gor[b] Paul Gorbould: Words and Pictures

Beer graffiti walls

A few weeks ago I attended the first Technology in the Arts conference in Waterloo, Ont. It was an interesting mix of geeks, artists and cultural curators, all boning up on the latest innovations.

Some interesting sites to check out - such as how the Textile Museum has cloth artists creating virtual pieces... Or how the Group of Seven's secret spots have been located online. Or how plague doctor puppets and feral robots are sniffing out pollution in our neighbourhoods. We even had a live performance of a Brahms waltz by pianist Alessandro Marangoni (as Benito Flores) from Italy via Second Life.

I was particularly interested in the new breed of ad hoc public art - graffiti, installations and guerilla art enabled by inexpensive technology. In one workshop we made our own LED throwies. In another we watched videos of "projection bombing".

This sort of thing appeals to me on a bunch of levels - I like the gadgetry, and while I love the spontaneous creativity and wit that graffiti often generates, I don't really care for the uglifying vandalism aspect of some graffiti. (It's the reason I'd rather post my attempts at witticism here, instead of on bathroom stalls.)

The tipping point for me was last year's "Gustav Mahler" tagging of Toronto's east end. Like many, I was amused at first - the message was so incongruous with the message! - but when it irreparably defaced a public art mural on the side of my local community centre, I got seriously angry. Others did too, apparently.

There are some great exceptions, of course, and I remain a fan of Posterchild's efforts here in Toronto.

And once in a while I must tip my hat to the truly creative graffiti artist. A while back, a colleague pointed me toward Muto - "An ambiguous animation painted on public walls", which was created in Buenos Aires and Baden.

This, you've got to see (if you haven't already.)