought about what kind of street art I would make if I was able to go out on the streets, I think my work would be important messages and my opinion of climate change and how its affecting our world. I would hope my art would influence people and also make a change.

Here below is a list of ideas that I have thought about:

Plastic in the ocean
Protecting animals
The temperature rising
Bush fires
Disease
Food shortage
Sadness

       To begin with I want to have a go at doing a painting on a canvas of some street art. I am going to do some art based on protecting animals, I have had a thought about what I want to do which is to paint an animal and on top of it, write words to help inspire people. As Im in the UK I wanted to paint a wild animal what is well known here .. a fox. I think foxes have had a lot of bad press and also a lot of sad news because of the hunts that are done each year.

     With the fox in mind there are various words I can think of to write on him to make people hear my message through my art about protecting animals.

My words are

Hope, Protect, Love, Care, Be, Peace, id and Free

I am now going to start my painting. I usually do some pre sketches but I feel I just want to express myself through paint about the topic and see what happens.

Here below is my finished painting:

     I love my design and I really think it portrays the message I was going for. I started to used acrylics but then decided on using Posca pens. Posca pens are paint in a pen. Graffiti artists are known for using them to add small details to their street art. I though this would be a great way to used their tools for my street art practice. They work really well and are vibrant in colour, The paint stays wet for a short white which gives you chance to do a bit of blending different colours together which was great fun.

      Once I did my street art I decided that I would scan it in Photoshop and see if I can make it look like more like a piece of work you see outside.

    I managed to get a photo of an outside wall and add a layer with my art on top. I then cut around it to get rid of the background colour and finally made the fox transparent so you can see the brick work through it slightly. This helped to make my work more realistic on the wall. I think this came out really well and is a great way to do street art if you are not legal to do it for real. 

      I then tried another idea I had lately with climate change. At the moment Australia is having a bad time with the heat and bush fires so I came up with an idea. I looked for a wall photo that had a bush which I could use for my next attempt.

     I think my street art above sends a message to people of what is happening now and a reminder that it is really going on. I think as your not there in Australia you cant actually appreciate how destructive its been and how bad the situation actually is. I find that a lot of people just look away as they don't want to know about something which is painful to hear or its not happening to them so they don't have to worry about it. I think having this up on a street would make people face the emergency that is going on and think about what they can do in their own lives to help the issue.  If this was a real street art it would definitely be created using stencils and spray paint to make it bold and precise. I would also place this in a key area in a city where a lot of people walk by.

     I then was looking in my art room for inspiration,I notices one of my old sketch books. On the cover I created some art work that could look like a fun illustration for some street art.

    My inspiration for this was when I first had my two my pet rabbits. Looking at this if it was to be actual street art I would create the large rabbit as a street art poster and use wheat paste to stick it on to the wall. I would then decorate around it using stencils and spray paints to capture the idea above. 

    Here is my design on the wall. I have made it more transparent to make it look as though it has been on the wall for a while. I really like this wall with the inner area where a window use to be it give the art texture and a good composition.

    I think my all my work above would be best in a urban area just because that is where you tend to get a lot of street art such as Digbeth. People visit there to see the quirky art shops and also the street art around the area.

     I think the nature of my illustrations has changed to my normal form because I am thinking about the message I want to tell people with n my work that would be out for all to see. Its made me realise that I do feel strongly about certain topics and to think more about this when I am doing my own illustrations to help inspire me and the viewers.

    In the last few years I have been doing murals for peoples home and gardens here are a few I have done below. Some I hand painted and others I've used stencils that I designed and then cut out:

Above: Marvel mural for boys room.

Above: Me painting a Disney theme for a nursery

Above: An outdoor dragon on a garden fence.

Above using a stencil I made to transfer a companies logo on to a wall.

As you can see above I have actually had quite a bit of practice doing art on walls and different surfaces. I appreciate street artists work as I know how hard it is to do an image from paper and then blow it up on to a wall. I think street art is actually one of my top forms of art that I admire.