Respect Authority

Street art is so fantastic because it allows underground artists who may not be pursuing endeavors which the mainstream contemporary art world considers commercially desirable to get their messages out, transform urban environments in a significant way, and introduce original, thought-provoking and visually interesting art to a broad audience by its very nature. Happening upon this new installation by Polish street artist Truth in Prato, Italy must be pleasantly surprising — that said, jellyfish are some mean gelatinous motherfuckers, not to mention just weird and vaguely creepy.

Truth’s work has a serious impact, much of it is large scale, and all of it stands in stark contrast to the vast majority of street art. Truth’s installations are abstract, cubist sculptures made out of colored polystyrene blocks. Some of the creations work with their surroundings, while others do quite the opposite.

His work commands your attention like watching the iTunes visualizer stoned, maybe even more, but I’m not a scientist and can’t do those kind of calculations in my head. Plus, I’m a bit busy watching the iTunes visualizer stoned anyway.

The installation above, from the London Festival of Architecture 2008 is seriously transformative and looks at least 68% cooler than crawling ivy. Truth is no stranger to large scale sculptures — obviously, sometimes to create the biggest impact you gotta use the biggest boxing glove… or does that not really work like that? Uh, anyway, the following collaboration between the artist and the Art Transparent Modern Art Foundation in Wroclaw, Poland is a perfect example of what I think I’m trying to say.

Personally, I feel Truth’s best works are the ones playfully integrated into their environment. They may not be as overwhelming as his larger work, but their subtle influence on their surroundings is equally impressive.

Check out more of Truth’s work at his online portfolio, www.truthtag.com. Referring to his installations as “tags” is interesting in its own right, considering the poorly done drawing of a transsexual Hulk Hogan I saw on the last public bathroom I was in is also called a “tag” in some circles. Nonetheless, Truth’s art is stunning, whether it’s just a tag of sorts, an effort to transform the urban landscape, or perhaps documentation of one man’s heartbreaking descent into a Tetris-crazed mania.

[Wooster Collective]