Ian Tweedy

Ian Tweedy
Choosing People
realizzato per la mostra "The People's Choice", curata da Marco Scotini, Marzo 2006

I believe in the importance for an accumulation of public Murals, both legal and illegal. We must approach the streets and the public space, forming a more intimate relationship with the social makeup of our communities and cities. In the past as an active graffiti writer, it was important to create a dialogue that could communicate with the viewer and with the space being occupied as well. As I continued on to muralism, I realized the importance of a wall as a creative, tangible, social object which has the possibility to unite and divide public spaces at the same time. Adaptation plays an important role in the seizing of public wall space along with the vulnerability to public choice and the temporary value of wall space. I see painting as an opportunity. A way of being able to approach the public directly with an idea and stating it clearly in a way so that the work can be seen as a form of participation rather than a monologue. From this action it is possible to perceive a wall as a social platform for the trading of concepts and intuitions thus creating a dialogue between the viewer and creator which unites these two roles as one which cannot be viewed as a billboard or commercial action. One common feature that should be present in mural making is risk, therefore in order to adapt, we need a strategic art to be able to accomplish a true work which can be integrated fully within the community or urban landscape. My goal is to produce a sort of archive from a wall painting, a kind of puzzle where there are no rules and all the pieces fit together forming concrete imagery. It's not so important with what or how the wall is painted, or who the producers are even, but that there is a constant dialogue between the art world and the affairs of the general public.
Ian Tweedy
 
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