Anonymous British street artist Banksy has 9.6 million followers on Instagram making him or her one of the most popular unknown contemporary creatives of our time. Street art is so dope and beyond the restrictive parameters of art world academia, upper-crust private galleries, and finely curated museum exhibitions, yet it captivates viewers and leaves us feeling moved and inspired. While pre-historic cave art dates back more than 60,000 years to the Neolithic and Paleolithic age today's street works on walls often express political and social matters and feature hashtags of notable names and concise movements. The Black Lives Matter movement has been trending for six years and since the outrage surrounding the
2012 death of Trayvon Martin and has not lost a bit of momentum. Across the country and abroad we've witnessed marches and protests that support the struggle of black and brown people involved in the most egregious acts against humanity. Through the hurt and pain arise moments of light, of creativity, of artistry and talent that appears like, in the words of the late great, poetic genius, Tupac Shakur, the rose that grew from concrete. In the most random places, boarded-up buildings become canvases for Banksy-like artists who are popping up to create the most beautiful murals of life, love, and freedom. Street art is the perfect conduit to capture these difficult moments and memorialize the legacy of the fallen. Through the devastation of the lives lost street art brings a moment of beauty to help ease the pain. One thing our Neolithic and Paleolithic artists ancestors, Banksy, and current street artists have in common is the ability to be self-expressive and create visual works that bring to life cave walls, boarded-up buildings, monuments, and structures that will be recorded in the history books as social and artistic movements by the people for the people.
@hilarydixon78 I agree 100%. With the help of social media platforms, we can highlight the work of artists who are creating in this moment. That is how we have to document the art. Photography plays a big role in capturing movement art, mostly which is ephemeral and is done on buildings that are boarded up. Eventually, the boards will come down and the art will be gone. We can all capture these amazing visual street compositions with our phones and preserve them so we can share this moment with future generations. When you're driving in the car with the girls and you come across street art, jump out the car and take a few pics and send them to me.…
I was speaking with a gallery owner just the other day and she said that an artists work allows future generations to know exactly how society was feeling during a particular moment in history. The ability of the artist to recognize, channel, and redirect the breadth and depth of the myriad of feelings swirling around in this moment in time should be studied and appreciated because the art that is produced as a result with no doubt leave a monumental impact on our culture and history.