Carlsbad Village Drive

Animal Kingdom
DEF2 ASERO
Carlsbad Village Drive
Wall
(Figure 1)

Fence Tag
Carlsbad Village Drive
Wall
(Figure 2)

      Figure 1 is off of Carlsbad Village Drive on the side of a small library or book store.  I never would have seen it, if I wasn't looking for it.  But once I saw it, it seemed impossible that I would have missed it.  The colors are extremely bright and inviting.  I think my favorite thing about this piece is that is displays street art and graffiti in a really playful, and positive light.  I think it does a great job of trying to shatter the negative connotations interlaced with graffiti.  In almost every reference to graffiti in the media that I have ever seen or can think of always gives it a rough exterior, many times linking it to gang related activities.  Here, street art  and graffiti are shown in a way that is welcoming to all audiences.  The characters that the artist decided to show are colorful animals, that still show the street art style without overly sexual connotations. (like many other graffiti style piece)  I think that this piece is perfect for the environment that it is in.  It is right off of the main street of Carlsbad where many families walk to get lunch from the beach.  It is able to be visually dynamic and intriguing even without the traditional elements applied to graffiti.  The building itself seems to extend further back because of the fence that is connected to it’s side.  The artist extended the painting to be overflowing from the library to the fence in a graceful way to create and extension of it’s own body instead of cutting it off with the sharp lines.  The fence is completely covered with a throw-up as shown above in Figure 2.

     Figure 2 is a throw-up that seems to be a little bit less technical than some of the other King graffiti artists that I have seen and studied.  But, I don’t think it devalues this piece in the least.  I love that it caters to a younger audience and stands nicely next to the work directly to the right of it.  It uses light and pastel colors which goes hand and hand with the theme of playfulness.  For me, what this throw-up is lacking is contrast.  If there were bolder colors outlining the letters, it would pop out more from the background and demand more recognition.  It is decorating the fence in away that draws attention to a space that normally would be ignored.  It reminds me of the artist we looked at names Space Invader.  He often times finds the smallest corners and high-up spots that are "non-spaces" to draw attention to.  Even though this space is much larger than any of the spaces Space Invader uses, it still supplies purpose and beauty to an area that otherwise would have been looked over.