Reading the recent piece on Above in the Chronicle (of all places) made me realize just what a huge crush I have on Street Art. I don't know exactly what it was; it's not like it was particularly good writing. It's just that there's something so incredibly romantic about putting yourself at risk of harassment, arrest, fines, or even jail time, just to make the world a more beautiful place.]]>
Crateman. Melbourne. Milk crates, glue, warehouse. via Wooster

Reading the recent piece on Above in the Chronicle (of all places) made me realize just what a huge crush I have on Street Art. I don’t
photo: me. SF Mission, 2005.know exactly what it was; it’s not like it was particularly good writing. It’s just that there’s something so incredibly romantic about putting yourself at risk of harassment, arrest, fines, or even jail time, just to make the world a more beautiful place. Street Art embodies unbridled passion—whether she’s giving a voice to those who have none, providing a space for those who don’t have the money, status, or connections to get their art into galleries, sharing the dreams of the idealists who envision a better world, or embracing the spirit of those with the will to be free and independent.

Maybe it was the way that half of the article seemed focused on trying to understand why on earth artists wouldn’t want to get paid for their works. That’s why I love her,
artist: Steel and Reyes
photo: me. San Francisco, 2006.because she is art in its most pure, non-commercial form, uncorrupted by the money entangled in advertising and graphic design, and even in galleries and auctions. Once people become dependent on money, it changes them. They end up compromising their vision, whether consciously or unconsciously, in order to get more people, or a particular type of people, to like them better. Like Above said, “Money fucks everything up.” But Street Art is different. Sure… she’s had a few followers who’ve just used her for their own self-promotion. And there are those who started out with her, who are now off making money from t-shirt sales and art galleries. But when she’s in her barest, most stripped down form, nothing else compares.

artist: fauxreel via Wooster

It’s the same reason I fell for my first love, Punk Rock. She was strong, independent; she did what she wanted to do and didn’t give a fuck what anybody else thought. But underneath it all, she really did care about other people, and she wanted to make life better for everyone.

Before I was introduced to Punk, I had been with a few others, but none of them for very long. Usually it was just because they were popular, or my friends were into them. But after my first experience with Punk, I knew we were meant to be together.
photo: me. Barcelona, 2002.We shared so much in common—a tendency to ask the questions that others were too afraid or too incurious to ask, a healthy distrust of authority, a love of bright colors and spiky things, a critical, sociological eye for the world, and above all else, the strength to be yourself combined with the desire to do what’s right and to make life better for everyone.

photo: me. SF 2006

She didn’t care whether you had the right skills, or the right friends, or even knew how to play an instrument. You just had to have the guts to stand up, make some noise, and scream your lungs out about whatever you felt most strongly about. She has such a passion for life that way. Crass once wrote of her,

“In attempts to moderate they ask why we don’t write love songs.
What is it that we sing then?
Our love of life is total, everything we do is an expression of that,
Everything that we write is a love song.”

She’s crazy, she does it everywhere—in basements,
Impromptu Requiem show
Palo Alto Free Speech Plaza, 2005.warehouses and squats, under bridges, on top of parking decks, in public parks, VFW halls, churches, and abandoned bowling alleys. (Plus, she’s really into vinyl.) I’m not the only one who feels this way about her. In fact, people continue to travel around the world with her, putting on public displays and making recordings of her, even though pretty much everybody involved with her ends up losing massive amounts of money. I can see the same passion, the same outpouring of raw emotion that I saw (and continue to see) in Punk coming from Street Art as well.

photo: Tomo. Ann Arbor, 2003.I see a lot of potential in Video Games, too. But she’s younger, less experienced, and hasn’t had time to fully develop yet. A friend of mine once observed how, unlike her older relatives, Art and Music, she’s only ever been a product of a capitalist system. So, ever since her experimental college days, she’s always been into it solely for the money. Thus, she lacks the emotional range of the other two; she’s never really been in love. But given adequate time and experience, I’m sure she’ll blossom into something just as beautiful and powerful.

artist: Space Invader. Paris 2006.Street Art, meanwhile has a lot of history and a lot of experience, dating back (at least) to the time when some ancient Greek did her on the wall of a church. I have always been more involved with Punk, whereas my interest in Street Art has been limited so far to watching her from afar. But one of these days, when the opportunity is right, I’ll make my move.

(And for those of you bothered by the heteronormativity of all this, just remember that all three of them are predominantly male.)

artist: Kode. photo: me. San Francisco, 2006