02. Stencilled graffiti art
What it Is:
A great example of the evolution of graffiti. Last year, two “graffiti artists” stencilled She Loves The Moon — a story in 43 snippets — across city sidewalks, giving readers 16 different story combinations they could create by simply choosing where to walk next. To date, the creators remain anonymous, perhaps in fear of the city’s vandalism laws.
Why it's cool:
San Francisco loves a good game. Four years ago, out-of-work dot-commers started the all-city water-gun fight, StreetWars, that had strangers “killing” each other on city streets. That game has now spread to cities around the world and become, for our purposes, old news. This multi-interpretable have-it-your-way graffiti however is the new kind of cool game.
Science of the Time’s interpretation:
Stencilled graffiti art speaks to two things happening in our culture. One: writing on walls is no longer new or different, so people are looking to up the ante and get more creative with their self-expression. Two: As we become more comfortable in the “new economy” — and the culture that follows — driven by technology, there’s a greater appeal to “retro” means of connecting with other people. Out in the streets, writing stories by hand, is one example.
Comment by Iris on Wednesday 2 July 2008 20:21
Hi All,
Great website!
If you like this posting, you will also love the Can festival.
Check out the following websites:
http://www.thecansfestival.com/
http://www.fontanel.nl/artikelen/the-cans-festival
http://www.woostercollective.com/2008/06/londons_cans_festival_the_official_wrapu.html
This site is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating ephemeral art placed on streets in cities around the world.
They are all great.
Oh I forgot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanywg/sets/72157604852764513/
Levines’ posting adds something new to this.
Cheers,
Iris