I have no objection to so-called street art - if only because most public buildings are unsightly amalgamations of concrete and misery anyway - but alas, most examples of the phenomenon I've encountered just seem to be tediously vivid variations of the old "Kilroy was here" grafito. Even the work of a giant like Shepard Fairey merely reminds me of the sort of wallpaper a Weimar secessionist might hang in their music room.
My own street art, of course, transcends such conventional approaches with its inherent vitality and aggressive commentary on modern life. Described by Unreadable Magazine as equally confrontational and intimate, my work not only questions our very definition of art, but makes discreet enquiries about the street as well, namely: How do I get home from here? and Does anybody have change for the bus?
My most successful installation to date is probably Me, Outside The Museum of Fine Art. In this work I stand outside the Museum of Fine Arts, staring balefully at a jigsaw of me standing outside the Museum of Fine Arts, staring balefully at a jigsaw of me standing outside the Museum of Arts, and so on ad infinitum. The message expressed in the work is a simple one: If people get bored of looking at me they can go inside and look at some paintings instead. The experience is, I think, both profound and revelatory.
In the Netherlands this is known as the so-called 'Droste effect', Droste being a chocolate and cocoa brand. The latter used to be sold in tins depicting a woman carrying a Droste tin, depicting a woman carrying a Droste tin, depicting a...etc. etc.
Posted by: Laurent | January 19, 2011 at 07:21
Droste pastilles were once widely available in the US but I have not seen them for some time. I always enjoyed the hexagonal tubular packaging.
Posted by: american fez | January 19, 2011 at 13:00
This Installation of yours seems to be rather an explicit (though tortuously expressed) message to NOT go into the Museum of Fine Art at all. By the way, while standing there have you noticed that significantly more people go into the Museum of Fine Art than come out again?
Posted by: Lloyd Mintern | January 20, 2011 at 14:57
It's actually a Dadaist concept, Lloyd, since the Museum of Fine Arts is currently closed for renovations.
Posted by: american fez | January 21, 2011 at 09:30
@American fez: they're still available here. My mother used to love them.
Posted by: Laurent | January 21, 2011 at 12:01