Max
Zorn is a painter that creates his illustrations with an incredible technique –
packing tape. The artist was inspired by the street lights in Amsterdam and
wanted to come up with urban art that used nighttime as a setting. In his own
words, “there’s a lot of great street art by day, but it disappears after dark”.
Street art, like
hip hop, is heavily influenced by convergence culture. It gives old mediums of
art new life by giving it context that is reflective of the world at the
moment. Max Zorn’s “urban art” wasn’t create out of thin air.
Firstly, graffiti
is one of hip hop’s founding elements that defined the culture. The claustrophobic
architecture of the hoods associated with hip hop birth place (lack of gardens,
playgrounds etc.) encouraged artists to use the walls as their canvases. Tagging
buildings and streets with art work is an ancient technique but has been associated
and developed within hip hop. The sense of pride and ownership of a section of the city and how viewers react to it is very "hip hop".
Secondly,
Max’s work reminds me of the oranges and
browns that were popularized in the 70s. Many art pieces that used these colour
palettes were made for funk, jazz, & urban music or culture.
It’s hard to deny
the groovy funk influence in an image like this.
Overall, I think
Max Zorn is a unique and interesting painter. Using an old medium like packing
tape to create unique art pieces is a great niche and its interactions with
light and the city make it even more incredible for the audiences viewing it. Packing tape is a unique way to "tag" the city and make an impact on his surroundings
