When computer programmers look to express themselves artistically, this is the result. According to CNET.com’s Geek Gestalt blogger, geek graffiti is a small, but growing, trend where geeks — or people with geek-like tendencies — take traditional graffiti tagging and add in a tech-inspired message.
This one, posted on the West Bank side of the wall in Palestine, represents one tech-savvy take on the conflict. The Royal Pingdom blog, calls it “someone wishes for a reboot.” I also enjoyed this oneof the word “amor” (the Spanish word for love) written on a wall in Barcelona. And, finally, while this one is less than artistic, there’s just something inherently adorable about a drunken computer programmer.
Ever since my days of watching the Jetson’s at my grandmothers house over a grilled cheese lunch, I have thought robots were fascinating. So this new technology struck me as particularly fascinating – graffiti meets robot.
From the Institute for Applied Autonomy, the StreetWriter project is a custom-built, computer controlled, industrial spray paint remote-control robot, built into an extended-body cargo van. Similar to a dot-matrix printer, the vehicle paints messages on pavement as it rolls at speeds of up to 8 miles per hour.
This blogger writes that the printer-on-wheels could circumvent the potential problems graffiti artists may encounter with law enforcement. I see the potential for experimentation here, but wonder if the robot can be taught to paint walls too?
In the age of new gadgets and technology I am consistently amazed by people taking graffiti into the next dimension. This is so much more than what most people would think of when they think of graffiti. It doesn’t use spray paint, it’s not permanent, it’s not even on a wall — but it is graffiti nonetheless.
Using any light source and time lapsed photography this artist creates what is known as light graffiti.
“Tagged in Motion” is a project by Hamburg-based graffiti artist DAIM that creates real-time graffiti in 3D — or a virtual world of graffiti art seen through 3D glasses.
The graffiti is captured by utilizing a three-camera scheme. The artist is able to smear the virtual paint across the empty gallery space using an ARToolKIT (or Augmented Reality Toolkit), which captures the artists exact motion as he or she paints.
This is big news is the techno-gadget/virtual graffiti world – as the graffiti artists search for ways to perform their art legally. Bloggers weigh in here and here.
As this blogger points out, the problem with graffiti art being anonymous, is that when you stumble upon a really great piece there is no information card attached to the artwork to tell you who made it, when it was painted and what they were referencing with the work.
New technology being tested in Hamburg, Germany, by the new media agency Jung von Matt, would give the viewers information they are looking for. The technology would allow artists to affix interactive stickers to their work that, when photographed with a mobile phone camera, explain the details of the graffiti.
Hamburg’s first interactive wall, called Nextwall, allows viewers to watch videos of the artists painting the wall, download wallpapers for their phone and virtually ‘tag’ the wall with an “I was here” feature. Another blogger notes the technology can also be expanded to include a comprehensive guide to the graffiti via Bluetooth and allow users to download coupons to area stores.
I wonder if making graffiti more informational would cause more people to foster an appreciation for the art. Graffiti is often just understood and appreciated by the artists themselves and their close circle of followers — could this new technology bring graffiti to the masses?
