EUROPE IN STREET ART
One of my favorite things about Europe is that there's street art nearly everywhere you turn. If a building has walls, chances are almost every easily accessible inch will be touched by spray paint. The summer after my senior year of high school I was lucky enough to travel overseas and visit France and Spain. 
A lot of my fellow classmates on the trip complained about how they thought all the graffiti looked run down and dirty. But art isn't supposed to be aesthetically pleasing to everyone. There's so much freedom in the world of art and I doubt the last thing on someone's mind while they're creating a piece is whether or not the public majority is going to like it. And that's just the thing. Artists realize that not everyone will like their work; they mostly create it for their own pleasure. If someone says, "I didn't like that," then oh well. Art isn't about being good, it's about the artist themselves. It's kind of a selfish discipline in that sense. It's about their feelings, their time and hard work, their effort, and their message. Art can make you happy, make you cringe, make you confused, and can make you uncomfortable. That's the beauty of it - it can be everything. 
One thing that I love about street art is that anyone can do it. It can be as easy as spraying paint over a stencil. I think a common misconception that people have about art is that what you create has to be some sort of a masterpiece. Clearly, that's not the case. Street art also gives you the freedom to do whatever you want - wheat pastes even allow you to steal someone else's images and bring it to the public eye.
What I admire the most about street artists is that they're willing to take their work to the public. Some will even risk their lives just to get a piece out there. I think it's simply amazing that individuals will live and die for their craft. That's not something everyone would do. There's certainly no way I'd put my life on the line to capture a photo. The fact that someone would is outstanding. 
Not only are artists risking their lives and safety, but they're also risking have to face consequences for breaking the law. Street artists are gutsy. They have a sort of "no fear, no shame" outlook. Almost every piece of graffiti is going to be seen by someone. Street art is one of the best ways to make your art and name known. Instead of taking someone to look at art in a museum, the art is brought to them. And not everyone wants to openly display their art to be seen and criticized by such a large audience. It truly is admirable that these individuals take their art and throw it in peoples' faces, forcing them to look at it whether or not they want to. 
And for all you art history buffs, here's a new rendition of Napoleon Bonaparte Crossing the Alps by Jacques Louis David in which his horse has been replaced by a moped. 
I encourage everyone to look at street art as something much more than urban eyesores. Hopefully, after reading this post maybe you'll look at in a new light if you had felt negatively about it previously. I understand that not everyone is going to enjoy street art, but I think people could at least appreciate it. It's been one of my goals for quite some time to dabble in this field, and I think that once the weather starts to warms up I'll do some experimenting... :)
A lot of my fellow classmates on the trip complained about how they thought all the graffiti looked run down and dirty. But art isn't supposed to be aesthetically pleasing to everyone. There's so much freedom in the world of art and I doubt the last thing on someone's mind while they're creating a piece is whether or not the public majority is going to like it. And that's just the thing. Artists realize that not everyone will like their work; they mostly create it for their own pleasure. If someone says, "I didn't like that," then oh well. Art isn't about being good, it's about the artist themselves. It's kind of a selfish discipline in that sense. It's about their feelings, their time and hard work, their effort, and their message. Art can make you happy, make you cringe, make you confused, and can make you uncomfortable. That's the beauty of it - it can be everything. 
What I admire the most about street artists is that they're willing to take their work to the public. Some will even risk their lives just to get a piece out there. I think it's simply amazing that individuals will live and die for their craft. That's not something everyone would do. There's certainly no way I'd put my life on the line to capture a photo. The fact that someone would is outstanding. 
Not only are artists risking their lives and safety, but they're also risking have to face consequences for breaking the law. Street artists are gutsy. They have a sort of "no fear, no shame" outlook. Almost every piece of graffiti is going to be seen by someone. Street art is one of the best ways to make your art and name known. Instead of taking someone to look at art in a museum, the art is brought to them. And not everyone wants to openly display their art to be seen and criticized by such a large audience. It truly is admirable that these individuals take their art and throw it in peoples' faces, forcing them to look at it whether or not they want to. 
I encourage everyone to look at street art as something much more than urban eyesores. Hopefully, after reading this post maybe you'll look at in a new light if you had felt negatively about it previously. I understand that not everyone is going to enjoy street art, but I think people could at least appreciate it. It's been one of my goals for quite some time to dabble in this field, and I think that once the weather starts to warms up I'll do some experimenting... :)
I agree, it is art! Love this <3
ReplyDeleteThanks! I never used to see graffiti as an art form but I was only taking it for surface value. Now that I have more of an understanding and appreciation for it, it's one of my favorite types of art.
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