Dynamic Street Art

There’s this theory that all great works of art are created by accident…

-John Giorno, 1989.

Here’s some more examples to further our discussions about the nature of accidental, or subconcious art, that occurs during the “buffing” or atempt to cover-up graffiti and other forms of street art. This was shot behind the YMCA on Patterson, looking down at the top of a metallic recycle bin. Note the slight remaining figure in the left, part of a residual facial detail, which seems to suggests anime-like features. Now, the whole piece feels like a homage to Abstract Expressionism and a Rorschach inkblot test, with brilliant gradations of unnatural firetruck swirly red. Is this dumpster art a syncretic testament to an art world encompassing both the bin’s industrial molder and architect, the street artist’s spontaneous expressionism, and the remover’s attempt to blur and “wipe out” the rendering, creating a three-way metallic canvas, all but ignored in the back alley detritus? … continue reading this entry.

Here is a link to the Portland-based documentary The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal,”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9jyv6WIxUY

which has led to some serious discussions about the nature of intentional versus accidental art, and the interrogation of spaces in multiple, composite layers, not to mention the extended artworld of graffitero and municipal workers combining to create a whole new/old art form that seemingly reflects the tendencies of Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, and Constructivism. Please note some of the 22 comments, including this telltale one from a self-described “lover” of the film, which helps frame the debate:

“love this film! it turns the act off buffing on it’s head!
The buff is as much part of graff as wildstyle and throwies are. The tempoary nature of graff helped develope it’s style and brash bragging style. I love to see those heavily hit spots where the walls are thick with layers of Spray / Buff / Spray / Buff / Spray.”

Look below for some local Eugene “subconscious art” buffing to begin our discussion of how we frame the meaning of art through discourse (writing, film, etc.), which often reveals worldviews, gestalts, and biases at work!

This rather minimal piece becomes much more interesting when you see the patchwork at the bottom too. A mending wall, as it were. This art work is located behind Willamette Street, near the Capella Market. Is there a subtext framed within the discourse of the photo too? For instance, is the sign, handpainted, telling us to turn off the engine of ingenuity and interpretation, or simply the gas-drenched engine of our cars? … continue reading this entry.

Photograph from the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, summer 2005. Note the multiple layers of street art, a commingling and syncretism, and the obvious municipal signage, architecture, and mood, versus the unofficial, playful, intentionally vernacular art vandal response.

Summer class will explore the dynamics of street art Folklore graduate student David Ensminger will instruct a new class about the art of the… street….http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2008/05/08/Pulse/Summer.Class.Will.Explore.The.Dynamics.Of.Street.Art-3367124.shtml

One of the great overlooked symbiotic and symbolic relationships between subcultures is the links between punk and graffiti, which I am exploring in one chapter of my upcoming book on punk art and culture. In the meantime, here are a few examples to ponder, both in terms of style and content.

… continue reading this entry.

Beset by graffiti, backstage before a show with my band Zipperneck, in Houston, 2005…Is this a liminal space? Have I begun my descent into the carnivalesque? Is this a site of contestation, or does this signify the metaphoric exit wound of the seedy club?

See here for a look at the dissemination of U.S. soldier (and maybe private contractor) graffiti, mostly latrinalia, in the war zone of Afghanistan, keeping in mind the delicate nature of the operation, the raw vernacular expressions on the soldiers, and the discourse they employ to explore all the complexities and issues of their deployments, including everything from army life and foreign policy to old school sexism.

http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2008.04-ephemera-latrine-graffiti/

The ferocious habits of the bigoted teen youth exposed? Graffiti nothing more than a repository for seething slurs? Let’s examine the act itself, the way in which the discourse shapes the understanding of the “art action” or vandalism, and how communities respond, this time en force.

See here: http://pflag-es.blogspot.com/2008/05/spencer-butte-middle-school-invites.html

This Review is Shaped by the Discourse and Organizational Strategies Presented by Edmund Feldman (text and photos by David Ensminger)

Figure One: Alleyway Art Diptych: A Culturescape.

When I poked around the corner of an Alder Street co-op last Friday in pursuit of documenting the plentiful and discordant street art that I noticed surrounding the alleyway of the building, a young lady dressed entirely in black sat languidly on the back porch while holding a ceramic coffee cup. After a few minutes enduring me photographing close-ups of beams, panels, walls, and doorways, she asked, “What are you doing?” I replied, “I am documenting the street along this section of the city for a class I will teach.” Little did either of us know that in fifteen minutes I would capture 70 images within six blocks, reflecting a frenetic, temporary, living museum of the streets. Feldman posits that the first step in a critical performance is simply “to see what is there,” which seems to reinforce what novelist and poet Jack Kerouac once said: “Stop only to see the picture better.” So, this review reflects me trying to “see” street art in the slanted glare of light. … continue reading this entry.