Sat One recently finished his latest Mural titled “Conservation” which portrays a mural with a rectangle cut out where 90% of the painting would have been. Only the edges of the mural remain with the words “From the street to the……..”, leaving you to fill out the next word. Most of us know Sat One for his amazing large scale murals and detailed canvas work. We may be used to the beautiful color and paintings of Sat one, but this new wall in Frankfurt Germany shows us another side to the artist. Sat one reflects on the idea of conservation with this piece as the title suggests. In his words. “CONSERVATION” “Many works created in public spaces have a temporary survival. Paintings get destroyed, painted over or simply buffed. Whilst years ago its documentation found its place in private photo collections or books, the idea of “conservation” has become more important, spreading through different media where publications, internet (including blogs, forums and websites), collectors, galleries and museums play an essential role.”. He doesn’t spell it out in this statement for us only leads us to reflect upon the impermanence of our art form, and its role in the overall history of our work. We love when artists take concept to walls with risk of alienating those that might usually be looking for another colorful picture. Without conversation and proper documentation what will be left? Is the documentation now the final outcome of our murals? If we are to conserve these murals and worry about the legacy does this take away from the ephemeral state graffiti/public art is used to? This mural opens dialogue to so many questions that are important to discuss and we appreciate this artists statement.
When viewing art in public domain most of us coming from a graffiti art background are at peace with walls being temporary, yet as we grow older and start to evolve should we be ok with it. Are we losing history by not protecting its legacy through conservation and proper installations, and is taking pictures and video enough. One of the strengths of our art form is that we are able to cut the red tape and not write grants, get funding, or worry about the politics of public art. We are able to circumvent these bottlenecks and take action in our own hands usually paying for supplies and lifts with our own money. Pictures might be ok, but what about 20 years from now. what if Picasso’s Guernica was painted on the street and all we had was a picture. Would a reproduction suffice?. These and many more questions are raised with this new piece from Sat One, and we thank him for not only his impressive mural but also creating this conversation. I hope blogs take notice and share this new work, as I am interested to what other dialogue it could create.
GF
