Importance of Sighting

It could be argued that Street Art is the most socialist form of art. If socialism is a theory that promotes shared owenrship for an entire community, then who could argue that street art is not attempting to do the same thing for the general populace?

That may be a slightly volatile accusation to begin this post with, but its one that I think is necessary to note. Street art gives all viewers access to art. That media form that has always been a symbol of class and socio-economic status. So when we come across street art how should we act? Do we ignore the piece? Do we take our picture in front of it?  Do we immediately share the photo on every social network we have?

There is no set "Etiquette" when it comes to an art form that, well, seeks to break rules. But there is one idea that seems brilliant and empowering to me. This is one promoted by Shepard Fairey and his website. (Page pictured below)

This is the idea of Sightings. For Shepard Fairey, famous street artist and perpetrator of both the Andre the Giant Sticker and our generations most iconic image of a president, has found an ingenious way to create a social input that is focused around him. This is his page of sightings, where anyone who sees a Shepard Fairey piece can link their photos and ideas into the main website.

What does this do for the artist?

In my opinion this is brilliant on several levels. First it allows the artist to comprehend the stretch of his or her work. By seeing where these sightings are happening, or if the image has been tampered with , an artist would be able to know if someone were cashing in on their style. Additionally, the artist never has to divulge all of their works onto a website. Instead the artist can complete things and place them in public domain and have faith that the work will eventually be tagged as theirs. Finally to brings the artist a sense of community. When viewer are submitting works you know that those viewers are so literate in your style that they can identify it. Also, viewers suddenly have access to this world-wide map of works. If an individual considers them self an avid follower of an artist it would be fantastic if they would go on trips to collect memories or in person images of these random acts of street art.

So what is the power of sighting?

To reiterate, sighting gives the artist a sense of community. It reminds the artist of what is so individual about their style. It gives the artist a sense of mystique and the viewer a sense of exploration.

So how should we consider this idea of sighting?

I would assume that many other street artists have formats similar to Shepard Fairey's, although I find his the most useful. Maybe in the future more street artists will upload pages like this to their websites. Hopefully there may even be a platform that provides this street art location service for the general public.

To return to the comparison of street art to Socialist thought, we are reminded that street art is a community outlet.  Sighting only aids this process and gives the publics art form real access to the public.

Bibliography

Shepard Fairey, http://www.obeygiant.com/fine-art, 2013