Street Art in Today's World

 Street Art and its Significance

Artwork that is exhibited publicly on nearby buildings, roadways, trains, and other surfaces that are visible to everyone is known as street art. Street art is fundamentally a means of self-expression. Regardless of the artist's residence, it frequently responds directly to the challenges of the local community in which they work, and it has a significant social and political influence. While some street artists may produce installations or sculptures, their use of unusual artistic techniques including wheat paste posters, spray paint, stencils, and stickers has made them more well-known. 

 

Street Art and Post-Modernism

Street art is the most comprehensive representation of the hybrid diversity of post-modernism of all the art movements that have emerged in this century. This movement aims to eliminate all barriers and divisions between high and low culture, mocking labels and the approval of the art establishment. Street art attempts to simultaneously capture each aspect of the human experience by drawing on the history of each city as well as today's emerging global culture. This makes it a true representation of post-modern awareness, referencing all worlds and all times without regard to conventional borders of taste or discipline. 

Tristan Eaton, Audrey of Mulberry, NYC street mural from 2013.

Tristan Eaton painted everything in sight, including garbage and billboards in the metropolitan landscape. He resided in London, Detroit, and New York, where he painted. He's a self-described skateboarding punk who was arrested as a teenager for a number of offenses, including stealing and graffiti vandalism. Art became his lifeline during these times, and it frequently helped him avoid imprisonment by offering judges, authorities, and other figures of authority visual proof. He discovers a blend of the natural world and deceptive promotion. Hepburn is just a regular person underneath her makeup and hairstyle, but in the modern world, advertising affects every aspect of our lives and starts to feel like a part of who we are. 

Tristan created a visually striking portrait in the enormous mural by contrasting abstract color patterns with a black-and-white image. The wide area of vivid colors stands out against the red brick wall, enclosed in a white box. He also painted different shapes within the sections, and that's what is so intriguing and eye-opening. You can see emotion within her face, and this painting brings me a powerful feeling about it.

David Walker, The mural in Boulogne Sur Mer.

David Walker developed his signature multi-layered technique by creating portraits without the use of stencils, and he has done so here. He produced a unique style of amazing, vibrant, and completely female character portraits using only spray cans. He steadily developed his style and began as a lover of graphic black-and-white methods and then grew into his own distinctive style, which is distinguished by a wide spectrum of vibrant colors. 

When it comes to the creative process, David often lets his hands and thoughts follow the hues, leaving nothing to chance Just as in these two pictures, he first uses black and white spray paint to paint the structure of the lady. Then after he's done, he uses colors to make the painting look more detailed. You can see the emotion within her. David paints women, and when he paints them, he makes them look realistic. 

This dramatic effect is made even more beautiful by the way the many abstract sections and endless rainbow lines are entwined with patches of clashing colors and see-through drips. The result is striking: visually sophisticated portraits that combine photorealism, abstraction, and graffiti, all of which are conveyed by his strength.

Sebastian "Vela" Velazquez, Las Cruces, June 4, 2019, Las Cruces, N.M. 

A painting in southern New Mexico aims to pay tribute to Native Americans who have gone missing or passed on, while there is a national movement to raise awareness of the problem. According to the Las Cruces Sun-News, the mural was painted in Las Cruces by artist Sebastian "Vela" Velazquez as part of the city's eighth annual "Illegal" graffiti art exhibition. The piece is a portion of a massive mural that encircles the Cruces Creatives building. A Native American woman is shown in the artwork standing in front with her fist up. The text underneath reads, "NO MORE STOLEN SISTERS!" as she screams. The painting, according to Velazquez, also pays tribute to lost indigenous Mexican women. "For people of color, art is medicine. 

The use of vibrant colors and neutral tones balance each other to create an even-looking mural. This is a strong piece of work, and this artist has done a great job of demonstrating the powerfulness through the use of lines and emotion this lady has. You can see the high cheekbones this lady has, and the strength Sebastian painted through this. The amount of detail he painted makes her look realistic, but at the same time, he makes her look aminated. 

Optional Video: https://youtu.be/4GNoUYZhrT0?si=TWAc6lP1UefH1hD4

Hosmer, K. (2016) "Eye-catching mural of Audrey Hepburn in NYC’s Little Italy" My Modern Met.  https://mymodernmet.com/tristan-eaton-audrey-hepburn-lisa-project/ Accessed: 19 November 2023. 

David Walker Interview - The New Color-Explosive Piece in Boulogne sur mer, Widewalls.  https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/david-walker-interview Accessed: 19 November 2023.