10 things you can learn from Street Art

If I did manage to get your attention you must be wondering 'Really? Something to learn from street art...hmm...sounds interesting...' Yes actually there is so much to learn from street art. Lets start with 10 that come to my mind:

1. Fall in Love  again– Yes I think I am seriously in love with street art, one of the purest forms of artistic expression that exists! I am looking for them EVERYWHERE while on vacation, travelling on work, go on a drive, go running..you name it
2.  How about a little bit of adventure – The thrill of discovery that I get when I discover a new piece of street art, the little rush of adrenaline, the pleasure and smile of of admiration that follows keeps me wanting for more
3.  Identify the good from the bad – Like in all streams of your life I believe you can quickly sort out the good apples from the bad ones. There is a difference between street art and vandalism from my perspective. Actually there is quite some vandalism in many parts of the world which results in defacement of beautiful structures. So when you start looking for street art you will know what I mean. Focus on the good ones and ignore the rest.
4. Attempt massive Reach – everybody has access to street art. You don’t need to be in a museum or pay a fee to see them. You don’t need to be an established art critic to appreciate a piece of art J
5.  Cultivate a risk taking attitude – These artists have managed to produce some amazing pieces of art probably braving all odds. Some of the pieces are in such locations that you wonder how they even managed to get up there and how did they manage such intricacy in a very short span of time. I learnt that sometimes you have to finish up in less than 5 minutes!  And some even claim that if it takes more than 5 minutes, it does not qualify as street art. That’s why I guess there is a lot of tagging you can find in so many places.
6.  Be curious - Explore the unexplored – Usually you end up in places in a city or town where nobody usually go. You realise that you are in some unexplored places but someone was also there making a statement or trying to convey a message
7.  Don’t shy away from voicing your opinion – Yes street art is an open forum to get your views across. Like the famous artist Banksy once said ‘If graffiti changed anything, it would be illegal’ One of my favorite songs from Paul Simon and Garfunkel  ‘The Sounds of Silence’ talk about ‘the words of the prophets were written on the subway halls and the tenement halls’
8.    Don’t let failure deter you – A street artist has to be open to the fact that if somebody else does not agree with his message there is a high chance that if you go back there tomorrow its already covered up. Like someone said: 'I was here but now I am gone, I left my name to carry on, Those who liked me, liked me well, Those who didn't can go to hell'
9. Embrace technology – Like  I mentioned in point 6 some unique pieces of street art is found in places where many people don’t have access. That’s where technology comes to the rescue. Like the graffiti on the West Bank Wall in Palestine is used by artists to draw attention to their struggles and using the internet and social media channels to get a wider audience. I even learnt that you can get your own message put on the wall, see I caught your curiosity now.
10.  Stop asking for permission – Street artists have legal walls for sure. But all those places  where you find street art are definitely not all open for artists.  I loved it when I read that the artist David Choe whopainted Facebook’s 1^st office took stock instead of cash and now he is worth 200$ million!!

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Some people think of dreams as a waste of time, we have  a different tradition
A beautiful mural by the artist duo Herakut at Sankt Pauli Millerntorgallery in Hamburg

Palestinian protest art on the separation barrier running through Bethlehem