Showing posts with label street art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label street art. Show all posts

Banksy Tattoos Combine Graffiti with Body Art

Banksy is a British artist who is infamous for his striking graffiti artworks. His graffiti often has a deeper meaning, expressing Banksy's socio-political views in a powerfully public medium; street art. Banksy graffiti has become so popular that it is now a popular subject in tattoo designs.

Banksy's Girl with Butterflies Tattoo
One of Banksy's most popular graffiti art works is the image of a young girl in a dress holding a gun to her head. A swarm of butterflies is scattered across the design as though they have exploded from the girl's head. Banksy uses stencils to create his street art, which gives his images clarity and a strong silhouette. These design aspects translate well into tattoo designs; giving the tattoo an instant appeal.


Above: The red butterflies stand in stark contrast to the solid black areas used to create the girl. Like all of Banksy's graffiti designs, the girl blowing butterflies combines aspects of human nature such as hope, violence, beauty and death. [source]

Banksy's Girl with a Heart Balloon
Banksy often carries a theme through a series of images, expressing the same idea in a number of ways. Like Banksy's girl with butterflies graffiti piece, his girl with a heart balloon design incorporates aspects of humanity such as innocence, hope and loss.

Above: Another of Banksy's graffiti art works that uses black and red as the color scheme. The simplicity of the design and the innocent nature of the subject make Banksy's girl with a heart balloon a popular graffiti tattoo design choice. [source]

Banksy's Man throwing Flowers Tattoo
This Banksy graffiti piece of a man throwing flowers has become an internationally renowned art work. The stencilled graffiti shows a man with a scarf covering his mouth, poised to throw a bunch of flowers. Exposure to news networks means that the brain expects a man in this pose to be holding an object of violence such as a petrol bomb. Instead, Banksy has chosen to have the man throw a bunch of flowers - an object that is generally associated with peace and beauty.

Above: Banksy's powerful graffiti art work makes an equally powerful statement when tattooed onto skin. The large area of solid black ink adds drama to the graffiti tattoo while balancing out the detailed delicacy of the flowers. [source]

Tattoo of Banksy's Rat Painting a Heart
Rats are a recurring theme in Banksy's graffiti art. While most people view rats with disgust, Banksy has chosen to humanize rats by giving them human characteristics. In his popular graffiti piece of a rat painting a heart, Banksy has personified the rat by putting it in a human situation (showing it wielding a paintbrush), and insinuating that the rat has human emotions such as hope and yearning (expressed by the use of a heart as the subject matter of the rat's painting).

Above: The dark area on top of the rat's head is reminiscent of a beret, a hat that has often been worn by French bohemian artists. Whether this was intentional or not, the effect remains the same; adding yet more humanity to a creature that is often reviled by humans. [source]

Graffiti Tattoo of Banksy's Jesus Christ Christmas Shopping
Banksy's graffiti art works often comment on social, political or religious issues. By portraying Jesus Christ in the crucifixion pose holding shopping bags filled with Christmas presents, Banksy has highlighted the disassociation between religion and religious practices.

Above: Banksy's designs often seem both well thought out and spontaneous in their construction. In his graffiti art work of Jesus Christ Christmas shopping, the degradation of religion through materialism is expressed in the way that the design appears to be melting. This may have been a spontaneous addition to the design to drive the message home. [source]

With their strong lines and powerful meanings, Banksy's graffiti art works translate easily into tattoos designs. Banksy has done more than any other modern artist to inspire curiosity and criticism in the younger generation, and is the first graffiti artist to have won such international acclaim.


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Internet Meme Graffiti

Internet memes are ideas or media that go viral online, inspiring thousands of fan art works in a short time. There is no way to force something to become a meme or to predict what image, video or social action will become a meme. 

Meme Street Art
Street artists often reflect internet-based ideas through their art, incorporating popular online phenomena into their street murals. Online games, popular videos and internet cartoons are moving from the intangible world of the internet to the physical canvas of the streets. These appear in the form of spray painted and stenciled images or printed stickers.

Above: The Forever Alone meme is based on a rage comic character, and is often used to express loneliness or unhappiness. For a humorous effect one of the words from the phrase "forever alone" is replaced with another word, eg forever a foam. [source]

Above: Me Gusta, a spanish phrase that translates into English as "I like it" is associated with this rage comic face. Online, the Me Gusta face is used to express a perverse pleasure or the enjoyment of something disturbing or anti-social. [source]

Above: This clever vandal has transformed a road sign into a parody of the popular image of an owl with the abbreviation "O rly?" The phrase is often used in online forums as a sarcastic response to a statement that is either blatantly true or implicitly false. [source]



From the Internet to the Street
Many memes have a distinct character that doesn't change all that much, such as Lolcats' image of a cat riding an "invisible bike" and the character from challenge accepted. For other memes, the image changes and can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways, as with Nyan Cat and the Anonymous hacker group character.

Above: Lolcats famous Invisible Bike image has been recreated as an enormous graffiti mural, complete with, um, exhaust fumes. [source]

Above: Challenge Accepted graffiti. This character is often depicted facing near impossible situations, and has become an online symbol for determination and stubbornness. [source]


Above: Anonymous, Nyan Cat and Lulzsec get together to become the main subjects for this meme graffiti art work. Two hacker groups and a rainbow-farting pop tart cat. Not even Salvador Dali could have imagined such a painting. [source]


Above: Trollface, a linear drawing of a grinning face; presumably the face a person makes while trolling the internet. The trollface meme appears in videos, gifs moments after a person has been caught out, and on forums when someone reacts to a troll. [source]


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He's Ba-ack! Hitler Reappears in Graffiti Art

Adolf Hitler was the failed leader of the German Nazi Political Party during World War 2. During the war, Hitler's forces killed millions of civilians including gypsies, homosexuals and Jews. After finally being defeated in 1945, Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide.



A Dubious Legacy

Hitler is remembered for the atrocities committed by the Nazi Party while it was under his reign. With his slick lock of black hair, piercing eyes and tiny mustache, Hitler is a recognizable figure. Though it has been more than half a century since his death, images of Hitler still appear in modern art, as he has become an easily recognizable symbol for evil.

Above: Graffiti dating back to WWII. This cartoon rendition of Adolf Hitler was found in a barn in East Yorkshire, England. During the war, the barn was used to house troops and it is thought that the painting was created by a soldier.


Above: A stencil graffiti piece depicting a young Adolf Hitler, found in Mexico. The dense black shadows used in this piece adds to the idea of evil that is attached to Adolf Hitler.



Above: A large street art sticker in Berlin, Germany, shows a desperate Hitler with a full bladder. The swastika emblem has been replaced with another symbol on his armband. Quite a number of these Hitler graffiti stickers have appeared in the area.


Above: An Italian stencil graffiti piece which shows Hitler shooting himself, surrounded by the words, "Facists and Nazis Follow Your Leader."


Above: This graffiti stencil in Bergen, Norway, shows Hitler as a waiter. A similar stencil was created by internationally renowned graffiti artist, Banksy, but the creator of the above piece is unknown.



Above: Banksy's graffiti artwork of Hitler as a waiter.


Above: This piece of Hitler Graffiti in Cardiff, England, combines an image of Adolf Hitler with the logo and slogan of the international fast food chain, Mcdonalds. 


Above: "It takes drastic measures" - a stenciled urban art piece found in Spain. Hitler is shown performing the Nazi Party salute, while a pair of unmanned scissors aims to cut off his hand and therefore disable Hitler.


Above: A Mexican artist's sense of humor finds its way into this stencil graffiti artwork. Hitler's hairstyle, with its side parting and long fringe, is reminiscent of the popular emo style that is being worn today.


Above: Is there any relation between the baby's black skin and Hitler views on Eugenics (race cleansing)?


Above: Quite a number of street artists have made connections between George W Bush and Adolf Hitler. In the above graffiti image, Bush doesn't have the trademark Hitler mustache, but two swastikas adorn the picture to insinuate that Bush's actions while president were similar to those of Adolf Hitler during his reign in Europe.


Above: It's not entirely clear if the artist wanted to create a comparison between Bush and Hitler or Bush and Charlie Chaplin, an actor during WWII who had a similar mustache. The piece is slightly whimsical, even pitiful. If it is meant to portray Bush as Hitler, the personality of the piece sets it apart from others in its category as it doesn't exhibit the same 'evil' factor as other Hitler graffiti works.


Above: An enormous graffiti sticker in the Netherlands shows a combination of Hitler and George Bush. Swastikas replace the stars on the American flag. More George Bush Graffiti Art


Above: Another Bush / Hitler hybrid image, similar to the one shown above. Bush Hitler is shown wearing a baseball cap with the Nazi SS logo emblazoned on it. The fearbush.com website is no longer available online.


Above: This train (unknown location) has been painted red and decorated with a swastika and the words, "Hitler Youth". The Nazi Youth Party Played a chilling role in the Second World War as children and teenagers were manipulated by mass propaganda to perform acts of violence.


This mid-20th Century Fuhrer and his actions have been memorialized in a number of different ways. Outside the building in Austria where Hitler was born is a stone engraved with the words, "For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again Fascism. Millions of dead remind us." Many books, movies and artworks have been created around Hitler's memory, and it seems that his image will continue to serve as a symbol of war and hate.

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Street Art goes Skin Deep with Graffiti Tattoos

Graffiti and Tattoos are art forms that have existed for centuries, as scrawls on the walls of Roman baths and tribal tattoos that mark coming-of-age ceremonies and personal achievements. It is only in the last few decades that street art and tattoos have taken on distinct style characteristics that set the apart from other art forms. Now these two rebellious genres have combined to produce graffiti tattoos.


Spraycan

The spraycan is a symbol of graffiti and street art, being the most common tool used by street artists. Its form is simple and its silhouette recognizable, even when morphed by the artist into a characterful artwork.

Above: This graffiti tattoo depicts both a spraycan and a gas mask (used by some graffiti artists to prevent the inhalation of paint fumes) 


Above: This graffiti piece uses a combination of geometric shapes and curves to create a visually interesting urban art-styled tattoo design. The colorful tattoo inks used in this piece, along with the repetition of recognizable shapes such as arrows, gives the tattoo a friendly appeal.



Cityscapes

Urban art is often inspired by the environment in which they are found - cities and transport routes. Using perspective to create visual interest, graffiti artists often incorporate city objects such as buildings, buses, trains and skylines.

Above: This tattoo shows a train bearing graffiti art. Trains are not only subject matter for graffiti artists; often they are also a challenging, illegal canvas for street artists to work upon. 


Above: This graffiti tattoo design combines the words, "New York" with a depiction of the famous city's skyline. The stars used in this artwork further add to the patriotic nature of this tattoo, as stars are a part of the American flag. More Patriotic New York Tattoos



Graffiti Lettering and Alphabets

Although there is no one distinct lettering style for graffiti, there is a variety of fonts that are popularly used by street artists. Graffiti alphabet designs are often warped, with key parts of the letter's anatomy exaggerated or decorated. Depth is created by giving the letters shadows and 3-D shapes.

Above: This graffiti font uses serif in some places, but not in others, proof that the artist is not bound by the rules of consistency usually applied to font design. The capitilized letters bend is if a force or pressure has been applied to them, a technique popularly used in graffiti lettering. The finished result is a graffiti tattoo that spells out the word, "faith".


Above: Some graffiti fonts are harder to read than others, which turns the artwork into a puzzle. The cryptic graffiti tattoos above are indecipherable.


Banksy Graffiti Tattoos

Working with stencil and spray paint, graffiti artist Banksy creates attractive, often controversial street artworks. His urban art mysteriously appears overnight, thrilling British graffiti art fans with both their content and message.

Above: Banksy's graffiti artwork of a girl shooting herself in the head, releasing a swarm of butterflies is tattooed on this girl's hip and belly. Banksy designs work well with the limitations of tattoo art, being clear and simple with elegant silhouettes. 

Above: A graffiti tattoo of the world famous Banksy design, of a man in a fighting pose, throwing a bunch of flowers. Banksy's graffiti art often shows startling contrasts between ideas, in this case, a symbol of love or peace combined with a man in a violent posture.


Above: Graffiti artist Banksy often uses rats as a subject in his artwork, to convey a message about human society. Banksy's rats are highly stylized, and have become a signature of sorts for this graffiti artist.

Graffiti and tattoos are often viewed as being rebellious in nature, as street art is illegal, and tattoos leave a permanent mark on the skin. As a form of self-expression, both styles are quickly gaining popularity, especially as a combination of the two in the form of graffiti tattoos.



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Smurfs Graffiti: BLUEhahaha!

The Smurfs first appeared in 1958 in a series of illustrated comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo (Pierre Culliford). The characters then went on to stardom in the Hanna-Barbera children's television cartoon, The Smurfs.


Smurfs appear regularly in graffiti murals around the world, and no wonder - these blue skinned fictional characters have been around for more than half a century. IGN dubbed The Smurfs "kiddie coacaine" for people growing up in the 80s. Though considered antiques in the comic world, The Smurfs are still gaining popularity with cartoon consumers and artists.

Smurfs are named according to their emotional traits or professions, for example; Brainy Smurf or Painter Smurf. I suppose this one could be called Ghetto Smurf:

Above: The Smurf language replaces most verbs and nouns with the word "Smurf".



Above: Tattoo Smurf depicted in a popular graffiti style.


Above: These blue fictional characters are very adventurous, finding their way into a variety of street art shapes and styles.

Even when depicted in a stylized fashion, Smurfs are recognizable. So recognizable, in fact, that even as a silhouette graffiti piece, there's no doubt that this is a smurf:


For many years, Smurfette was the only girl Smurf in the village - that is, until Sassette came along.


Above: Smurfette wasn't one of the original Smurfs as she was created by Gargamel to be an evil Smurf. Originally, Smurfette's hair was black, but after she became a good smurf, her hair turned blonde.

Above: Gargamel the wizard is the antagonist of the series. This somewhat dim-witted baddie creates diabolical plots to capture Smurfs to fulfill one of his dastardly schemes.


Smurf: In true Smurf language, this would have been "I Smurf trucks!"


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20 Arcade, Video and Computer Game Graffiti Artworks

Graffiti art is often an expressive, albeit illegal, way for street artists to express their opinions on social and political affairs. However, sometimes graffiti artist create fan art of celebrities, movies or computer games. This street fan art is simply a way of expressing appreciation for characters that have become a part of the artist's life.



Classic Arcade Games in Graffiti Art

Classic arcade games like Tetris, Space Invaders and Pacman have memorable, pixellated characters or objects that frequently find their way into graffiti fan art. The pixels can be created out of paint, tiles or painted squares of materials such as cardboard or wood.



Above: This gaming graffiti piece uses craft mosaic tiles to create a pixellated image of the alien characters from the arcade game, Space Invaders.


Classic Video and Computer Games in Graffiti

Besides arcade games, there are a number of classic computer games that have found their way into street artworks. Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Lemmings and Worms were a staple diet for gamers back in the late 80s and 90s. With the advent of gaming consoles, gamers could play their favorite games from the comfort of their own homes instead of going out to an arcade.



Above: This tile mosaic shows Mario from the popular Nintendo game, Mario Brothers, in a classic, pixellated style.





Above: This piece of street art uses beer coasters to create a pixel image of Link from the Legend of Zelda.



Above: Lemmings painted on a bridge over a busy road way. Several lemming graffiti pieces have popped up around the world, usually on bridges over freeways and highways. The artworks are often accompanied by the phrase, "Hello Lemmings!"




Above: A classic Worms character greets pedestrians from a street corner. The game's graphics changed drastically with the introduction of Worms 3D.


Recent Games

The current gaming industry focuses heavily on graphics. Computer games and console games now have highly detailed scenes and characters that present new challenges for game playing graffiti artists. Spray paint, however, can create a smooth, 3D effect when used by a skilled graffiti artist. Luckily there are many games that use a cartoon style for their characters, making a graffiti rendering of the characters easier for street artists.




Above: Graffiti artworks showing characters from Street Fighter.




Above: Commissioned graffiti depicting an artist's interpretation of a Halo character.



Above: The Sony Corporation commissioned several graffiti artworks to advertise their new product, the PSP. The googly-eyed cartoon characters are each holding a PSP.



Above: Bioshock graffiti art

 

Above: A spray-painted 22nd Century vehicle from the game R-Type

 

Above: Large graffiti piece of Starcraft's Typhus, smoking a cigar. Artists' mediums like spray cans and air brush canisters allow for a soft, smoky effect.

 

Above: Grand Theft Auto graffiti


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