When art is signage: new street sign artworks at Cd Studio D'Arte.
Road signs represent the indications and limits necessary to direct traffic or a flow of people. They are urban elements known to citizens in every part of the world, immediately understandable, almost a necessary alphabet for living in the city.But what if such recognizable elements as road signs were reinterpreted by our artists in a street style?
Road Signs and Street Art: 4 Important Artists.
Street Art, the most widespread artistic movement in the world, perhaps the most democratic and communicative form of contemporary art , has always experimented with different means and supports to express itself: stencils, stickers, posters are just some of the tools used by contemporary street artists and among these, some also use road signs.
Let's now look at 4 artists who use street signs to express their creativity: the first is Mark Jenkins , an artist known internationally for his street interventions and his extraordinary sculptures. The artist created the “Signs Of Spring” , in which he transformed “authoritarian” street signs into delicate spring flowers.
The second is Clet Abraham , the French artist who for 15 years has been coloring the street signs of Florence and many other cities with his sticker art. Clet, with his urban art interventions, communicates a new visual language that breaks the routine and surprises those who observe them.
His changes do not take away the potential inherent in the sign, which is not trivialized, but rather add a further positive message, almost a harmonious integration.
In this way, prohibitions are almost freed from their univocal language of constraint, to favor the presence of stylized men who cut the signal or untie it as if it were a belt.
Artistic road signs can also be an opportunity for social denunciation: think of the artist duo Jacob Sempler & Emil Tiismann who in Stockholm created a danger road sign depicting two people bent over their cell phones, distracted by everything around them: a clear and strong message against the abuse of smartphones.
How did the idea for the road sign exhibition in our art gallery come about?
The idea was born during the second edition of the Street Art Biennial Super Walls where, to delimit the construction site and ensure the safety of the artists at work, several road signs were used.
During breaks, some of them had fun decorating the signs with tags, stickers and stencils.
So, seeing that those made during the festival were really expressive and creative, our gallery proposed to some of them to paint on about twenty street signs. Thus the exhibition “From Street Sign To Art” was born!
The reinterpretation of road signs was surprising and completely unexpected: a no-overtaking sign became an American drive-in, a curious child emerges from a one-way sign, a stop sign becomes an invitation to never stop believing in your dreams and a sign warning of a slippery road has transformed into a racetrack where Donkey Kong can race, leaving New York behind him.
Other signs make the observer reflect on important issues such as environmental sustainability and peace: just think of “Take me Home” , a stop in which a polar bear is shipwrecked floating on the now melted ice caps, looking at us disappointed;
Death was also depicted on a stop sign, dressed as Ghostface, waving a newspaper with the words “STOP WAR” written on it. Even Death is against the atrocities of the war in Ukraine and asks humanity to stop it.
Any , Shife , Alessio-B , Zero Mentale and Nico , member of the French crew La Crémerie , have demonstrated that art manifests itself in a thousand ways, and the medium on which it is represented is nothing more than a surplus to their talent and creativity.
Come and discover these totally unusual works of art in perfect Urban Street style in the gallery, or look at them on our website . You will certainly want to have one in your home too!
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