BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
“I was conflicted about making the mural in France,” says Street Artist and muralist David Walker about the new sky-gazing countenance of a woman he painted there during the recent terrorist attacks. “I felt it I wasn’t commenting on the current situation there.”
It’s often a point of contention with public art and one that is discussed by city elders, academics, passersby: what role does art in the public have? Is it to advocate, reflect, comment upon, distract, reassure?
David Walker in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France for Galerie Mathgoth. July 2016. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)
Commissioned public and private murals and illegal Street Art are all judged by many and assumptions about the artists intent or role are called into question, – even by the artist. “What’s the point of taking up more wall space?,” asks Walker. “Due to the nature of my work, I can have internal conflictions wherever I go,” he says.
Even though Boulogne-sur-Mer is three hours north of Paris, people in the town felt very affected by the attacks, and many conversations touched upon the events – which seemed to be unfolding even as he painted. “During my stay the TV looped with news of another attack in a northern city just a few hours away,” he says.
David Walker in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France for Galerie Mathgoth. July 2016. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)
It was a 7-day long installation and he says he enjoyed the conversations that he had with people on the street. Some paid him compliments and he says he even appreciated those who didn’t particularly like his work.
“A few commented that the image was not exactly to their taste, but they appreciated that I worked hard everyday and the gesture.” Not exactly work for the thin-skinned, that’s for sure.
David Walker in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France for Galerie Mathgoth. July 2016. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)
Ultimately, Walker says that he decided the new mural plays an important part in the dialogue of the city.
“After painting and seeing and hearing the buzz happening around the wall, in the newspapers and cafes and restaurants we visited, the people made me feel that actually sometimes something simple, hopeful and human can be enough – or even what’s needed from art. I was, at times, taken aback by the positivity I felt towards the work and I was relieved that somehow it did have a place there.”
David Walker in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France for Galerie Mathgoth. July 2016. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)
David Walker in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France for Galerie Mathgoth. July 2016. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)
BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA
Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA
238
138
45
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. Accelerating Progress for Gender Equality BSA Special Feature: Accelerating Progress ...
Clandestine abandoned former factories are ideal locations for graffiti writers to practice their skills. Regardless of your intuition or expectations, you never know what you'll find. Graffiti piece...
“In some 50 years of documenting public art, I have never seen such an outpouring of political images as I have personally witnessed in the streets of San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento, ” photogr...
Dude, hope your printer still has ink. This would look dope in your window right now. You Are Not Alone (courtesy of Studio Number One) This way when the neighbors in the building across t...
An update to the "Big City Life Rome" posting in February, here are the remaining murals in the neighborhood of Tomarancia. Produced and curated by 999Contemporary Gallery, these March walls are of eq...
