Since late autumn 2006, around the time of the final, great explosion of street art at 11 Spring St. in Nolita, in downtown New York City, we started to notice that a lot of work by some well-known street artists was suddenly being defaced with splashes of paint. Works by Swoon, Shepard Fairey, Faile and many others were attacked with bright colors of paint that appeared to have been intentionally splashed on to the work. The paint never covered the pieces completely — the underlying art was always identifiable. The mysterious person(s) defacing the art was dubbed “The Splasher.” The atttacks continued through the winter and spring months that followed. Only recently have we noticed that “The Splasher” has slowed down. New York Magazine chronicles and investigates the mystery in a recent article. The irony of the Splasher’s attacks is that they amount to a form of vandalism upon vandalism itself. Most street art is destruction of property in the eyes of the law. The paint splashes can also, as some have pointed out, be construed as an act of art in and of itself, as a crude, shocking commentary upon the street art it targets.
Ivan Corsa Photo
Photo gear: Canon PowerShot SD 630 ELPH digital camera
On the iPod: The Rakes – “22 Grand Job”
Kicks on our feet: Adidas “Marun”
GLOBAL GRAPHICA 