Wall Markings 2 by Paul Light - Books

Wall Markings 2

By Paul Light Photography 30/09/2024

The surfaces I photograph are unintentional collages created by multiple people. These surfaces are splashes of paint, graffiti, posters and stickers on walls, doors, signs and walkways. In some cases the new additions compliment what was already there. Sometimes areas are canceled out by the new additions. Aging and weather modify these unintentional collages further creating unstructured outdoor urban art galleries. It is a spontaneous and chaotic visual conversation. This work was influenced by the painter Robert Rauschenberg and the photographer Aaron Siskind. I like how Rauschenberg would bring together very different visual elements and create a harmony between them. I like how Siskind photographed sections of flat industrial surfaces and transformed them them into abstract integrated compositions. I photograph walls where elements of street art interplay in unintended ways - i.e. graffiti that is partially covered by a torn poster, and both of these filtered by something stenciled in spray paint. I first became interested in wall markings after observing colorful graffiti on the roof my apartment building when I lived in Boston. Later I became fascinated by a torn poster on a lamp pole I frequently passed and watching it fall apart from the weather. And then there were all kinds of stenciled objects on Washington St. in Boston. When I saw the 3 combined in unintended ways I became very interested in photographing these unintentional collages.