Subtle Street Art

RESEARCH ON SUBTLE STREET ART AHEAD OF PRINT WORKSHOP

In the world of Urban Art there are typically several umbrella catagories most works fall under, from large scale 'murals' all about getting precision on a massive scale, to smaller throwup stencils or wheatpastes designed to make a mark quickly and get out even quicker, and even street sculptures (as i have already researched, click here to read). Amongst these catagories there is also the realm of subtle street art; small, tricky to spot pieces hidden in plain sight in areas of high footfall, counting on only the highly observant noticing them. These pieces resensitize passers-by to their surroundings and become objects of cult social appreciation along major commuter routes where the same people wander past multiple times in a day. They also take on a value and sentiment of their own as their full potential can only be unlocked through careful attention to detail and exploration, the message delivered therefor feels induvidually associated with the deciphering viewer. I mentioned one such artist, Walden, in a research post during Ba1a (click here), although only briefly, and decided a full research page was in order to fully describe the area.


The mobstr piece (left) subtly reads '99% of people will not notice this'. The effectiveness of the subtle street art is distilled to it's simplest form in this example. Written in minute font just above the pavement, this work could be very easily overlooked. However it is placed in just the right spot that a hurrying commutor could accidentally spot it from the corner of their eye when hurrying down the street. The fact that the piece lists 99% of people will not notice it also gives the viewer a sense of exclusivity, as if they are being let in on a secret, which makes it's discovery instantly more valuable, even if it is only in a pseudo sense. However I can't help but think if this small tag line was coupled with a political statement about some other injustice which goes for the most part unnoticied, the power of this piece could be increased and it could become highly politically charged, however then some of the simplicity would be lost. As it is, it could be taken as a statement about the self-absorbed nature of modern man, especially due to the urban metropolitan setting in which it is applied.

The unarguable master of the subtle street art however has to be Invader. He creates 8-bit images with each induvidual pixel comprised of small mosaic squares. Varying between a wide array of digital characters, the pieces are found in small and large sizes on an international scale, with each mosaic appearing only once on the street and a second time as an 'alias' which is sold like as one off original copy. Travelling around the world, Invader hits cities in 'waves' much like a real space invader game, and invites his fans to spot them around the world. In New York, he even laid out a series of mosaics so that the induvidual locations, when plotted on a map, joined up dot to dot to create another geographic space invader.

He took the interactive element of his art one step further with the release of his 'Flash Invaders' app, which allowed players to photograph and log Invader mosaics around the world, racking up score points with each additional discovery. Here, Invader uses the subtlety of his works to challenge his fans and get them out and about searching for art.

By using subtlety in street art it is possible to make just as much impact as a large scale wall mural. With careful and considered placement a small artwork can be just as recognised, and sometimes even more effective than more obvious pieces. Because of their subtle nature, these works also tend to survive longer than other examples. By combining subtlety with an important message, art can slip beneath common perception and deliver it's message to those observant enough to take heed.