Non-Traditional Mediums in Street Art

Walking through any urban area, even suburban area, you see forms of street art. Graffiti, Murals, Sculptures, it exists all around us. Frequently we see spraypaint or stickers populating the streets, On rarer occasions we will see a wheat paste poster. But what about the more captivating, more unique, techniques?

Today I have a few processess to consider.

First, an amandment to wheat paste posters. Any viewer of the 2010 film Exit Through the Gift Shop has seen the segment where Shepard Fairey sits on the floor of Kinkos, shreddig massive just printed posters to be made into taped togetrher bill board sizwed imaes. But there are otehr ways to work with this wheat paste medium. In a video interview showing Shepard Faireys recent work at the PAce Gallery we get a taste of Fairey's mediums of printmaking. Many of his prints receive the clear printing of the Intaglio process on massive metal plates the size of posters. We also see his work screen printed with beatufiul color clarity. The most ingenious of his plates however is one that is a low relief embossed style. When printed the plate does not alter the color of the print, it instead transforms the paper itself into a bas relief. The Street artist Swoon has also managed to revolutionize this poster style. For her life-size or greater works she creates massive wood block prints. Sometimes she will even work with linoleum. (If you are searching for how to get linoleum blocks this big several forums suggest the use of Home Dept bath or shower fillers in long untampered rolls to be cut and carved.)

In addition to the street form of poster art there is also the form of picture printing and pasting. One street artist, France's photographer JR, works with Lithograph prints to create his pieces. These Lithograph works are a synthesis of the historic printmaking process and the modern ideas of color printing. Together the prints contain a sense of almost unnatural depth.

Swoon 

If this individuals are pushing the boundaries of public art, what do you see coming next?


Bibliography

http://www.jr-art.net/
http://www.jr-art.net/projects/inside-out-project-group-actions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM2IW8hv5m8
http://www.triggermagazine.com/images/swoon.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/2863977216_809c94879f.jpg