STAR-POST (Art) January 2020 FINAL_STAR Post Art Jan 2020 | Page 60

local and international street artists and
artworks. While Singapore’s street art scene
is growing and receiving more recognition
and appreciation, it is also important for
students to be aware of the contemporary
issues surrounding street and public art.
Inspired!
Our test-wall. Trying the different techniques and effects of different spray caps.
street art, the difficulties and challenges he
faces as an artist and advocate. His sharing
made me realise that street art goes beyond
the aesthetics – it is a vehicle for expression
and a platform for artists to showcase their self-
identities, history, culture and even messages.
During the workshop with Zero, we picked up
ideas about tagging, creating our own unique
styles of writing and designing characters. The
highlight of the workshop was learning a new
medium – spray paint. We learnt about the
different types of spray paint, the difference
between high and low pressure, and how
using different bottle caps could help us
achieve different effects. We also tried different
techniques such as layering, blending and
cutting. As we practised using the spray paint
on an empty wall, I realised that it was not as
easy as it looked. Using the spray paint was
initially challenging for some of us as it required
good control of our fingers, hands, arms and
body.
To create our collaborative mural, each
participant had to contribute our individual
design to the wall. We started with a mock-up
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Personally, this brought about a whole
new level of appreciation for graffiti and
the collaborative spirit among street
artists.
Tag of initials and
sketch for mural.
and sketched our designs on paper.
When we were ready to transfer the
designs onto the wall, we applied the
techniques we had learnt and used
different spray caps to achieve different
effects in our artwork. Working to
continuously touch-up and clean up
the lines as we spray-painted, I realised
that a graffiti artwork involved many
layers. In addition, we also had to think
about the use of colours and addition
of elements such as clouds, bubbles,
lines and patterns. Although we may
be working on our individual designs
on the wall, we had to collectively
ensure that our designs came together
to form a seamless piece of artwork.
The experience from CAPS! has definitely
reignited my interest in street art. Working
collaboratively with a group of teacher-
artists, we will be creating a graffiti-inspired
artwork for aedge 2020 to explore this
art form even further. While we celebrate
graffiti and street art becoming a globally-
recognised medium of artistic expression,
we also need to understand its influence,
impact on society and how it is deeply
rooted in today’s visual culture. As art
educators, I feel it is important for us to
be informed and for us to keep ourselves
abreast of the art trends. We need to
constantly seek to understand different
contemporary art forms.
Application in the Classroom
While it would be quite challenging to
do graffiti in school, there are definitely
some aspects of my learning that I
would apply in my art classroom. I
would like to introduce graffiti-style
writing or tagging, where students
could learn about the creation of graffiti
lettering, allowing them to explore
their self-identities and express their
own individual styles. Processes of
mural design, application of elements
of art and principles of design as well
as composition could be introduced as
well.
I would also share with my students
the history and evolution of graffiti and
street art, and introduce to them some
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