Everyday we’re being bombarded by advertisements from companies who’d want to make a profit. Out of over a thousand advertisements, we can only process more or less than a hundred – this gives rise over the fact that only ten percent of all these advertisements actually convert into profit. What if we were to eliminate the billboards, the neon lights, the ugly copy, and all the stuff that are being spoon-fed to us?
We’d be free from visual pollution and at the same time the world will be a better place!
Of course, we can’t really topple these conglomerates. They’ll just come and bite us back, but what we can do is win the small battles – the ones on the streets.
A Revolution
Street art has received popularity in the past decade, with international artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey leading the fray. These two artists have been known for their politically infused artwork, from banksy’s Guantanamo prisoner in Disneyland to Fairey’s 2008 “Hope” Poster. These political works has been just some of the few works that’s targeting the political landscape around the world.
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But in recent years, from being aggressive, street artists have mellowed down and a lot of them have taken the modern street art revolution to a different level, a more mature and humanist level, where street artists encourage people to feel better about themselves every day.
Empowering the People
A possible cause of the shift in street art’s attitude, from being radical to mellow, is the public empathy towards the street artist’s cause. Having an ally in the form of a community has transformed the street artist from a rebel youth, to a beloved character on the streets. This may have led different artists and new artists to provide moral and visual support to their audience.
Because of the revolutions, the different crises, and crushed dreams, contemporary street artists began to create new artwork that remind the people of their dreams, to be strong, and to move forward.
Some of these interesting artists are Morley, Swoon, and Above. These artists have created street art in a fashion that portrays the human need for inspiration and affirmation. Check out some of their work here:
Morley
An LA-based street artist, Morley devotes his time in creating typographic poster designs with his witty imagination. Inspired by the dreamers and the illustrious around the Hollywood area, he decided to create a series of posters that would somehow leave “a ray of hope” to the weary souls of the city. His style portrays relatable situations and emphasized by bold letters.
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Swoon
Swoon is a female street artist from Brooklyn whose works include installation art and wheatpaste prints. Her posters’ design usually portrays people around her in the usual, every-day life. She’s a prolific artist that is involved in different projects, one of them the recent performance project “Swimming Cities of Serenissima”.
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Above
One of the few well-known yet anonymous street artists around, Above is well-known for his constant “art tours” that has covered almost three continents, from the United States, Europe, to Australia. His iconic “Arrow Mobile” installations are used depending on his project or the site of his planned project. He has also done wall murals that incorporate short messages or a play on words that can be seen in different parts of the world.
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(Source)Check out your neighborhood, who knows you might see other inspiring work from your local street artists. Make sure to share them with us through the comment section below.
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