Art To The People!

http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/art/titel.html is a website that features historical examples of social change facilitated through art by five European artists from the 1880s to 1930s.

JUST SEEDS Blog

From http://justseeds.org/ -

“Justseeds Artists' Cooperative is a decentralized community of artists who have banded together to both sell their work online in a central location and to collaborate with and support each other and social movements. Our website is not just a place to shop, but also a destination to find out about current events in radical art and culture. Our blog covers political printmaking, socially engaged street art, and culture related to social movements. We believe in the power of personal expression in concert with collective action to transform society.”

“Justseeds was originally started in 1998 by artist Josh MacPhee as a way to distribute his art and the Celebrate People's History poster series. He slowly expanded Justseeds to include the work of like-minded artists. In 2006, MacPhee reached out to a dozen like-minded artists and previous collaborators as well as the political street art blog Visual Resistance in order to re-envision Justseeds as a cooperative effort. Justseeds was transformed into Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, an artist/worker owned and run cooperative and blog, that launched in the summer of 2007.”

Activism Through Graffiti in Tel Aviv

Photo collection of social activism through street art in Florentine, Tel Aviv:

Translates to “No Children, No Terror Attacks”

Link:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/telavivstreetart/

FiftyCrows Foundation

FiftyCrows is a San Francisco based foundation, which promotes social change through photography. Founded in 2001, this organization seeks to use documentary-style photos to arouse public interest in social concerns and facilitate interaction.

More information can be found on their websites:

http://fiftycrows.wordpress.com/

http://www.fiftycrows.org/

The compliment guys!

These two fine gentlemen are the Purdue "Compliment Guys". (Click on the picture for the full article.)

Their mission: to compliment everyone that walks by them and brighten their day.
Their purpose: not girls, or money, or fame, just the hope that they can spread a little joy in a time of economic depression.

When I read this article I couldn't help but smile. So clearly their project is working! On the surface it may not seem like this article has much to do with the goal of the arts and culture group, but I think it would be interesting to see if what these two guys are doing could be applied to different situations. For example, what if instead of having "compliment guys" on a college campus, there could be a group of people outside of the soup kitchen giving compliments, or maybe in one of the more impoverished neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Would a group of happy compliment givers have their comments taken at face value, or has the world become so cynical that even a simple compliment wouldn't be received well? I'm not sure, but I think it might make for some interesting performance art.

Art Work- A National Conversation about Art, Labor and Economics

This website is teaming with viable information and material that could be used to help the arts and culture group find their footing. It has information about other art activist groups, and the creative economy and then some, so take a look!

Brainstorming Pinwheel!

John Michel created this wonderful flash version of Andrew Bosley's "The Brainstormer!" It was originally a paper model but Andrew got so much use out of it he wanted to share it with the world. Maybe it would be fun to use this to start group meetings in an interesting way!

Red Neck Art

Post-it Art

Hand Jobs, the arts

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sidewalk Chalk

Art in Coffee!

Sand Art

Interview with Adrian

Website Layout

Artist Group Database

Here is a database of artist groups and spaces run by artist groups. The creation of this website was also a collaborative effort, so we could view this as a working example of what we are trying to do in our class. We can use it as a model when trying to add to/revise what Kristina has already started putting together. We can also use it as a research tool!

Groups and Spaces

Creative Group Techniques and Exercises

For the UArts students viewing this, you probably already know about Michael Michalko and his line of creative thinking books, but for the members of the Arts and Culture group who may not know, please take a look at the site, specifically the creative exercises and techniques sections, as I feel they could be useful to you when making group art and having meetings. Maybe you could do a different exercise at the begining of every meeting to get people excited and ready to talk about stuff!

Cracking creative thinking!

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven't been posting...I've been working on something offline that I'm just starting to import and will (hopefully!) have completed enough of tomorrow. Anywhos, I've been doing research on businesses, galleries, programs, etc., throughout the city and have been collecting them in a list format. Then I put them in alphabetical order (which was a pain in the butt!) and I'm now starting to import the research on a wikispace. This is what I'm calling the Art Phonebook. It's basically a database of places that could be of use to artists, but they're all local, be it a national chain with one branch, or an individual store.

Anyway, I haven't gotten very far with it, but I'm planning on it being an ongoing project. I'd also appreciate if you have any ideas of other things to include in terms of businesses and such for the database.

Here's the link.

Also, I'm almost done the website design...even if they can't use it, it'll at least be some kind of start for them, hopefully.

“STREET ART and SOCIAL MOVEMENTS”

Throughout history, street art has been used as a form of social commentary for those have no input or control of the media. It is an illegal, primal way of communicating social concerns or revealing one’s point to a large audience.

PARIS, 1968…

With the student and worker’s revolt of May and June of that year came a surge of street art, while France sat on the brink of a revolution. Protest wasn’t just the marches and picket signs. It was the representation of the plight faced by workers and students, fixed onto buildings throughout Paris by use of graffiti.

SOUTH AFRICA, 1970s-1980s…

With the swell of youth uprising against the apartheid in late 1970s South Africa came a revolution aided by street art. Though forbidden, anti-apartheid propaganda soared in popularity. People of South Africa joined together to visually present the oppressive world in which they live.

SOURCE:

http://www.justseeds.org/blog/2009/02/street_art_and_social_movement.html

CORNBREAD

Darryl “Cornbread” McCray is a former Philadelphia graffiti artist who gained notoriety for spraying his logo across the city from the late 1960s to early 1970s. Now a mild-mannered arts advocate, McCray is appalled by the evolution of graffiti as an art to a form of vandalism. It was in the 1980s when McCray realized how spray paint and vandalism left Philadelphia a mess. McCray helped clean-up his city by becoming a member of Mayor Wilson Goode’s former Anti-Graffiti Network. Since this time, McCray has become an avid supporter of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, and works as a public speaker for this cause.

Jon E. Bekken, chairman of Albright College’s communications department realized McCray’s value as a knowledgeable expert in street art and invited the artist to speak at the school. “I’m interested in a wide range of communications, in particular in ways in which people who don’t have access to media outlets try to get a voice,” Bekken said. McCray gave some pointers to prospective taggers of the college: “If you’ve got the talent to do graffiti, you can get paid for it. But don’t go out and vandalize.”

[“Cornbread” in the 1960s]

SOURCES:

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=79200

http://wallstreetmeeting.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/cornbread.jpg

http://www.egodesign.ca/_files/articles/blocks/2649_cornbread.jpg

Shepard Fairey

In the year 2008, American artist Shepard Fairey created one of the most iconic and highly publicized images. This image was the colorful, politically motivated “HOPE” poster featuring the mug of Barack Obama. Although already an accomplished stencil artist, Fairey gained national attention for the political propaganda of his creation. Not only did his poster allude to the modern ideologies Obama hoped to bring to the White House through Fairey’s use of color and medium, but in effect, made our president as iconic as Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans.

SOURCES:

http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/shepardfairey.html

http://beiderbecke.typepad.com/tba/images/2008/02/28/obama_hope.jpg

BANKSY

As an oft controversial, bold, and somewhat anonymous artist, Robin Banks (better known as Banksy) is England’s premier graffiti artist. Banksy’s art is displayed with guerilla-like tactics, astonishing the unknowing public. He is also world-renowned for his “headline-making stunts” which include leaving an inflatable doll (which was dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner) at Disneyland in California. Always provocative, Banksy even has a few celebrity collectors, such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The most prevalent theme in Banksy’s work is his attempts to provoke the audience to think abstractly and away from the norm.

SOURCE:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1034538/Graffiti-artist-Banksy-unmasked---public-schoolboy-middle-class-suburbia.html

interview with David Kettner

“Graffiti Art - A Solution to Urban Decay?”

Tan Rulxlang William, an art expert and writer for ezinearticles.com, argues the benefits of graffiti in an urban area. In his opinion, graffiti is often not meant as an act of vandalism by the artists, but “as a form of community beautification.” This form of art works as a stark contrast to the commercialism that plagues the public domain. As anyone can see it, graffiti is the ideal medium to connect with the general public.

SOURCE:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Graffiti-Art-A-Solution-to-Urban-Decay?&id=816264

JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO by Jay Burnham

Jose Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) was a well-known Mexican muralist and political cartoonist of the first half of the 20^th century. As he grew up in Mexico City, Orozco discovered his passion for art. From 1910-1916, Orozco worked as a cartoonist for the magazine El Hijo de Ahuizote where he expressed a great deal of social commentary regarding the Mexican Revolution. By the 1920s, Orozco had found his preferred medium in murals. Though, his commentary was still abundant. His political commentary expanded from the Revolution to his concerns about dehumanization through technology and the changing of morals Orozco witnessed.

HISPANO-AMERICA (1934) is one of Orozco’s murals which frames a Latin-American peasent using his (human) rights to protest imperialist oppression.

SOURCES:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Orozco/part2.html

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/305-tragedy-and-triumph-the-drama-of-jose-clemente-orozco-1883–1949

Orozco, Jose Clemente: An Autobiography

Art For Social Change –- A Website

www.artforsocialchange.net is a world-wide project initiated by Dutch artist Rini Hartman. The site expresses the goals of the program:

“A belief in cultural and creative expressionism as a means to affect deep and lasting social change. Through art, we can challenge many of our society’s deepest assumptions, built upon the power of artistic creation and expression to:

*Spark new ideas

*Catalyze critical thinking

*Elicit new actions

*Inspire individuals

*And create visions

Art becomes a political act, a conscious effort to facilitate and participate in social change. If we want respect, love and beauty among us and others, we must actively promote it through our art.

This site shows different ways of using art, which may inspire you.”

8 VISIONS OF HOPE

At the 2000 United Nations Millennium Summit, 189 world leaders signed onto the Millennium Declaration and agreed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MDGs was initiated as a way to set goals to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. Rini Hartman created the 8 VISIONS OF HOPE project to create awareness of MDGs. 8 Visions of Hope often approaches subjects such as poverty and human rights.

ART CENTERS
ART MUSEUMS, and NON-PROFIT ART ORGANIZATIONS

Listing of art centers, art museums and non-profit art organizations listed by state. Museums and non-profit art centers and rely heavily on community support and individual memberships. They're valuable assets to a healthy art community. Please consider joining and supporting your local non-profit art organizations or favorite national ones. Membership benefits are worth it, so join one or two today.
Your support at any level does make a difference to the art community.

Non-profit art centers frequently provide exhibition space for new or cutting edge contemporary art. Besides the visual arts, many art centers provide facilities for music, performance art and other arts,
as well as art education. Government agencies and other non-profit art groups are also listed here.

http://art-collecting.com/artcenters.htm

Art-Support

Nonprofit Art Organizations & Art Centers

http://art-support.com/nonprofits.htm

Great Site. Has a full list of non profit and free art centers in every state.
Link for Pennsylvania: http://art-support.com/nonprofits2.htm#PA

Questions Asked During Drew's Interview...

Do you do this for yourself or for the fans?

What were your inspirations?

-made you want to start

-keep you going

What school did you attend?

Do you feel that you needed school?

What did you do after school?

Was it hard to get started?

What would you be doing if you weren't an artist?

How well could you handle criticism?

-can you recall a time?

What kind of advice would you give a new on comer?

Tell me the importance of patience

How would you spend your free time?

What kind of person does it take to be successful?

Where did you start off?

When did you consider yourself successful?

Do you feel that most kids leaving behind art school will throw it to waste? can you tell ahead of time who they are?

Interview with Drew L

1. I do it for myself and then I hope to have some interaction with a few people who can make some sense out of it.

2. The childhood drawing impulse is the impetus for image making for myself and a lot of others. I kept doing it.

3. I went to Bard College and NYU. I also did semesters at Columbia, The New School, and Harvard. I wanted a variety of perspectives at that time. School can be very helpful as long as you educate yourself beyond the curriculum.

4 After school I was the producer for a talk radio show for many years and then I left and started teaching which gave me a more time to paint.

5 I don't feel as though things stated and ended but just happened along the way. I was kind of living a non student lifestyle while i was in school.

6 I'd probably still be a a TV or radio journalism producer.

7. Criticism was usually a gift to get but occasionally hard to have patience for.

8 My advice is to constantly reassess and if you still need to be doing it , then keep on keepin on. Making paintings can turn into a luxury that you pay dearly for.

9. Patience is a reality that shows up.

10 Free time can be a good time to take a long walk and get some distance. It's important to spend time with non art world people too.

11. It takes all kinds

12 I started off slowly and steadily. Painting often requires that.

13. Success in painting is subjective.

14 Students can take the lessons of art school with them regardless of their chosen career path.

Interview with Tom Porett

Here is a slide show put together of local art centers, and some quick information, but i suggest looking up these places for further research on getting involved locally in the arts.

Slide Show:

The Banana Factory

Luna Parc

Bottle Works Ethnics Art Center

Painted Bride Art Center

Brandywine Workshop

Additional art centers... Abington Art Center, Allens Lane Art center, Brewhouse space 101, Cheltenham Art center, The Clay studio, Trick Art and historical center, Mahayunk Art Center, Philly Art Alliance, Pittsburg Center for the Arts, Pittsburg Filmmakers, Pittsburg Glass Center, The Print Center.

Strategic Questioning

To create something that is successful, ( be it a work of art, a group, a social movement, a small business etc.) the creator(s) must first make sure they are well informed.

A look into successful methods of researching:

Strategic Questioning.

Craft + Activism = Craftivism!

To be someone who considers themselves an activist generally means that you are also someone who isn't afraid of getting their hands dirty with a fair amount of 'do it yourself' work. So when researching different ways to successfully craft a movement that will incite social change, one should consider all types of 'do it yourself' work, especially craft! (I throw in the especially because I am personally a big fan of gettin' crafty!)

http://craftivism.com/what.html

Explore the site to learn more!

Also, on a related note:

Grafitti Knitting/ Yarn bombing!

OH! And one more thing:

The rich robbing from the poor.

Grafitti artists against poverty

Montana shop and charity organization “Petits Riens/Spullenhulp” invited Blancbec, Hell’o Monsters, Pae 86, Bue, End, Nico, Whitecat and Polak to decorate those boxes where people can give clothes they are not wearing anymore. This “Peau Neuve / Nieuw Kleedje” campaign is intended to make people conscious of the fact that more and more young adults (18-24 years old) are homeless these days.

http://www.laid-back.be/blog/?p=272

Artists Striving To End Poverty (ASTEP

Artists Striving To End Poverty (ASTEP) uses the arts as a tool to empower young people with creativity, knowledge, and a strong sense of self-esteem, factors which help them advance their lives and communities. At ASTEP, we provide artists with opportunities to connect with global youths, allowing them to use their gifts to create meaningful and effective change for young people in need.

http://www.asteponline.org/

Where to Find Free Art Education Online

Art is an expression of thought, emotion and observation. Because art predates history, we have no concept of what our world would be like without it.


http://diplomaguide.com/articles/Where_to_Find_Free_Art_Education_Online.html

Thinkism

So in my research I stumbled across this website. I'm not sure about the actual status of the Thinkism Movement (it seems to be somewhat defunct judging by the broken links), but I thought it was interesting because it seems to have a focus similar to the Arts and Culture Group.

http://www.thinkism.org/asp/manifesto.asp

Explore the website, and make sure to scroll all the way down because on some of the pages it has a list of different art movements and descriptions about them.

About the Fleisher Art Memorial

About the Fleisher Art Memorial

The Fleisher Art Memorial, founded by Samuel S. Fleisher as the Graphic Sketch Club in 1898, is now the nation's oldest tuition-free, community-based art school. From its inception, Fleisher's mission has been to guarantee access to professional arts instruction, especially for minority and low-income populations. Fleisher continues to be guided by the spirit of its founder, who believed that the arts were vital to the life of any community and wanted to reduce barriers, both real and presumptive, to participation in the arts.
In 1944, when Samuel Fleisher died, the Graphic Sketch Club lived on. The name of the Club was changed to the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art was charged with administration of the program, collections, and facilities of this independent 501(c)3 organization.
Today, Fleisher offers art classes and workshops for children and adults of all levels, exhibitions, and a variety of unique programs in partnership with the community.

Article from the Inquirer about Fleisher Art Memorial

Concerns over change in focus at Fleisher

By Stephan Salisbury

Inquirer Culture Writer

The Fleisher Art Memorial, home of free and low-cost art classes for its South Philadelphia community for more than a century, has been buffeted by criticism in recent months as it modifies both programs and focus. Some students, primarily long-time devotees of Fleisher's offerings, are concerned that free classes are disappearing, fees are rising, and overall offerings are shrinking.
Change is in the air, they say, and they are unhappy with the portent, which could see the school refashioned from something unique into "a traditional art school," said Richard Lipartito, a former student.
"This isn't necessarily wrong, but it is not what it has traditionally been," he said, citing newly instituted limitations on class sizes, elimination of many free offerings, and imposition of stricter registration requirements that discourage student artists from roaming from class to class.
"You've lost freedom," Lipartito said.
Matthew Braun, who became head of the South Philadelphia school in early 2007, has scheduled what he called a town hall-style meeting at the school, 719 Catharine St., tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 to discuss the changes.
"We are trying to find a way to look at free open enrollment that is more sustainable for Fleisher," Braun said this week. As a result, he said, "We've pressed the temporary pause button to figure out" how to offer those types of programs more efficiently.
"This is not a permanent change. We need time to evaluate."
Fleisher began life in 1898 as the Graphic Sketch Club, started by woolen manufacturer Samuel S. Fleisher as a means to teach art to poor children who lived in the neighborhood of the Fleisher factory.
Since then, Fleisher has expanded its horizons and now annually teaches about 5,000 students of all ages. About 17,000 visitors participate yearly in Fleisher exhibitions and programs, and 300 children a week participate in free Saturday classes.
Fleisher's $2 million annual operating budget is derived in roughly equal portions from endowment income, tuition, and contributions.
"We've really been looking hard at how we use resources," Braun said.
The school has moved from a semester to a trimester system this year, which has added one full menu of classes a year, with attendant tuition and fees. At the same time, more people are able to attend over the course of a year and class size is reduced, Braun said.
"We are providing free class across all ages," he maintained, adding that those classes tend toward the introductory level. The free open- enrollment classes that have been "paused" have not necessarily been eliminated.
"Open enrollment allowed all skill levels to mingle and we are eager to ensure that remains available to people."
A student advisory committee is being formed to ensure student concerns are addressed in administrative decisions, he said.
Painter Diane Burko, a Fleisher board member, said she considered the changes necessary and positive.
"This is a place that really believes in sharing the arts with as broad a community as possible," she said. "A lot of self-study has gone into what's happening."
Burko cited an ongoing effort to make Fleisher more accessible to its immediate neighbors.
"There's never been an effort to go into the Hmong community, the whole Asian community before," she said. "The neighborhood has changed from the time of Samuel Fleisher. It's not Italian and Jewish anymore. Making things more accessible - that's a big plus as far as I'm concerned."
Nevertheless, there is a core group of students who foresee impending loss. They do not argue with broader accessibility or efficient use of resources at Fleisher; their problem is what may give way to achieve those goals.
"I'm always drawn back to Fleisher," said Lipartito, the former student who decided not to return in the face of the changes. "It's the community. The faculty, the students - it's almost like a second home to a lot of people."

Art Education Research

So how do they fund their program?
And I had no idea what an amazing and extensive program they have. Collaboration with them, when a more cohesive program is set up would be very beneficial.

I found a link were you can donate to the sight and I also emailed the head of the Art Education Program's at Mural Arts and asked her a few questions about how they got started and how they were funded etc.. so we'll see if I get an email back. 

http://www.muralarts.org/getinvolved/gift.php

Art Education Research

The Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia

In Philadelphia opportunities for young people to participate in the arts have steadily diminished in recent years. Renewed focus on core curriculum, the pressures of high-stakes testing, and other funding priorities have left arts programs in public schools vulnerable. As a result, hundreds of schools in Philadelphia have no full-time art teacher and many of Philadelphia's youth are without positive and structured after-school activities.

The Mural Arts Program is filling this void through a variety of targeted art education programs including Big Picture, Mural Corps and ArtWorks!. These programs not only teach mural-making and other fundamental art skills, but inspire students to become artists, organizers, and leaders in their communities. Through these programs, we serve close to 2,000 youth at over 50 neighborhood sites in Philadelphia.

http://www.muralarts.org/whatwedo/arted/

China Snuff Bottles

Chinese snuff bottles were used during the Qing Dynasgy which contained powered tobacco. it was illegal during the Dynasty to smoke tobacco but snuff was allowed because the Chinese considered snuff to be a remedy for common illnesses such as colds, headaches, and stomach aches.

Sand Mandala

University of the Arts is now having two monks perform a sand mandala in the Gershman building on broad and pine. these monks come from Tibet, one being the first to come to the united stated in 1988 to share his culture with us and has ever since, traveled all around the US.

http://www.uarts.edu/newsevent/6106.html

check out the the sand art work that takes up to two weeks! and also the rituals of meditation and dances you could learn about.

Work from the members of the Arts and Culture Group

Hey guys!

First off, I want ed to remind everyone that they should join the Arts & Culture Google group, as I have found it helpful in answering some of the questions I had about our projects and the group in particular.

My research so far has lead me to the efforts of some of the group members, and finding simillar kind of grassroots campaigns in other cities that might help offer inspiration/guidance to the current members of the MMP Arts and culture group. Just for our reference, here are a few links to the work of some of the artist in the group.

- - Article about the RECLAIM PRINT project. (Beth Pulcinella)

- - A blog of multimedia interviews genreally focusing on social issues/change. (Mariel Walloff)

- - Philadelphia Students Union. (Jacob Winterstien)

The next few links are of examples of what other people are doing to help encite change.

- - Media Action Grassroots Network (Looking at the Members list will give you many different examples of other groups that are like MMP, and can give you ideas for potential group functions.

- - Mural Arts Program (Just incase you don't know about it already.)

- - Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations. (Provides a link of other community development groups that might be interested in cooperating with MMP/Arts and culture.)

- - Meshed Histories: The Influence of Screen Printing on Social Movements. (Interesting article that talks about some of what Pat talked about in his original Arts and Culture pitch.


Okay! Thats all for now!

Preliminary Website Design

This is what I was working on for most of the week. The images would be a scroll through, and for each one, there is a side bar explaining what's going on in the image. On the bottom there are two options for language since MMP is very involved with the Spanish-speaking community of Philadelphia, as well as English speaking groups.

I don't know about the color scheme yet...I started to integrate blue into it, but I don't feel very satisfied with it. It could just be the sample images I used though.

There is also an MMP link at the bottom, which I sort of feel is out of place, but I'm not sure where to put it. I also want to incorporate something between the links and the images, as well as above the main section of the site.

Overall, I'm somewhat satisfied with the basic design, but it's not at the level I'd like it to achieve.

I also wrote some notes and goals that I'd like to achieve for the site, as well as some tips, and reviewed notes from an MMDI class I had taken last year:

Web page design:

1) Be sure to use visual hierarchy.

2) No background information or content– keeps the user from being distracted.

3) More information in less content. Every word must count to keep the user engaged because we are much more visual as a society.

4) Include a search bar if possible.

5) Always include a menu for navigation

6) AVOID SCROLLING. It’s something that makes a site hard to use, and can confuse people.

7) Make overall site navigation seem familiar. The user will feel lost otherwise.

8) Add individual elements to make the site seem more of your own.

9) Use a color scheme that matches and is not hard on the eyes.

10) Use websafe colors.

11) Don't be afraid to use borders to separate sections better.

12) Use fonts that are basic.

13) Be careful about how much information is on a page.

14) Map out everything clearly.

15) Always do a user test.

Spotlight: JOE BORUCHOW

JOE BORUCHOW is a self-taught stencil artist working in Philadelphia. Though he originally began making stencils and cutouts to advertise local bands, Boruchow’s art has leapt off the “posting boards and telephone poles” of Philadelphia. His art now expresses social commentary on topics from war to politics to violence in our own city.

Sources:

http://www.joeboruchow.com/

http://citypaper.net/blogs/clog/category/street-art/

Spotlight: LIBER-8 ME

Artist STEWART EBERSOLE depicts urban blight with the clenching fists of his “Liber-8 Me” project.

Sources:

http://citypaper.net/blogs/clog/category/street-art/

http://citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/02/12/liber-8-me-unmasked-street-artist-stewart-ebersole-of-the-renegade-art-coalition-speaks/

Mural Arts Program

Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program came about in 1984 in an effort to eliminate the graffiti that plagued the city. Muralist Jane Golden was hired to seek local graffiti artists and channel their skills from making detrimental graffiti to creating murals that glorify the city. In addition to creating more than two thousand murals, the Mural Arts Program directly assisted in supplying unity and love throughout the streets of Philadelphia through art.

Sources:

http://www.muralarts.org/

http://www.muralfarm.org/Muralfarm/Home.aspx

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/20090910_Artist_brings_power_of_love_to_Phila__streets.html

The Art of Street Art

How does graffiti and street art work? Well, it can be seen as a sort of “guerilla advertising” like practice. To the average person walking along the sidewalk, public art like this stands out, and can certainly leave an impression. Instead of publicizing something commercial, the artist promotes his or her own beliefs, or simply wants to show off their artwork. In Philadelphia, Street art is most often seen via “tagging” (graffiti featuring words or symbols as opposed to images) or through the Mural Arts Program.

Sources:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tagging

http://citynoise.org/article/9363/in/philadelphia@pa

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moocat/281385059/