Weekly Snapshot: European Guerrilla Art

There is something about Guerrilla Art (street art) that makes cities more interesting and dynamic, at least from the artistic point of view.  It’s a form of expression, rebellion, activism, and a way to deliver a message on current and past situations and social status of the city.

Artists have challenged art by situating it in non-art contexts. ‘Street’ artists do not aspire to change the definition of an artwork, but rather to question the existing environment with its own language.

Out of the many Guerrilla Art installations I’ve seen so far, two have been stricken me the most: The Astronaut in Berlin and The Masked Newspaper Kid in Warsaw.

This gigantic “in your face” Astronaut is the work of French artist Victor Ash. While painted as a traditional mural, the piece is styled as if it were a gigantic airbrushed stencil.  One of the greatest things about this lonely and helpless figure is the nature of its medium; how the paint delicately runs and drips down the wall.

This weightless astronaut is more of a testament to the clumsy futility of human endeavor, than a heroic symbol of progress. This piece of art is painted across the side of a building in central Kreuzberg –a district in Berlin, Germany.  It is best viewed from the U-Bahn (U1 line) approaching Kottbusser Tor, or just walking Mariannenstrasse (street) in front of it.

Berlin has attracted many international street artists since its reunification, making it one of Europe’s street art strongholds. Bizarre post-communist locations, cheap rents and ramshackle buildings gave rise to this vibrant street art scene.

On a similar Post-Communist social environment but on a complete different setting and point of view, you will find The Masked Newspaper Kid in Warsaw, Poland.  Equally in artistic greatness but completely opposite in size, this little kid amenizes one of the corners of Rynek Starego Miasta in Warsaw’s Old Town.  This street art is actually made with spray paint and is barely three feet tall.  But what he lacks in size, he makes up with irony.

What I love the most about this piece is its critic to the conformist Polish society (in general) and how comfortable they have become in the “pushed over” position. You see the boy wearing a WWII era gas mask and missing a shoe, yet the newspaper reads “It’s Super”.   Not sure what or who it’s Hutnik, but there are more exquisite pieces of street art carrying this name throughout Poland.