Street Art Matters

I recently spotted the street art you see above in the quaint city-town I call home. This struck me as "awesome!" and I will tell you why...

• I live in a small town community where street art is typically confined to “Fuck You Asshole” painted on a sign or band stickers slapped on transformer box.
• The “thriving arts community” of my town consists mostly of people, over the age of 60, painting landscapes and cute pets.
• This will surely spark outrage and condemnation about angst-ridden youth and how we need more rules and police to clean things up.

The piece took time to create, was bold in it's visibility and was the first of a kind in this town. It excited me. It made me reflect on how far street art has come (think Banksy, Invader, Plastic Jesus) and how far traditional art has yet to go.

As a new artist, I am beginning to build relationships and make connections with art communities and “established” artists. I find that the art world can be both very welcoming and also incredibly alienating. I have come across many artists who look down their noses at those of us who did not go to the top art schools, who engage in non-traditional forms of art and who are looking to make a statement with the goal of making a change to some aspect of our society. These revelations are both troubling and invigorating. Troubling, because the years of working hard in 9-5 jobs to pay bills and survive so that I could realize my dream of being artist are marginalized. Invigorating, because the narrow-minded attitude that these “artists” have is the very reason I have chosen to define myself as a conceptual artist.

So back to my point. Street art matters because, in my opinion, it is the purest form of art expression. Despite the threat of criminal charges and no financial gain, this person has created art that others will see. That is the artist I want to be. And that is why street art matters to me.

Designing Icons

I've been inspired lately by street art. It pops up in the most unexpected places and its impact is insistent and passionate. Bright colors, political messages, masterful illustrations, and random clusters of stickers, all beckon for your attention to seen and remembered. 

When I first began developing the idea of The Femme Project, three words popped into my head: kiss pop fuck. Each of the words is representative of a messaging concept for distinct collections of The Femme Project art. The resonant words became a tagline, the tagline became a hashtag, and the hashtag begged to be seen and heard. The dusty marketing wheels started turning, and the idea of creating a visual, iconic representation was conceived.

Simplicity and consistency make me happy. I enjoy the challenge of plucking a concept out of the air and breaking it down into its simplest, essential parts and positioning it anew. I began by illustrating graphical images of women's anatomy: breasts, vagina and mouth. Each body part symbolizes the various aspects of Kiss, Pop, Fuck. The breasts are indicative of motherhood, femininity, and the softer aspects of being a woman. The vagina represents the sexual spirit and appetite of being a woman. And, the mouth speaks for itself - the right of women to speak up, stand up and voice our beliefs, opinions and injustices.

Next, was color. Pulling from my print design background, a simple but bold palette was needed...pure CMYK. In print and in web, I wanted the color to be intense, demanding, predictable and consistent. Cyan, magenta, yellow and black are the perfect mix.

The next phase awaits production. Taking a page from the street art playbook, I love the viral nature of stickers. Who knows where #kisspopfuck might pop up next? On your neighbor's bumper...on the transformer downtown...on the light pole across the street...I think the world is ready for a femme invasion.