This week I am SO on the ball. It's Wednesday, I'm blogging like crazy, and I'm totally going to have this post up tonight. I think. Maybe. Lin, Meg, and I want you to get with the creative and show us:
I am a huge graffiti and street art fan. And I mean HUGE. I've spent years peering and venturing down alleyways that most people avoid, just to check out a new piece, stencil or paste-up. I've scrambled over fences, wandered down railway lines and even crawled into abandoned buildings to take photos. I've got hundreds - if not thousands - of photos of my favorite street artists, and a couple of shelves of graffiti books. Yeah, you could say it's one of my things. So even though there are lots of different kinds of art I like, I'm gonna walk you through a few of my top fave street artists.
1. Banksy.
Of course. I've loved this guy for years - I remember when no one had any idea who I was raving about. I love his style, his sense of humor and how he manages to boil down complex issues to one image with or without a few choice words to make an amazingly succinct point. He never gets boring and constantly outdoes himself. If you haven't heard of him before, do yourself a favour and get to googling. And don't tell me, because I like y'all and then I would have to disown you.
2. Shephard Fairey. (AKA Obey)
I love this guy's style. Edgy, clean, spunky - and he also likes to take on social commentary and statement graphics. I have the first image as a print over my desk as I'm typing, and it's one of my all-time fave images.
3. Daim
Daim, a German artist, is known for his 3D, intricate, clean-edged murals. As the daughter of a designer, his murals really appeal to me.
4. Os Gemeos
Os Gemeos (Portuguese for "The Twins") are two artists from Brazil. I love that their style is so unique and recognizable - and they paint on a huge scale with amazing colours.
5. Swoon
Representin' for the ladies, Swoon is an awesome artist who mostly specials in paper cut-outs of amazing intricacy.
I'm going to add more tomorrow so check back if you're curious - but I know you'll all be wanting to add your links!
