“In true form, GAIA found himself in some of Chicago’s worst neighborhoods during one of the bloodiest summers on record,” says Nick Marzullo, owner of Pawn Works Gallery. According to most news reports the city has suffered the most violence in years, and the summer heat seems to exacerbate the duress. “Homicides are up by 38 percent from a year ago, and shootings have increased as well, even as killings have held steady or dropped in New York, Los Angeles and some other cities,” writes Monica Davey in the New York Times, and while July’s total of 49 murders represented a drop, it is hard to feel safe on many streets.
Gaia. Englewood Chicago, August 2012. (photo © Thomas Fennell IV)
How a Street Artist decides to put up work in a dangerous neighborhood is not clear, or what motivates the work. Sometimes it is to activate a space, to humanize it. Other times it is merely an opportunity to get up. These pieces somehow feel contextual, especially the large floating head. While the portrait may not be a direct commentary on the violence, we know that many of the dead in these crimes are fathers, brothers, and sons.
Gaia. Englewood Chicago, August 2012. (photo © Thomas Fennell IV)
Gaia. Englewood Chicago, August 2012. (photo © Thomas Fennell IV)
Gaia. Englewood Chicago, August 2012. (photo © Thomas Fennell IV)
Gaia. Englewood Chicago, August 2012. (photo © Thomas Fennell IV)
Gaia. Englewood Chicago, August 2012. (photo © Thomas Fennell IV)
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening : 1. Miss Van Talks about Her Show in San Francisco 2. Have You Seen The Listers? 3. Peter Phobia...
Today we go to Belfast to see the latest installation of the “Beyond Walls” campaign of large-scale artworks by the French-Swiss street/land artist Saype, Saype. Beyond Walls Project. Parliament B...
New York artist Ori Carino does a roll down gate in the Lower East Side neighborhood in Manhattan, which he grew up in, to pay tribute to a movement that shaped his life. Ori Carino. WorldPride M...
People’s Street Art preferences can be very hard to predict. On social media we can reliably tell you that opinions are unreliable. Murals that we are sure you’ll love fall flatter than a one-sided pa...
Indeed, the Grenoble Street Art Festival in France doesn’t care about you unless you parlez français – at least that's the impression you'll get from their website and social media. Nevertheless, they...