The Paradox of Corporate 'Street Art'

by Jarrett Martineau | May 16, 2008 at 07:00 pm | 633 views | 10 comments

I've seen this stencilled image pasted up around Vancouver and I was a bit skeptical about its tongue-in-check Vespa-headed hipster vibe.

Turns out, I had reason to be. It's a street art campaign by Vespa.

Yeah, no thanks. Not sold.

Recent years have seen street art and its central figures become as mainstream as all over print tee shirts and French electronica. Today, mega-corporations are increasingly incorporating wheatpastes into their marketing mix and doing their best to cash in off the art form’s caché. Two weeks ago, the mythological Banksy, with corporate funding from Eurostar, hosted a massive stencil party dubbed “The Cans Festival” in a tunnel underneath London’s Waterloo Station. Its whereabouts was initially kept secret while A-list artists from around the world painted the walls and erected sculptures. Upon completion, the address was announced and those attending were encouraged to bring their own stencils and paint the walls with some artwork of their own. As you can imagine, this generated a huge amount of on/off-line publicity for both the involved artists and Eurostar. Several photos of what transpired can be viewed here.
The other day while walking the streets of Vancouver I came across an awesome wheatpaste of a dude with scooter handlebars sticking through his shirt where his head should have been. Initially, I was really stoked on the piece, yet became somewhat disappointed to discover that it was an advertisement for Vespa designed by Dentsu, aimed at promoting the unique fashion stylings of people who ride the scooters. I was further surprised to learn that the advertisements were also pasted up in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary as well.

Does advertising through street art compromise the art form’s integrity?

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Rob Peters

at 19:33 on May 16th, 2008

good stuff:

I've been seeing those things everywhere too. They kind of freak me out to be honest. It would be more palatable if Vespa at least had a sense of humour about it and instead of using images of uber-cool James Dean types they instead used, say, ducks. I could get behind Vespa-headed ducks, maybe, but hipster-bodied handlebar heads? No way.

JD Rucker

at 21:42 on May 16th, 2008

good stuff:

Jarrett Martineau, I like this story. It's good stuff. Corporate art is fine for me as long as there is true value to it in the way of quality. Some of my favorite "works of art" are made from Coke cans. I'll try to find a pic -- they're fantastic.

Mikasi

at 23:52 on May 16th, 2008

It's not much different than when main stream movie makers decided to set aside a little area and a few bucks to make "indie" films. Just another case of "da man" pretending to be the outsider and the loner.

june.f

at 03:53 on May 17th, 2008

HUH, I was wondering what those were before! I think I have seen some on someone's house fence! @___@ Then again, I was just passing by on the bus, I could be wrong.

hoot r

at 09:18 on May 17th, 2008

A example from Calgary

hoot r has contributed a photo to this story.

eastvanray

at 13:58 on May 17th, 2008

I guess I have a stricter definition of art than some. For me real art moves the soul. It forces me to ask real questions or it makes me stop and think about the art or the artist. These images do neither for me. They are just images and let's not confuse images with art.

captcanuk

at 20:51 on May 17th, 2008

I found these Vespa ad pieces quite intriguing the first time I saw it (and consequently snapped a shot). By the second such piece, I felt a bit duped to see that they weren't originals but advertisements masquerading as street art. With the understanding that they are ads, I appreciate it more for its more tasteful increase in brand awareness (than say a flashy Pepsi sign). Advertising as a whole is becoming more pervasive. Movies, event sponsorships and even video games have advertising in one form or another (case in point, "The Truman Show") -- it isn't too much of a leap to include street art.

sniderscion

at 09:20 on May 18th, 2008

I too wonder whether being co-opted by mainstream advertising doesn't take away from the underlying purity of the form but really it's the message that's important in the end. It's the way of the world that if someone comes up with a unique and interesting way of communicating (be it via art or music or technology) and enough people notice and are attracted to it then the commercial interests will move in and utilize it. All you can do is be selective in your response and give credit to the innovators and enjoy the artistic output for what it is.

I have really enjoyed the unpaid work that the artist behind these images (Dan Bergeron-aka Fauxreel) has put up in various locations in the past and so was not totally unhappy to see him get a little money and recognition while providing something a little different than the typical ubiquitous advertising around us. Is he tarnished by "selling out"-I don't think so. Pretty much any art you see, any words you read, and any music you hear has some form of commercial sponsorship behind it (even this page).

Anyway; thanks for using my image.