Dedicated to critical cultural production at the intersection of art and activism.

(Milwaukee-based street artist and object maker Jesse Graves is a guest blogger for Groundswell.)

Jeremy Novy is a street artist currently living and working in San Francisco.  Novy uses his art to beautify spaces and draw attention to issues that affect everyone:

I am using what the city hates the most (spray paint and wheat paste) to fix or address the city’s problems. I also like the idea that everyone sees street art unlike museum art were the rich and educated only see it.

Novy wheat pastes images of inviting windows and doors over abandoned, boarded-up buildings.  This act brings forgotten places to the attention of city officials and community members in hope these places will once again  be productive homes and businesses.

By pasting electrical outlets on dumpsters, Novy invites pedestrians to consider the energy that is in our trash.

Novy also creates work that’s purpose is to bring beauty to dull spaces, like schools of stenciled Koi fish, or silly robots.

Formally trained in Photography, Novy uses his camera to capture nuances that a street artist observes, but may not be apparent to others – like the layered painting created by multiple taggers and city workers writing and painting over the same surfaces.

Visit his website to see more work.

Related posts:

1. Define “Urban Wilderness” at ElectroSmog with the Urban Wilderness Action Center
2. Functional Utopian Manicures for the Urban Survivalist
3. Artists Strike Back! The New York Street Advertising Takeover (NYSAT)/Municipal Landscape Control Committee
4. Recetas Urbanas / Urban Prescriptions
5. Groundswell Talks: Rebecca Lerner, Urban Forager

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