Love Letter: Tape Bandits

On October 17^th, I posted an entry called “Street Art in a Box” about a piece of geometric graffiti rendered in tape instead of paint. I stumbled upon it by accident when I was walking about town. I apologize for not crediting its maker as I did not know who it was at the time. It turns out the artist is Aakash Nihalani, and now I am seeing him and his work EVERYWHERE. Does it count as graffiti if it is commissioned for say, a living room?

 

I like his statement: “We live in a big city of big boxes with little windows peeking onto other big boxes next to smaller ones…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s important to point out that when I was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design in the late 80’s, someone there beat Mr. Nihalani to the punch in the tape department. Michael Townsend created murals with tape, renegade-style, around Providence and the RISD campus. Although his work is much more figurative and sweet, he asked the same tricky question: “When is graffiti illegal and wrong, and when is it public art and a welcome addition to the world?” Michael has since lassoed his work into a collective called Tape Art that is now hired to work with schools, prisons, and hospitals.

I guess you can’t help but ask the age old question: “Are there really any new ideas out there?" And does it really matter? Hats off to Aakash Nihalani. He is certainly making works that make me stop, stare, and now blog about -- even if he wasn’t the first (and I’m sure not the last) to draw on the world with a roll of tape.

 

D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[alex]

ooh, i love it! i'm tolerant of graffiti (after spending years in london where it's of a high standard) so am not one to answer your question about when graffiti is wrong and when it is welcome (not that i think you were specifically asking), and maybe there aren't new ideas (or maybe there are?) but let's not get caught up on the idea - sometimes it's the execution that counts. and this stuff looks awesome.

[david stark]

Hey Alex.

It is pretty cool, right? I am dying to have tape art all over my house!

I hope all is well with you. Great to hear from you. And keep reading.

D.