SOCIAL CHANGE & STREET ART
Curated by Carl Creates
The premise for this exhibition lies where the arts can be a tool for social change. Street artists in the 21st century are finding that interacting with the same communities where their ideas lie is essential to the art form. Since they are creating arts in the streets for the people at large, their message should have a purpose and evoke positive engagement. These selected artists and installation have had a major impact on the world around them consciously elevating the arts to a new realm of empowerment. Welcome and I hope you become enlightened by the idea that art can change the world.
INTI: UNTITLED, 2014–Spray Paint
St Laurent Blvd–Montreal,Québec
Street artist, INTI, takes his name from the Incan Sun God and creates art related to Chilean roots. INTI proudly flaunts South America’s rich cultural history in the face of globalized capitalism, whilst still addressing Chile’s problems of poverty and their rocky recent history. The text on this mural translates as "Our thirst for gold, leaves us without water."
DMITRI VRUBEL: MY GOD, HELP ME TO SURVIVE THIS DEADLY LOVE, 1990–Acrylic
EAST SIDE GALLERY–BERLIN,GERMANY
When artist Dmitri Vrubel painted Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker locked in a kiss of socialist brotherhood on the Berlin Wall he created the most famous mural of the Cold War. Created in 1990, he reproduced a photograph that captured the moment in 1979 during the 30th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic. This iconic image touches up the concepts of peace, freedom, and gay rights.
KONG 3: ART ON THE STREET, 2014–Spray Paint
ART ON THE STREET–GRAFFITI ART–KOREA
Kong 3, a Korean graffiti artist, plays homage to the Hip Hop culture and some of the greatest names from New York City. He is making a statement on how the graffiti boom in the 1970's and beyond has influenced people all around the world. Highlighting the tags of Dondi and Stay High 149, he remembers the roots of these individuals who died for this global phenomenon.
SR.X: BACCHUS, 2014–Spray Paint
GIARDINI NAXOS–MESSINA,ITALY
Sr. X uses humorous social commentary on his depiction of the Roman god of architecture and wine, Bacchus. His post modern nudge to contemporary living has Bacchus holding a can of soda and smoking a cigarette. The god is portraying his drunkenness on two products that have destroyed and killed many people throughout the world.
EDUARDO DAVILA ARIAS: EL ULTIMO VASO DE AQUA, 2013-2014–Spray Paint
HIDRO ARTE–MEXICO CITY,mexico
This artists is trying to convey the chaos that would be unleashed when the last glass of water was available to the world. Imagine not only man fighting for this last piece of life, but also all other species, plants, and animals. This mural is attempting to raise awareness about the water issue many countries are facing in the present day.
5 POINTZ–NYC
5 Pointz was the mecca of graffiti and street art and was a place where all artists, students, musicians, dancers and community members came together to express themselves. It was recently torn down in order to create more residential apartments, which impacted the local art scene forever. This was selected as an art piece that represents the greed, gentrification, and the struggles that the art community went through in New York City.
STUDENT ARTWORK
Lakeem Wilson: College Student from Texas
Tashi: Student from the High School of Art and Design
Studnet from Virginia Juvenile Detention Facility