designtoandfro.com » Street Art

Please Enjoy…

Mihae Mukaida — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:33:25 +0000

Surprisingly, I’d known about Ji Lee’s work long before I ever knew about anything about him. In fact, you probably do too. If not walking the streets of Manhattan then perhaps perusing blogs online. His work has that quality that catches attention without screaming at you. I literally went through every page of his website, I don’t think I’ve ever done that. To be quite honest, that fact alone is inspirational. His work is playful but sophisticated, smart but accessible-he excites curiosity, not to mention the man seems to have the right balance between life and work…anyway, in his own words, “please enjoy.”

Look at me, you know what you see, you see a bad mutha…

Mihae Mukaida — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:55:02 +0000

I’d come across Jef Aerosol on the Wooster Collective blog, at first scan I had actually thought it was Bansky..in any case, it prompted me to dive a little deeper. Turns out he had his New York City debut at the Adhoc gallery in Brooklyn just this past week, the show which opened on January 29th will go through till February 21.

While I would have to say his work lacks the serendipitous/deliberate combination and context that is so marked in Bansky’s work, he’s equally skilled in the art of the stencil. The Brooklyn Street Art site actually shows the steps of each stencil for his latest portrait, a tribute to the Empire State, featuring Jay-Z and a testament to the man’s painstaking skills.

As an aside, what’s the deal with Carlito Brigante aka Charles le Brigand for the Godfather of Soul?

Space Invader in Varanasi

Mihae Mukaida — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:28:08 +0000

You couldn’t help but notice the small, slightly dilapidated markings – discrete and yet so out of place in this ancient city by the sacred Ganges River. I do believe it is the work of the french graffiti artist known as Space Invader.

The Parisian born artist started invading in 1998 having hit to date over 39 cities. Using mosaic tiles, the artist began tagging cities with the iconic imagery of the 1978 video game of the same moniker.

I’d first come across his work while researching for the upcoming New York City restaurant Tacombi, that focuses on street food, naturally I’d sourced some street art for inspiration. Little did I know that my travels through India would have me puzzling over the above images linking them to those I’d viewed from my laptop at a NYC cafe a few months earlier.

I’d snapped a few shots and came home to follow up and see if I could confirm my suspicions and while I was able to find out that yes, he did indeed “invade” Varanasi, his official website doesn’t include this particular tile mosaic…

After 10 years, the mission and medium remains the same, going from city to city, invading public space much the way big business advertising does, but the mosaic subjects have evolved. One of his latest pieces, also located in Varanasi, incorporates QR codes and data matrix codes. Common in Japan, QR or “quick response” codes can contain data such as hyperlinks, text, or contact information. The codes are readable with specially-equipped cellphones like the handy iphone, as seen here