Digital Graff?

When graffiti first took off, subways and trains were hit hard, this happened because train cars provided both the canvas for production as well as a medium for distribution.
The exterior walls were ideal surfaces for displaying their art and the ability to show their work to far reaching audiences made train cars a perfect vehicle (literally and figuratively) for exhibiting their art.

With Myspace harnessing more traffic than ever, along with beefing up  it’s storage space, we’re seeing more artists utilizing and manipulating profile pages to show their work.  New software has made tinkering with pages a snap and has provided artists a fresh pallet to create new art on as well as displaying old work.  Plus, their work has the potential to reach infinitely more eyes than the outside of a subway car ever did. 

The trend seems to have particularly taken off with what some are referring to as a “post-graffiti movement,” which has incorporated the use of alternative mediums, including, stickers, stencils, posters, chalk, air-brushing and even sculpture. These new techniques and approaches have broadened the scope of expression for artists and it is no wonder that we are now seeing them adapt to and alter the walls of Myspace. 

While Myspace may not have revolutionized the actual art per se, the ability to become “friends” with an artist has dramatically altered the dynamics between artist and audience.  But what if you cut out the artist and your “friend” was the art? We’ve noticed a growing trend of profiles created exclusively for products, art or fictional characters with complete disregard towards the artist, creator, or company responsible for its conception.

These “fictitious profiles” have gained much popularity amongst marketers in the film and advertising industry who are increasingly creating profiles for their mascot or character to generate buzz for their brand.  The majority of the “fictitious profiles” for companies such as Burger King’s creepy king or Will Farrel’s recent character, Ricky Bobby don’t shy away from  plugging their product, and from a corporate stance, this sly branding makes sense.  But honestly, who wants to be “friends” with Burger King?

More interestingly are the completely nonsensical characters, devoid of any traditional branding – at least that we know of.   Like the alter egos and tag names created by graffiti artists,
the walls of Myspace are filling with up with these bogus and often comical profiles. We’ve seen everything from dead celebrities, monsters, Andre the Giant, to PSFK’s personal favorite, Sprinkleman.  The true motivation behind these profiles is unclear, some carry poignant social messages while others are simply ridiculous.   

We’re not exactly sure about the implications of all this yet, but could these new “fictitious profiles” be the vanguard for a digital graffiti revolution? 

Check out PSFK’s Myspace profile