Thursday 29 March 2012

Some Forms of Street Art

Forms of Street Art

When you hear the term ‘street art’, you would usually think it refers to graffiti and paintings on the street. However, there are also many other forms of street art that artists use in installing and creating their pieces.

Sticker tagging is a method that uses stickers which promote a social concern or a message that the artist wants to disseminate to the public. It has an advantage because low-cost stickers are easy to produce and you can slap them on to anything, with ease and speed. Street poster art is a kind of graffiti that typically uses thin paper with graphics or handmade images printed on them. They are usually found in urban areas and carry a political stand in their images. There are also flash mobs, a gathering of people in a public area to perform an unusual act for a few minutes, and then they suddenly break up. Lastly, there are street installations where the artists use 3D objects, and leave them on the streets to blend in with its environment. The materials commonly used for this form are wood and objects you can pick up from the urban surroundings.

MOSS .... green graffiti ..

Street art is a topic heavily debated. Many question whether or not it is really ‘art’. Others ascertain that any form of self expression is a creative endeavour to be admired and preserved. But suppose that spray paint was replaced with a living, breathing material and the urban landscape was adorned with verdant lushness as a result. London-based artist Anna Garforth is part of an on-going street art project, applying poetic prose and creating a petite ecosystem in the process. Green thumbs worldwide are growing masterpieces through the unique artform of moss graffiti, melding guerrilla gardening and art installation. Watch your art grow before your eyes using this guide.

Yarn Bombing ... Granny Graffiti....

There is just something about this softer side of graffiti tagging that I really like. Whether it’s on a telephone pole, park bench, tree branch, mailbox, fence, it doesn’t matter, I think it looks nice and adds a little personality to an otherwise dull space. Yarn bombers everywhere are completely changing the perception we have of knitting. It’s no longer only a quiet, introverted, introspective craft for loners and old ladies. Knitting is suddenly cool!

Yarn bombing takes that most matronly craft (knitting) and the most maternal of gestures (wrapping something cold in a warm blanket) and transfers it to the concrete and steel wilds of urban streetscape.” I think it’s refreshing to see graffiti art created from something other than paint or chalk, and since yarn can be easily removed, it’s not as damaging to whatever surface it’s placed on.

Introducing Shanta ..

After establishing himself in his home land of New Zealand, Shanta and his art now grace the shores of Australia. Shanta brings with him his unique style that incorporates influences from nature and a playfulness that brightens the many walls that his art adorns.
Already a graphic designer, Shanta moved into the realm of street art and stencils, making his brightly coloured, eye-catching mark in the hot spots of Sydney with commissioned stencil pieces.
A love of photography and travel combine to create some of Shanta’s most impressive works. His travel stencils took images from real life and turned them into real art, focusing on the human element. These stencils capture moments and people in far away lands and Shanta brings them to life through his talented stencils.

Shanta’s career as an artist is only set to rise with

an already impressive portfolio and commissioned street stencils. Shanta’s passion for his work and love of slamming out stencils on sunny afternoons will see him expand throughout the country. Shanta is the artist to watch.

- by Jolene Ogle

Exhibition History

• Painting Grounds - Tortuga Studios - Group Exhibition - Australia 2011
• Australia Stencil Art Prize - The Outpost Project - Cockatoo Island, Australia 2011
• Day of the Dead - Tortuga Studios - Group Exhibition - Australia 2011
• ONE X ONE X ONE - Lo-Fi Collective Sydney, No Vacancy Gallery Melbourne & 19Karen Gallery
The Gold Coast - A Three Sixty Project Skate Deck Exhibition Australia 2011
• Easy Speak - Tortuga Studios, Australia 2011
• Interwoven III, Design Institute of Australia, Gaffa Gallery - 2011
• Sidewayz Art Exhibition - The National Grid Gallery, Australia 2011
• Expo for Mattia - Naples, Italy 2011
• Australian Stencil Art Prize - Oh Really Gallery, Australia 2010
• Nocturnal Dreaming - Plump Gallery, Australia 2010
• Still Life - An Art Auction Fundrasier for FBi Radio, Art Gallery of NSW, Australia 2010
• Beware Mortality - The Wall, World Bar, Australia 2010
• Australian Stencil Art Prize Finialist 2010
• Made In Sydney - The Wall, World Bar - Viewers Choice Prize Awarded 2010
• Solo Show - Corridor Bar, Australia 2010
• Shanta Stencils with Love & Hate Clothing - Group show - 7th Chamber Gallery - New Zealand 2009