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  • 7 (More) Unusually Geeky Approaches to Graffiti: From Remote-Control Robots to Digital Pixel Writing

    Unusually Geeky Urban Street Art Graffiti

    What qualifies something as unusually geeky street graffiti? In some cases it is the content but in many instances it is the methods employed in its creation. Here are seven more geek graffiti projects that comment on and employ tools of the digital age to reinterpret traditional street art approaches or convey contemporary messages via new media.

    Electronic Robotic Graffiti Writing Machine

    The GraffitiWriter is a remote-control robot that can write any programmed or instructed text message on the ground as it travels at speeds of up to 8 miles per hour. This dot matrix printer-on-wheels circumvents the potential problems graffiti writers might encounter with the authorities. It can also be equipped with non-permanent rain washable paints and deploy these rather than normal graffiti sprays as it traverses the urban environment.

    Geek Digital Virtual Graffiti Art Project


    The PixelRoller is an intentional cross between conventional and manual printing methods, combining the ease of computer-age printing with the creativity of manual printing. This graffiti creation tool can be programmed to print any number of patterns with uniqueness and variability contingent upon the way these patterns are then ‘rolled’ on to a surface.

    CNC Laser Cut Sculpture Graffiti Art Installation

    A few magnets, cheap cardboard, a laser cutter and a few other odds and ends were used to create the so-called CCTV Reminder. The basic idea is to leave non-operational reminders of the closed circuit television surveillance one might find oneself in when in various public contexts. In addition to the silhouette of a camera a simply battery-operated red light adds a final jarring touch of realism.

    Magnetic Sticky Graffiti Light Art Strips

    The Graffiti Research Lab, known for architectural light projection graffiti and other projects, developed the ElectroGraff method for embedding movable LED display electronics. Using conductive spray-paint and magnetic paint they are able to attach the display elements and power them without recourse to traditional and more-visible methods.

    Hello My Name is Geek Graffiti Sticker Tagging

    This simple Hello Nametag device replicates a common mode of self-labeling found in stranger-filled situations like business conferences and reapplies them to objects in the public realm. Programmed to speak the name of any desired urban furniture these can be stuck to virtually any surface and invite interaction by passers by.

    ASCII Geek Graffiti Digital Art Examples

    Ascii Graffiti is perhaps some of the earliest computer geek-oriented graffiti around. While it rarely leaves the digital realm it does appropriate compositional and stylistic conventions from traditional spray-painted graffiti and reinterprets them for computer display.


    Perhaps the ultimate in digital-age geek graffiti, Tagging in Motion (shown above) is a kind of three-dimensional street graffiti using a virtual reality interface coupled with digital rendering. The graffiti artist is taped by multiple cameras throughout his spraying motions in 3D space, generating street art that requires no physical surface and leaves no trace in physical reality like other creative urban light art


    27 Comments

    • User Gravatar reflex/ja
      February 18th, 2008 at 6:02 am

      By the way I was one of the ascii artists of that time and I was also doing the actual “paint the wall stuff” quite a lot (with different tag naturally).

      So it’s not like some of us old ascii beards have not done actual graffiti too..

    • User Gravatar Anonymous
      February 18th, 2008 at 10:42 am

      this graffiti is really interesting unusual graffiti. Thanks for this great article!

    • User Gravatar observer
      February 18th, 2008 at 11:46 am

      This article describes it. I should like them all.

    • User Gravatar subcorpus
      February 18th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

      so simple but so effective …
      hehe … really kewl stuff here …

    • User Gravatar one one
      February 18th, 2008 at 1:01 pm

      man this is all artsy shit, no where near real graff

    • User Gravatar Anonymous
      February 18th, 2008 at 1:06 pm

      How About the Graffiti Research Labs own L.A.S.E.R tag project

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKbtTPYZEig

    • User Gravatar sLst
      February 18th, 2008 at 4:31 pm

      rad!

    • User Gravatar ablestmage
      February 18th, 2008 at 6:12 pm

      I was one of the old ascii/ANSI artists from the BBS days also, good to see it still making some news. A lot of distro groups around the underground still include ascii (albeit the lousy Windows variety) nfo text files with each rar/zip as a method of tagging. *breaks out the screamtracker 3 modules*

    • User Gravatar C-Lo
      February 19th, 2008 at 9:09 am

      My favorite is still the Hektor from the original article, but I really dig what the G.R.L. does. I made a few of their toys such as the “Throwies” and a small scale electrograph for a “Hello” tag. Good stuff.

    • User Gravatar da
      February 19th, 2008 at 11:35 am

      ZELDA BEST

    • User Gravatar Проститутки дешево в Москве
      February 26th, 2008 at 1:34 am

      Thanks for this :)

    • User Gravatar Free xbox 360 game
      February 26th, 2008 at 4:18 am

      Man i love the guys at GRL they do some of the coolest stuff, the laser garf was aresome. The 3d tagging looks pretty insane too, can’t wait to see some more of it

    • User Gravatar Clare
      April 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 am

      I am filming an Art documentary in the States this summer and looking for some unusual artists who we can hang out with and film. Really keen to find some graffiti artists or anyone who is doing something slightly different. We are travelling from LA to New York and will go on whatever route is necessary to meet interesting people. If you can recommend any artists please pass my details onto them.
      email: clare@illuminationsmedia.co.uk
      Thanks
      Clare

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