Some view graffiti as vandalism, but a book claims that its most complex form – street art – has artistic merit. This medium deserves critical attention as it is “the world’s most practised art form’. Whether or not you agree with that, street art has influenced some big names – Le Witt, Wool, Holzer and more. Attempts to market one prominent alumni, Rammellzee, are described here.
Monsters can be especially potent symbols to the uneducated. In the Middle Ages, educated monks filled their manuscripts with dazzling images that demonized foreigners, denigrated women and idealized piety. All admirably suited a male clergy. Before condescending about those times, it is worth recognising our modern infatuations – Star Wars and video games.
Prescience is a word often associated with Bayrle. In his first job in textiles, he realized that large images could be created using mass repetition of a small image. His “superform” style resulted and it resonates strongly in our digital age. “I believe in total individualism, even in the largest mass. I think that’s the richness of art, to define this singularity in the mass.”