Street ARt:??
What Street Art is NOT:
Vandalism. Tagging. Anarchy. Crime. Property destruction. Plea for money or attention. A call to arms.
What Street Art is:
Expression. Someone sharing their soul with others. Voices of the community rising up to speak and be heard. Encouragement for others to rise, speak, and be heard. Display of humanity, of what it means to be human. Activism. Attempt to be an engaged citizen. Color and talent that beautifies and fills our streets with life. Celebration of individuality and our right to free speech.
From cave drawings and stone art to spray paint and stencils, graffiti and street art have always been a part of the world’s culture. As humans, we have a need to beautify, to make an impact on the environment around us, to tell stories and to pass on what we see.
For years, street art and graffiti were treated with the same distain, thought of as vandalism, an eyesore and an illegal defacement of property. It was seen as a rebellious act, a way to make a statement against authority. It made appearances throughout history, acting as a record of ancient loves and losses, fighting oppression on the Berlin Wall after World War II, even making its way into political posters and pamphlets for official elections in the 21st century, graffiti has come a long way from its humble beginnings.
When the first street artists began finding fame and acceptance from the public around the 1980s, there was a change in perception. Suddenly, these people were no longer criminal vandals, tagging reputable businesses and creating ugly nuisances, they were struggling artists attempting to create changes in the world where they saw problems.
Soon, people were auctioning off the works of greats like SAMO, Banksy, and Blek le Rat, clamoring over a chipped piece of cement upon which they saw a masterpiece. Now, there was a difference between graffiti and street art. Graffiti was simply a dirty form of vandalism, an artist’s simple tag on a wall, a word written for the sake of making a mark. Street art was a creative work meant to beautify the environment and inspire change.
DUBLIN: Street ArT
Within the past ten years or so, street art in Dublin has taken a huge step forward. Instead of being thought of as criminals and their work as defacement, street artists are being sought out, even commissioned for pieces to help make the city look brighter, less industrial. Several movements have found their way into the city to help these artists along and played a part in changing the public perception.
In 2008, the first Tivoli Car Park All City Jam was held in the Tivoli Car Park on Francis Street, just off Thomas Street in Dublin 8. The jam was conceived of and put together by All City Records in Temple Bar and has been revived every year since, making this coming year the ninth annual event. The event brings street artists from around Dublin, Ireland, and Europe together to repaint the car park in their own style, giving the artists exposure for a full year until the next annual jam rolls around and their masterpiece is painted over to make way for the next year’s artists.
Another movement, Evolve Urban Art, founded within the last five years, sprang up to work with graffiti artists, acting almost as agents that companies could go through to commission pieces for their places of business. Soon after their formation, murals and other works of street art began popping up around Dublin, particularly on shops around popular tourist attractions. The street artists were now getting exposure and businesses were finding themselves more popular.