"And its exponents range from Banksy (the internationally acclaimed scourge of capitalism, whose works have sold for large sums) to Maire(a disaffected teen who lives on my street and, apparently, has a crush on someone named Ger)."
- Eoin Butler, Irish Times Magazine, Saturday, June 7, 2008
In recent months I've been noticing a rise in quality graffiti work around the Dublin city centre.
The recent publicity of Maser on a local level and international iconisation of Banksy do well to romanticise graffiti. Anonymous guerilla artists rebelling against current capitalist regimes under cover of night to press their own left wing propaganda.
However, I have become bored with these anti-capitalist rants. It's old. Too often I see anti-Bush or 'Shell to Sea' sentiment amongst other political criticisms pasted onto walls. Such activity can have a negative impact on a public viewer. Not only does the audience have to put up with the illegality of the graffiti, they don't enjoy any positive result. The stark contrast between this and the work I have posted above may lend itself to a different outcome.
The work was a bit of a riddle to me. There was no signature, no noticeable or recognisable style which made me, first, to think that it was a viral advertising campaign by some creative cosmetic company (I thought Dove). Research proved fruitless. Initial google results pointing me to a flickr page posted by a Dublin based photographer who believed the work was possibly by Maser. I later came across www.you-are-beautiful.com (How could I expect to find that?) and learned that it was indeed a viral campaign, but it was headed simply by a well to do consortium based in Chicago, Illinois. This 'You Are Beautiful' slogan can be seen in a number of different locations around Dublin. The two shots above were taken on Wicklow St (since removed) and Harcourt St respectively - I have also seen it printed on Palace St and by West Coast Coffee on Westland Row (yet to be photographed).
It's the positive words that make me warm to it. The same can be said for Maser's 'Maser Loves You' campaign. The all too infrequent positive sentiment makes a fresh change from the, while often intelligent, social criticisms. Such optimistic art work may help graffiti be seen in a more positive light...though for every good piece of work, there always seems to be an angsty 'Maire' publishing her woes...or that guy, 'Grift', for that matter...
Accompanying photographs are my own and are copyright 2008.
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1 comment:
I saw that top one a few months back. Kept meaning to tell you about it, I knew you'd fucking love it.
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