Myth and Street Art

“Myth and Street Art”

Before we get into how myth applies to street art let's take a look at myth and what it means for people. Myth is something that captures us; something that we believe in. [1] Myths come in many forms: written stories, art, and theater. We continually tell these stories or phrases in many forms, because for people, telling stories is a way for us to come to terms with our lives and the world around us. [2] The story or myth is a way for us to codify our activities in our lives. [3] These activities that make their way into myth are the things that all of us, human beings, have in common. They are the stories that are repeated over and over in our society and we recognize this through myth. We all need the story of our lives told in order for us to understand the mystery of life and to figure out who we are in this big wide world. [4] Street art creates a particular presence for itself, and by subtracting the artist and their identity, the artwork and artist can be viewed as a mythical presence that helps people understand themselves within the world.

Street art becomes mythical through its imagery and content. Using example artists Invader and Banksy we will take a look at their work. Invader uses ceramic tiles cemented together to create various alien creatures that look like the 8-bit video game, Space Invaders. The placement of the aliens on the walls of the buildings varies from looking like they have touched ground to still flying down ready to abduct you. Despite the video game coming out in the late 70s early 80s, alien's invading from space has been depicted in the movies since the early 50s. The aliens in those movies were portrayed as creatures from another planet coming to invade, in search of abducting people, taking natural resources, or looking to replace human life with their own. This was actually a direct response to World War II and the fear that what happened in Europe could happen elsewhere. [5] The myth of the space invader coming to take you still exists through the street artist Invader's artwork.

Reading into the meaning more currently, as far as what alien's mean today, Invader is also quoted for saying that he likes that his images invade our physical space. [6] And other street artists have felt that advertisers are invading our physical space, bombarding us with ads, so why not invade people's space with art. [7] This can lead to the conclusion that Invader is merely alluding to current invading aliens, companies, and branding. His artwork is a physical interpretation that helps us understand what is going on today and hopefully keeps us warned about the invasion of our minds from advertisers or other forces.

Banksy is an artist whose imagery focuses on the social, political, and even just imaginative imagery. Let's start by looking at his street art piece, Sorry! The Lifestyle You Ordered is Currently Out of Stock, which is a stenciled phrase left on what looks like an abandoned building. He is obviously making a reference to online shopping, the job market, and the promise of a wonderful and glamorous life, but in reality they end up with not what they were offered. This particular imagery also deals with stages of life and passing from childhood to adulthood. There are mythological rites and passages we go through in our lives especially from changing from child to adult. [8] Banksy is enlightening us through the rites of passage myth; the passage of coming to realize our reality from our childhood dreams. Another example of this same myth within Banksy's artwork is the piece where he shows a man who had just posted CANCELLED over a sentence that says FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. This is a common theme is stories and mythology and Banksy proves his artwork as current myth in our society.

Something these artists have in common is their anonymity in society. By being anonymous they create a myth around themselves and induces an even more sacred feeling around their art work. Leaving us with feelings like, “When is the next time I will see one of their art works? Will they make another in this area?” For example, when watching a movie, the stars of the picture gain a mythical presence because they demonstrate multiple presences and make themselves representatives for our lives. [9] Banksy and Invader do the same thing. When looking at their art work we know that when they made the artwork they were “Banksy” or “Invader.” As soon as they leave their mark they turn and become whoever they are on their identification card. They represent the everyday person, particularly you and me, and tell the story of you and me through their art work.

Too many people see street art as vandalism. Looking at the placement of most street art, it is either covering over an advertisement or on an abandoned building. Do either of these instances not make you cheer inside? [10] Does the message of the artwork resonant within you? By altering a space you can transform your consciousness and presence of mind. [11] If we surrounded ourselves with more artwork that made us think about everyone and their needs, the myths of our lives, opposed to advertisements that make us think about ourselves and our wants, what would the world be like? Myths are the clues. They are symbols that we should internalize in order to find meaning within our lives. [12] By taking the time to view street art, we recognize street art as a new form of mythology and storytelling of the people, for the people, and by the people. This hopefully enriches our lives and helps us to find the meaning of ourselves within the world.

[1] Harwood, Frances. “Myth, Memory, and the Oral Tradition: Cicero in the Trobriands,” American Anthropologist, New Series, vol. 78, no. 4 (December 1976): 783-796.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/675144. 785.

[2] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth (New York: Anchor Books, 1981), 2.

[3] Harwood, Frances. “Myth, Memory, and the Oral Tradition: Cicero in the Trobriands,” American Anthropologist, New Series, vol. 78, no. 4 (December 1976): 783-796.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/675144. 785.

[4] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth (New York: Anchor Books, 1981), 4.

[5] Johns Gill, Jens Hoffmann, Gilane Tawadros, Alien Nation (London: Institute of Contemporary Arts, 2006), 33.

[6] Francesca Gavin, Street Renegades: New underground Art (London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2007), 56.

[7] Ethel Seno, ed., Carlo Mccormick, Marc Schiller, and Sara Schiller, Tresspass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art. (China: Taschen GmbH, 2010), 10-11.

[8] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth (New York: Anchor Books, 1981), 14.

[9] Ibid., 20.

[10] Ethel Seno, ed., Carlo Mccormick, Marc Schiller, and Sara Schiller, Tresspass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art. (China: Taschen GmbH, 2010),11.

[11] Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth (New York: Anchor Books, 1981), 19.

[12] Ibid., 5.

(This page was edited on November 12, 2012).