I don't eat red meat so I'm not looking for beef.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 2:00PM ;)
I know that I haven't been putting much thought into my blog posts lately and I hope to remedy this as soon as I'm a little less busy.
The above piece was posted above one by a great LA artist named Dog Bite. Technically I capped a "That Noise" poster to put this up- but just to clear my name in case the art police start waving their tasers at me, "That Noise" is not a street artist. The posters that popped up everywhere a few months ago are advertisements for their band. While I'm not one to say that a musician trying to get exposure for their band is a bad thing or on the same level as advertisements for a product of some kind, but I don't think that it should hold the same level of "street rights" as a poster by an artist. Sure it could be argued that a street artist is doing the same thing, working to bring exposure to their work. Septerhed, another friend and I once had a discussion about just how much an Obey poster is really just an advertisement for the clothing line and all other things Shepard Fairey. There are totally valid arguments that if the work in the streets make an artist a commodity, then in essence, everything that furthers the artist's profile is really just an ad. This would include any big money street artists- like Banksy and even Alec Monopoly (and his recent $20K sale to Adrian Brody) might not be at the level they were at if they didn't create the awareness themselves.
To me though, there is a difference between a poster for a band, an independent film, a rave, etc. and a genuine street artist (if there is such a thing). The difference is that the poster IS the work- not just a reference to something that you want people to look up. I'm not just tagging something or flyering a website address, I'm trying to spread a message. Do I sell prints of my work- and thus have some kind of product to sell if people seek out who "Morley" is? Yes. But selling prints isn't my goal... Really. I swear.
Obviously intentions are like opinions- which are like a**holes. Everyone's got them and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks. I can only vouch for my own and assume the worst for someone else. Which obviously isn't fair at all.
But getting back to defending myself...
It's not like the guys from "That Noise" are actively keeping up a campaign of some kind, they just put up some posters a few months back and haven't done anything in the streets since. I'll even say that "The Cobra Snake" whose stickers are actually just trying to bring attention to a party photographing business (or so I'm told) holds a little more sway in terms of the "to cap or not to cap" question, because at least they really hit the streets with new stickers and take interesting spots. So my point is that, I wasn't trying to "dis" the guys in "That Noise" I'm sure their band is great- perhaps not something I'd be into (judging by their website), but all the same I'm sure they're cool guys.
In all honesty, I just wanted to ride with Dog Bite. If "That Noise" is offended and takes the spot back I would respectfully back down. I don't eat red meat so I'm not looking for beef.
Check out "That Noise at their website...
http://www.thatnoisemusic.com/
They are playing at Timewarp Music on the 27th.
Reader Comments (1)
You are a gentleman.