One of my favorite parts of living in cities is the constant inundation of art. There are buskers in the street playing music at all hours of the day, free museums to explore, and street art and graffiti everywhere. Street art is so captivating to me because it is ever-changing. Artists can cover someone else’s work or can add to it. For instance, this painting of Shakespeare below did not originally have the skull or quill. Street art is living and breathing in a way that people tend to associate with performance art, but they now connect it with the visual.
There is also a sense of danger in some cases as it may be considered vandalism. However, that just emphasizes the artist’s need and passion to get their work into the world. People are noticing the passion behind the art more and more as Instagram photos with this art in the background become increasingly popular. I was rewatching The Get Down on Netflix and how the adults reprimand adolescents for their passion of graffiti in the ‘80s. It is drastically different than how the public views street art today. London even hosts a plethora of street art tours! That would never have happened a few decades ago.
Whether the art is commissioned or not and whether it is held in high regard or not, the bright colors of the paint make the dreary rainy days of London life all the brighter.
