Editorial – a weekly thought on what is happening, current, edgy and new in the crafty realm. It is time I took some of the brunt of the open forum of discussion that I think is so crucial to this site, and I am happy to do so. This week I was sent a book by Keri Smith called The Guerrilla Art Kit, published by Princeton Architectural Press. It brought to mind an artist I posted about here a few months ago who engaged in acts of public embroidery. There was quite a bit of discussion about her work, with opinions ranging from loving the freedom of speech and reveling in any form of creativity to those who wanted to boycott this site because of us ‘encouraging’ any form of graffiti.
From my personal perspective I find Guerrilla art/ street art /urban art – whatever you want to call it (I am not talking about mindless and destructive vandalism here) an exciting expression of thoughts and ideas. Guerrilla art is an art form that has developed from the underbelly of society and has grown out of frustration and a need for expression for those groups in our society that are invisible and traditionally without a voice.
So this is not necessarily OK in every country, in some areas it is probably tolerated more than in others, and perhaps even encouraged with some local governments giving grants for graffiti artists to put their work in public areas. But guerrilla art is not just about writing slogans on public walls, it can be and often is, much more interesting and thought provoking than that. This form of political activism has become more popularised in recent years and has taken on many different forms.
Keri in her book looks as moss art and guerrilla gardening as well as stencil art and poster art. And in her introduction, discusses why she wrote such a book and how essential guerrilla art is to our society. She says that street art fosters a connection with our urban environment, a connection not just based on all the mindless advertising we are bombarded with, but a meaningful connection that helps us reclaim our streets as our own, makes us an active participant in our urban space. She goes on to say that coming upon a piece of anonymous street art can re-awaken our senses and presents an alternative point of view that helps her to contemplate the world a little differently.
To see some of this in action around the world check out the website wooster collective which brings an amazing array of ephemeral art.
I know many of you are thinking that this is all a load of you know what and is a terrible defacement of public property. And well, sometimes it is. Not all graffiti is meaningful, some of it is pure vandalism but this is not what I am talking about in this article. And as Keri says in her book, the stereotype of the guerrilla artist (extremist action etc), can be expanded to any artist/person who is participating in anonymous street art which encompasses street decoration, performance, installations as well as graffiti, stencil arts and signage. Over the next week I will be highlighting some street art / guerilla art and other urban ephemeral art – feel free to let me know what you think of all this.
Some inspiring and thought provoking projects to check out in the meantime:
Saw – taking back our cities and towns from the businessmen, cops and politicians who define public space for their own benefit – they say their art is a creative tool for social change.
Art of the street from Time, photo essays of artists recreating the urban landscape.
