Street Art And Graffiti Are Significant Pieces Of Art

The objects selected for this exhibition were carefully selected based upon; the content in the work, the innovativeness of the work, overall aesthetic, the artist’s popularity and following, and messaging produced by such works. It was important to select art and artists that were found all over the world and brought different perspectives to the exhibit. Whether through spray paint, house paint, large print images roughly glued on random objects, or etched relief images on the sides of buildings, the art selected for this show all ran in the same vein of street art/graffiti and I wanted to show that street art does not only have to be quickly tagged letters or images but thoughtful, well planned art that serves a higher purpose.

The manner in which the gallery is organized is simple; to display works in a unique, flowing, and organized way. The initial plan was to utilize; live stream videos showing some of the larger street works in their “ natural habitats”, large scale photographs of the street work, and original pieces that are more detailed and better display the artist’s vision. As visitors enter the gallery space, their eyes are drawn by the large Blek le Rat stencil piece titled Mary w/ rat. Emphasized with its stark color contrasts, bright orange background and gold leafing details, the visitors are drawn in and given a small glimpse of the loud and unexpected works that are to come in the exhibit.

To the left of this print piece are two more works by Blek Le Rat. These stencil pieces share the same rebellious flashy energy of the first piece. As guests make their way around the gallery, to the right they will find the wall text that explains the show’s purpose and importance. Circling the wall text we come to find the works of Berlin group Mentalgassi. These works will likely be large-scale photographs as the work done by these artists is location based and specific to objects around their city. Continuing on down to the left of these works guests will find the works of Os Gemeos. Of the large scale murals painted on the sides of buildings these works would be the best candidates for the live stream technology. The third piece of Os Gemeos will be the real piece titled, Untitled. Across the hallway guests will find the section that focuses on artists interested in biology and the animal world. Works by dissection and carcass obsessed Nychos will be displayed along side animal enthusiast ROA.

To the right of this grouping will be works by Vhils that will show a live stream video of his chiseled Che piece, etched in the side of a building sandwiched between two of his physical sculptural works. Vhils works are more subdued in color so I believe placing them in such a location would make the work and surrounding work stand out and accentuate the variety, technique, and inventiveness throughout the space. Moving on to the conference room, I decided to dedicate this space to the political artists Blu. His viral, seven-minute video titled Muto, a wall painted animation will be playing on a loop along side a live stream video of his Draw the Line piece in Italy. Seating will be provided in the conference room for visitors and guests to comfortably and truly take in the moving pieces.

“Street Style”

Exposed

Colorfully wrapped around every corner of the world, street art and graffiti has been a form of art that is often overlooked or seen as vandalism, signaling the deterioration of a city or neighborhood. On the contrary, street art and graffiti provide; outsiders with the ability to share works that would normally be overlooked by the fine arts world, the free expression of political and social statements, a sense of community, free art for everyone to enjoy, and bringing a certain intrigue as many works seem to magically appear overnight with no explanation. ‘Exposed’ signifies the nature of street art and graffiti; these works are exposed to the public, expose hidden truths, are exposed to the elements, expose the often-mundane fine arts world and expose the fact that street art/graffiti is an significant piece in art that deserves to be recognized as so.