Every wall, fence or column could be turned into an art piece.
It brings smiles and raises eyebrows. It is closer to people than the best painting or installation is shown in an art gallery.
Street art is a form of artwork that is displayed in a community on its surrounding buildings, streets, trains, and other publicly viewed surfaces. Many instances come in the form of guerrilla art, which is composed to make a public statement about the society that the artist lives within.
The work has moved from the beginnings of graffiti and vandalism to new modes where artists work to bring messages, or just simple beauty, to an audience.
Dutch street artists Jan Is De Man and Deef Feed recently painted a literary trompe l’oeil mural on an apartment building in Utrecht, Netherlands.point 253 |
The pair turned the side of the three-story building into a multi-level bookshelf packed with a selection of their favorite books from their own collections, in addition to a few made-up titles featuring their own names.point 185 | Another XXXL bookshelf exists in Kansas City, Missouri on the side of a parking garage belonging to the central branch of the city’s public library.point 311 |
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Upon arriving at the idea of turning the building into a giant bookcase, the artists asked the building’s residents to give them the title to their favorite book so they could include it in the mural. Also included in the mural is a small black book on the left-hand side of the bottom shelf that features a small, but distinctive Playboy bunny logo on the spine.
“I know the people who live on the ground floor very well. They’ve wanted a mural by my hand for a while. They also wanted to let me feel free in my design as long as it would bring something positive to their neighborhood. The first idea was to paint a smiley. A very big smiley. Because I believe people become happier when they see a smiley every day. But this idea didn’t feel complete, it felt too simple,” said Jan Is De Man.
“I studied the shape of the house and the location where this house stands in and suddenly the idea of making a huge bookcase hit me. I love making illusions on walls and I like to see smiles on people’s faces and this idea (I thought meanwhile) could bring all this together,” he added.
“We entered the community by asking people for their favorite books and we were able to put 8 languages and cultures together in the same concept.point 129 | Everybody, every age, every culture, every language was welcome.point 185 | The only rule I set up to participate in this art project was: no political books and no religious books.point 271 |
Besides that every book title was welcome.point 36 | ” He said.point 46 |
“The neighborhood where this work was made is filled with different cultures. And I’ve noticed that this project brought (and hopefully for as long as it lasts) people together without pushing it. They meet each other through books. Regardless of the differences in cultures, regardless of the differences in political point of views. Regardless of being extreme right or extreme left,” said Jan Is De Man.
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