Candy Chang

So it turns out that this Candy Chang chick seems to be a pretty respectable upcoming artist. There isn't much info out there about her; but the stuff I found seems to be circulating, which means she's getting somewhere quickly. One of the things that stands out for me is the fact that she is a 2011 TED Senior Fellow. If you don't know what TED.com is, you should. Click that link right now and have fun spending a few hours watching some of the most interesting lectures you have ever seen. Anyway, I'm going to continue under the assumption that you know all about TED.com. The TED Fellows Program groups together some of the worlds most creative, innovative, and accomplished people. Anyone over 18 can apply. Some of these people are extraordinary. Sending in my application would look like a joke, in comparison. This page probably will give you a better description than I can. Anyway, the fact that Candy Chang is a TED Fellow kept me interested. Check out her Bio on TED.com. The blartical "Move over, Banksy: Candy Chang's art might actually save the world" is a biiiiit of a stretch...but it still caught my eye. She likes letting others participate in her work. Here's some of her work that I found most interesting...

Sweet Inspiration

Check out this article. It's about a new street art project of Candy Chang (an installation artist, designer, and urban planner). I think it is a great example of some really neat conceptual graffiti. Although, I'm not sure if it can be considered "graffiti" because I think the artist had permission from residents in the surrounding area to partake in this street installation. Maybe it's a little corny. Though, I love that the community is able to participate in and see good in this type of work. I'm going to search up on this artist a bit. Though she is more of an "installation artist" than a "street artist" ::snootyvoice::, I see no harm in straying a bit off course.

http://candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola/

Stenciling

The art of stenciling is taking over the graffiti community. It is a quick, easy way to mass-produce your works quickly. A stencil is some type of thin material from which an image or lettering has been cut. With stencil graffiti, the stencil is placed on or taped to (depending on the size) the surface on which the artist wishes to display his/her work. Then, spray paint/rolled paint is put on the stencil, leaving only the cut out areas colored. Multiple layers of stencils can be created in order to add different colors/shading. If a stencil is not very big (smaller than 3 feet), one can create their work in under 3 minutes. This is very convenient if you are tagging in a heavily populated area.

John Fekner's "Wheels over Indian Trails" (1968) was one of the first major public stencil displays.

 Now, Banksy is one of the most well known stencil artists. It is his medium of choice.

Here's a quick how to on stenciling

What You Need:
Cardboard (or some other kind of thin, easily cut material)
Scissors
Exacto Knife
Drawing Tools
Pain & Roller OR Spray Paint


1. Choose a design - You can design an image or font on your own, or you can copy/recreate one that you have found (this is a little frowned upon unless you make it totally original)
  -You can hand draw or photo-shop and image
  - Using a photo-editing program, or taking the time to do this on your own, adjust the contrast and saturation of the image so that it is simple and not too multi-tonal

2. Place the image on your stenciling material and trace.  Use a cutting tool to cut out the areas of your image that you want to me colored.

3. Tape stencil onto desired surface. Spray or roll paint on top. Voilà!

Here's a helpful Video 

Most Loved Street Art Photos

I found this site with a few really neat pictures of graffiti. Some are installations (the Leggos, the little people, the "Sewer Man", and the tree). I don't know if they are my favorites, but they are really interesting and clever. I love the extremely realistic hole-in-the-ground piece. I find these works spectacular and I'll try to find a few more examples.

http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=1184

Green Graffiti

Found this video today...I thought it was a pretty interesting concept. Not really the most outstanding work but definitely innovative...

And here's some neat stuff too:

Storm Drain Street Graffiti

One's brain is naturaly programmed to recognize a facial structure in other objects. These artists utilize this fact to create some really cool designs.