UPDATE: The Piggy Bank and the Hammer - The Current State of the Street Art World

New piece from 2wenty just went up on La Brea featuring a piggy bank with a hammer poised over it. It is massive, nearly 18 feet tall (look at the size of the piece compared to the semi in the first pic!), and hand painted. Even though it is a simple concept, it is very well done with beautiful shading in the pig and handle of the hammer. Powerful piece with great commentary on the current state of street art right now.

It seems that the piggy bank represents the cashing in of the current street art scene, while the hammer represents anyone being able to grab it and take advantage or try to capitalize on what is happening. The galleries, the artist themselves, photographers, etc. It's like the hammer is laying there and all you have to do is smash it for a quick reward, but if you do, the piggy bank is done for, and hopefully it's full and not empty. It hasn't happened yet, but its ready to, and could happen at any time, if it plays out that way. But the question is, how will it play out?

The placement of this piece is impactful as it is situated on La Brea, right across the street from the location of Lab Art. Lab Art is billing itself as the biggest street art retailer in the world. With over 30+ street artists in tow, it is a formidable selection of artists, some of them street artists, some of them not, across a wide variety of different skill levels. This is relevant because the past few weeks, with this big show coming up, the streets have essentially been bare compared to how they are usually loaded with art. And the placement of 2wenty's piece right across the street from LabArt is a reminder just to kind of say, hey, this is what we should be doing. There is a huge lack of street art right now and just wanted the artists to know.

Our personal thoughts on Lab Art are mixed. We have a lot of friends in the show, and we want to see them do well, and we think that what is good for the scene is good for the scene. If it is a success, it just a testament to show how strong street art, and the street art in Los Angeles in particular, and will be a good thing for everyone, and the scene.

On the other hand, we do have some reservations about the way that this show was done. Lab Art was not an established gallery, it was an enterprise set up with the sole purpose of marketing street art. And, from what we understand, its not being run like a gallery with shows changing every month, but more like a store with a steady inventory of art available. We don't think this approach will work for art because the limited nature of availability is a big part of what makes art appealing.

It is an experiment, especially as the Lab Art owners and 'curators' have no background in street art. When we visited Lab Art and were shown around, we asked about a few pieces, and were given the wrong artists names, and for another, a wrong story saying the artist themselves had lost a child in 9/11, and that's what had inspired the piece. Powerful stuff, and the story works to market the stuff well, but we know this artist, and the real story, and it was a friend's child, not the artist's, who inspired the piece.

Lab Art cast a wide net to get as many artists as possible, and since they have no background in the street art world, it is easy to understand how names and stories could get confused, but it is also clear that the real reason that Lab Art is around is to capitalize on the scene. It seems really opportunist, and while we want it to do well for the sake of the artists and the scene, since people, like the art critic at the Huffington Post, are already warning against a 'Street Art Market Collapse', we wonder if this is a good thing?

And as for the artists, we understand that a gallery show is a big opportunity. Still, at the same time, gallery work has always seemed foreign to us. This blog has always been about the streets, and while we can appreciate how cool it is to have stuff in a gallery show, we think it is most important to dance with the one that brought you. A gallery show is the icing on the cake, it can't be the cake itself. We carry a lot more respect for the artists who are stay true as street artists, as opposed to the ones who use street art the get into gallerys. And the streets have been pretty bare lately . . . just sayin'.

We hope the artists featured in our upcoming art show, 'What Graffiti is to New York, Street Art is to Los Angeles' will stay active, despite the group show. We want to clarify that there is no competition between shows, and a couple of the same artists are even in both. But the HuffPo author above does point out that even if there were a 'street art market crash' and most pieces would lose value, the 'major' pieces by the biggest artists will retain their worth. And the way that we have approached the show, we have tried to do so in a way that, to borrow 2wenty's reference, doesn't break the piggy bank. We have tried to hand pick the best artists who are doing the most interesting things on the streets. And we our using our knowledge that we have of the scene to curate the artists who really will take it to the next level, and avoid that 'market crash'.

If the LabArt show is about making money on the scene, ours is completely different. We will have some amazing artwork for sale at the show, but the biggest thing we are trying to sell is the idea the Los Angeles is the home of street art. From the title it is clear that we are trying to stake ground so that if our show goes well, it will be a great thing for everyone in scene, and will take it to the next level, without, as it were, breaking the bank.

And all this from a very impressive conceptual piece from 2wenty, who we are thrilled to have in our show.

To all the artists out there, stay up~


***UPDATE- Apparently the piggy bank and the hammer were ripped down after only one day on the wall. It doesn't appear to be buffed, but was either ripped down by someone who liked the piece, or someone who didn't like the piece so much that they tore it down.***