Again and again the question “Is it graffiti or is it art?” is uttered by those observing walls covered in tags, crude characters and occasionally rather stunning illustrations (I’m looking at you, Kensington Street, Brighton).
Russian street artist Nikita Nomerz has, in my opinion, set his spray can-filled tent firmly in the “Art” camp with his brilliant range of pieces in his “The Living Wall” collection.
Nomerz uses the existing shape of the building (which often include a particular feature which is integrated into the “face”) to direct the style of face/facial expression drawn, which assists in the creation of the character.
For example, a building with wide, round windows is accompanied with an excited, shouting expression and a tall, imposing building is given a face, which has an expression of one calmly surveying their kingdom.
Oddly, upon viewing his work it is hard to imagine the buildings without their “faces”. I imagine this could be due my mind being fooled into seeing these as “people” – after all, it’s hard to look at a friend and imagine them without a single facial feature. I’d be interested to know if you find this too!
Finally, on a more practical level I do wonder how the hell he managed to get up there and spray them. 🙂
Tarrah for now,
Pat