A few months ago I was happily browsing the English section of one of my local bookstores and was thrilled to find The Guerilla Art Kit by Kerri Smith.
For those of you unfamiliar with "Guerilla Art" it's basically anything made anonymously and left out in the public. This can be anything from leaving something you've made on a table at your local coffee shop to graffiti.
Where I like the idea of leaving an ATC in a library book, I'm a little more reserved about the idea of making alterations (permanent or otherwise) to private property. Although I personally love finding a graffitti-filled tunnel or underpass, I despise the random initials or "tags" spray-painted or stenciled throughout cities. I'm talking about the kind of vandalism that's suddenly in the middle of a wall on the side of a store or worse yet, churches, banks or any type of historical building. It is beyond me how anybody could possibly think to put their name or "tag" onto something belonging to somebody else and think it's cool.
But in any case, I discovered my first "paste up" which is basically something that gets stuck or glued onto a surface for the public to see. This one was done so well, at first I assumed it was done as a joke or a gag and that it had some kind of meaning behind it. Simply tagged with the word "MORE" (notice the English spelling, instead of the German "mehr"), I realized this was guerilla art... the real deal.
The picture frame is awesome because it literally is a painted frame stuck to the side of the wall. You can't help but touch it when you walk by.
So even though I actually LIKE this crazy public installation, I wonder how the owner of the building feels. I also wonder if by blogging about this and posting these photos if I somehow support or encourage it. It's not my intention, simply a post about my very first guerilla experience.
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