STREET ART STATEMENTS

This piece depicts two male police officers in an embrace kissing passionately. I feel this image reflects my theme of street artists using their art to make a political or social statement by showing two members of authority in a position that would easily be criticized by a large portion of the people that view it. I feel this piece was created for the artist to convey his thoughts that there is nothing wrong with being homosexual.

This piece is titled Crayon for Closure and depicts a man boarding up a house drawn in crayon while a little girl stands by and watches the act. I believe the intent of the creator of this piece is to make a statement about the increasing number of housing foreclosures over the past few years due to the failing economy. and it's effect on families and more specifically children being put out of their home. The visual image of the house being drawn in crayon I feel depicts the innocence of the young child being forced in to homelessness.

This piece depicts a naked man hanging outside of a window while another man looks out the window and a woman standing behind him. I believe the intent of this piece is to convey the artists's opinion and thoughts on adultery/extramarital affairs, and how if you participate in them you can be left in a very dangerous position. I believe the image of the naked man and the woman in the background is meant to indicate that the two were recently participating in an extramarital affair and the husband came home nearly catching them in the act which I feel clearly reflects my theme.

This piece depicts a police sniper on a rooftop apparently with someone in his sights, while a small boy stand behind him with a paper bag full of air about to pop it in the sniper's ear resulting in what one would imagine would be a big surprise causing him to miss his shot. I feel the intent of this image is for the artist to convey his personal opinions on police taking aim against individuals. I believe the image of the young child playing a prank on the sniper is intended to represent the innocence of youth and is intended to produce a dramatic feeling when viewed next to the dangerous police officer wielding a real weapon.

This piece depicts a maid lifting up a curtain in an attempt to sweep or hide things behind the curtain. I believe this image reflects my theme because I believe the intent of the image is to convey the artist's thoughts about how society tends to ignore major issues such as epidemics, terrorism, and economic decline by just sweeping them under the rug and attempting to hide them.

This piece depicts a small child raising a plastic grocery bag like a flag up a flagpole while two other children hold their hands over their hearts as if they are pledging their allegiance to the bag or "flag". I believe this piece of street art is intended to show the artist's negative opinion that Americans depend on plastic bags which are bad for the environment. I believe this image reflects my theme for this project because the image of the children with their hands over their hearts is a direct reflection of how Americans pledge allegiance to their flag, and the fact the bag is taking the place of where the flag should be, along with timing of this piece being shortly after London (where the piece was created and displayed) banning plastic bags in most of it's stores.

This piece of street art was created during the 2008 presidential election and depicts Barak Obama in a very regal pose. I believe this image reflects my image because it is the artist's intent to show his own personal support for the soon to be elected president of the United States and to encourage voters to vote for Obama thus expressing and furthering the artist's political agenda.

This piece is titled Free South Africa and depicts a black character with a collar around his neck and a leash being held by a white character, as well as a second frame with the same characters, however in the second image the black character is stepping on the white character who has let go of the leash. I believe these two images reflect my theme of street artists using their art to depict their views on political and social issues by clearly indicating that the artist is of the opinion that black south africans were controlled by the white race for too long and at the time of the piece (1985) it was time for the mistreated black south africans to take a stand and fight back against their oppressors.

This image depicts a rat with paint on his hands due to the fact he just wrote on the wall in red paint a quote that states "if Graffiti changed anything it would be illegal". This is likely a reference to an Emma Goldman quote that states ‘If voting ever changed anything, it would be illegal’. originally meant to garner support for Women’s rights and voting. I believe that the artist is using the rat to depict himself and the purpose of the piece is to convey his thoughts that graffiti is often considered illegal by the government due to the fact that it can challenge things that the government say and do while challenging and encouraging people that view the artwork to think for themselves and question the government and it's actions. For those reasons I believe this piece reflects my theme of street artists using their work to convey their thoughts and opinions on political and social topics.

This piece depicts what appears to be a prehistoric caveman carrying a fast food tray full of food. I believe the intent of the artist when creating this piece was to convey his thoughts that while it may seem odd to see a prehistoric man carrying fast food, it is even crazier that society now accepts fast food as a standard and we continue to consume large amounts of it even though we know how bad it is for our bodies. It is for this reason that I feel this piece reflects my theme of street artists using their works to convey their personal thoughts and opinions on social topics.