tHE VERNACULARIST — The Environmental Issue
into question whether the public environment does, in fact belong to the public. In his ongoing project OBEY Giant, American artist Shepard Fairey uses stickers to create points of intervention that contest the influence of billboard advertising. The tagline ‘Obey’ is based on the relentless slogans and corporate agendas that dominate public space, though there is no specific agenda to the word, no context in which it is supposed to be read. These works not only encourage people to interact physically with their environment, but also to interact critically with ideas that may not be otherwise considered. “It’s not like when people walk into a gallery and say, ‘I know this piece is supposed to be good because it’s in a gallery, so I’ll just go along with the idea that it’s brilliant and wonderful.’ On the street, people aren’t bashful. They will say if they like something or if they think it sucks.” (Fairey, 2010). Anyone can place these stickers anywhere, allowing the interaction of the community to extend beyond a simple reading of the work. Ironically, there are people who choose to tear down the stickers — seeing them as an ‘eye sore’ or ‘petty vandalism’ — and yet ignore the commercial images that fill public space. It is uncommon to see anyone tear down an advertisement because they find it disruptive or ugly. The recent over-painting of the art in the Wellesley Street West carpark, Auckland, demonstrates this double standard applied to street art. What was once a vibrant area covered with murals by top New Zealand artists such as Askew One is now beige and depressing. Irony again: Askew One has since created similar works in Silo Park, the only difference being that the Silo works were commissioned and therefore considered acceptable. A more recent phenomena than traditional spray-paint, stencil and sticker graffiti is that of yarn bombing — covering objects with brightly coloured knitted crocheted pieces. These works interject warmth and softness into cold urban environments. An element of humour and oddity often accompanies these works — think of a statue with cheerful knitted legwarmers, or a bench with rainbow granny-squares. Street art consistently provokes thought around the reclamation of public space through the interruption of familiar environments. This allows the engagement of every citizen, contesting the line between politics and art: these works are not ‘political-art’ — half art, half politics — but rather a fluid interplay between the two. In Art and Agenda, Bruno Latour states: “Instead of searching for more democracy only in the realm of professional politics, we draw attention to the new atmospheric conditions of democracy, to a complex set of technologies, interfaces, platforms, networks, and media that allow things to become public.” (Latour, 2005). Art that is readily accessible to the public is in a unique position to explore these new conditions of democracy. Street art is, in essence, politics by the people, for the people. Arielle is an artist, writer and music-geek in her final year of a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree. She lives in Auckland with too many books and not enough shelves.
References: • Shepard Fairey. 2010. Interview by Iggy Pop. Interview Magazine. Accessed September 18, 2013 from http://www. interviewmagazine.com/art/shepard-fairey • Robert Klanten, ed., Gregor Jansen, ed., Matthias Hubner, ed., Alain Bieber, ed., Pedro Alonzo, ed. 2011. Art & Agenda: Political Art and Activism. Prestel Pub • Bruno Latour. 2005 Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy, exhibition introduction. 19th March – 7th April, Centre for Art and Media Technology (ZKM), Karlsruhe: Germany. • Anna Waclawek. 2011. Graffiti and Street Art. London:Thames & Hudson Ltd, All images taken by Arielle. Previous page, unknown artist, Auckland CBD, 2012. This page Yarnbomb installation and detail (created/installed by Arielle with a group of friends), Symond St, July, 2014.
65