Street Art Graffiti Painting Drawing Urban Original Cartoon Signed Pop Smear GPK

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Street Art Graffiti Painting Drawing Urban Original Cartoon Signed Pop Smear GPK:
$1.99

\"For years Cristian Gheorghiu craved the thrill of the chase. Spray-paint can in hand, he lived on the edge, always a step ahead of the law. His canvas was L.A.\'s lampposts, brick walls and concrete riverbeds where he scrawled ragged images and his own nickname, \"Smear\"- probably thousands of times. The graffiti made him a subculture sensation\"

- Los Angeles Times

The piece you are offerding on is a handmade, one of a kind, work of art by: Cristian \"SMEAR\" Gheorghiu

1st Series, card 5 of the new ongoing CrudeCards series. This card/painting can be framed and hung on a wall or it can just be left as is and kept as you would a trading card.

Title: Getting In That 1980\'s Garbage Pail Kids Vibe

Mixed Media ( graphite, paper collage, Scotch Tape and grease pencil) on piece of found Cardboard.

Size: Approx 5\"x 3 1/2\"

About the artist: SMEAR is a legendary Los Angeles graffiti artist that has been active since the late 1980\'s.

Here is an excerpt from the book; Shepard Fairey Inc. Artist/ Professional/ Vandal, by art history professor G. James Daichendt, that showcases the contrasts in the two artists (SMEAR and Fairey\'s) art and methods, in a well written and insightful way that serves as a great abbreviated breakdown of what SMEAR and his art are about:

\"The dark underbelly and subculture of graffiti and street art has its own honor code and set of politics. Lurking in the shadows of this world is an artist known as Smear. Cristian Gheorghiu, a.k.a. Smear, is well respected across these borders. The Los Angeles Times followed him after a high profile arrest and civil lawsuit filed by the LA city attorney\'s office (against Smear and ten alleged members of the Metro Transit Assassins [MTA] crew) over an infamous graffiti tag that was nearly a football field in length. The charges were eventually dismissed, after many raids on his house and a court case that didn\'t hold water. Smear\'s story is particularly apt for a comparison with Fairey because Smear creates with a sense of earnestness and urgency that comes from displacement and a need to be heard.

Smear\'s use of the streets appears to be fundamentally different than Fairey\'s in inspiration, aesthetics, and application. Think of a cross between an abstract expressionist painter and a graffiti artist - that is Smear. Smear grew up in ethnically diverse East Hollywood, and turned to writing in the streets as the only way to express himself in a city that seemed overwhelming. He states, \"My work is instinctual...savage...it comes from a more personal and darker place...I create to release pent-up emotions.\" There is a rawness in work by artists like Smear that is honest and seems very personal. The streets were the only venue to say something and to acknowledge an existence, and Smear reveals this context in himself by scratching his name and character onto anything he can.

Fairey, in contrast, is more planned, researched, and polished. He is more about style and less about unique voice. This disparity is most evident in Smear\'s tag, imagery, and fine art, which is quite raw and individual in contrast to to Fairey\'s slick and clean aesthetic, which can be reproduced by others. This aesthetic, of course, has led Fairey into many collections and museum exhibitions. Fairey\'s work can be called beautiful, well composed, and precisely executed. Smear\'s work (although it has been included in many shows) is tougher to read, more expressionistic, and rougher around the edges; it has a dangerous and unpredictable look to it. Compared side by side, they differ in everything from the elements and principles of design to their conceptual messages.

Fairey is similar to Smear, however, in that he desires to to make an impact with his art. Smear did so for a release, while in contrast Fairey used street art and the public sphere to further his own artistic message/ experiment for maximum impact.\"

SMEAR lives and works in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

For further information on SMEAR, Google: Cristian Smear Gheorghiu