Week 8: Street Art

After viewing "Exit Through the Gift Shop," I've been really intrigued by street art and the people who create it. I was completely unaware of the expanse of street art culture, especially in large cities like London, and I find myself more aware of graffiti across the city now than I was before. This is a good thing, because a lot of the artwork that I do see, I really enjoy. It's something that I had clearly been neglecting to notice before. This week during our History of London class, we took a walking tour around the East End near Brick Lane. This area is basically London's answer to the Village in New York--jam packed with culture. Obviously we saw a lot of street art, and not just run of the mill spray paint tags. As a result of seeing the Banksy movie, I also found it easier to distinguish between "legitimate" street art, and mere decals/stickers imitating as such. It is difficult for me to categorize any of the following pieces as "diminishing" the landscape, mostly because they were all found in the East End, which has sufficient character to sustain such graffiti. The East End is one area of London where they wouldn't describe street art as vandalism, while a place like South Kensington might be less receptive to graffiti. While I wouldn't categorize these pieces as classically beautiful, I think all four of these examples enhance the landscape they inhabit. 

This first piece is located within a mural at the entrance to Brick Lane. This area has been home to immigrant communities for centuries, and is currently largely inhabited by a Bangladeshi population. I like the juxtaposition of a static black and white pattern with bold colors. The text could be interpreted as commentary on the constant flux of the immigrant community. The color of the German flag dominate the piece from the top, so it could also be a political statement. Either way, it is an eye-catching part of the landscape at the entrance to Brick Lane, and gives you a sense of what kind of art you'll find within the community.

This is one of my favorite pieces of street art that we discovered in the East End. Not because I like birds (I don't, at all), but because it was the most striking art that I saw during our tour, despite its lack of color. It was located on an unassuming side street off of Brick Lane in an area where there was no other graffiti. The lack of other art made this giant bird stand out even more against the landscape. I haven't a clue to its significance, but this kind of random design is exactly what I would want and expect out of London's East End. If I lived in this apartment building, I might not appreciate living in a bird-adorned establishment, but from an outsider perspective, it's interesting and also imposing.

This piece stood out to me because I recognized the design from the "Street Invaders" campaign that was briefly mentioned in the Banksy movie. It was located behind some warehouses, near the Women's Library in the East End. While this is not my favorite artwork, I appreciated seeing the work of a more mainstream street artist that I've actually heard of before. Short of seeing a Banksy, this was still quite impressive. I was under the assumption that street art put up by well-known street artists like Banksy, Shepard Fairey, or Space Invaders would be so short lived that it's rare to actually see it in the streets. Maybe this is evidence to the contrary, or maybe there are a lot of famous street art pieces around London that I haven't noticed yet! Last time I was in New York, I walked right past a Banksy, and didn't notice it until my brother pointed it out to me. I'm determined to be more vigilant here in London.

This piece is definitely my favorite of the street art I discovered in the East End. The reason I appreciate it so much is because of the way it was made, rather than the actual image. From afar, I assumed this was a poster, or maybe some kind of paint; from closer up though, I realized that the detail in this image is actually made from carving out small pieces of the concrete wall it is located on. This impressed me more than any graffiti street art that I saw all day, simply because of the time and detailing spent on creating this face, and the end result is very impressive, especially up close enough to see each piece that was chipped out. This was located in the same warehouse back alley/parking lot where I also found the Space Invaders. There were other examples of street art located here as well, so I guess it pays to wander off the beaten path, especially when you're on the hunt for street art.