"Spraycan" is an interactive installation, fathom the uncertain line between
reality and the digital world.
For everyone Graffiti means something different. It stands for rebellion,
protest, getting rid of standards, anger, aggression and the search for
adrenalin and challenges. It‘s art, an experiment with colors and shapes,
style, abstraction, a message, need for recognition, fame and culture.
It‘s a game between anonymity and publicity, especially in the world of
illegal graffiti. Tags, Throw-ups, Pieces and so on are an inherent part
of cities and specially made for this purpose, regardless of their intentions.
The documentation of the work and even of the action itself seems to be as
much important as the moment of doing it. Internet, galleries, magazines
and books, they all create a platform delivering the piece to the whole
world ripped out its environment. The photography as an pretended truth
transform it to an digital unit, administrable in the world wide web.
But it‘s not my aim to question the realness of nowadays graffiti. I‘m
interested in how much the digital publishing of graffiti influences
the writer‘s intention and if there is a change of mind about anonymity
and publicity and the choice of places. What criteria lead to the decision
spraying at a specific place? Is it perfectly visible for passing pedestrians
and cars or is it a perfect photo spot? Do I maybe also refer to topics, that
are discussed local or global? How important is it to put paint on a surface,
of someones property, you didn‘t ask for permission? Is it possible to produce
the graffiti digital? Does „Spraycan“ evoke the same or similar feelings? If
yes, what kind of? How does the interface change the action? Could something
new arise or is it disappointing and thus it reveal a truth?
An experiment how digital reality influence urban art: The can and to this
related moves stay the same, extended by the function of triggering the
documentation off. Paint is replaced by light, enabling the simulation of
lines on the digital map. Google Street View render the urban space, possible
to check out spots, spray and keep records of them and show it to digital public.
Special Thanks to
MTN Barcelona
Robert Gottschlich & Florian Krienke