If you aren’t aware of the current infatuation with street art and graffiti, well, you have definitely got to get out more often. From Oscar-nominated “Exit Through The Gift Shop” to MOCA’s “Art In The Streets” in Los Angeles, graffiti has taken a prominent position (again) in pop culture. But now technology enables all of us (with an iPhone, at least) to bring out our inner street artist.
The San Francisco Arts Commission has tapped McCann SF to create a free iTunes app that lets graffiti artists tag their work using their iPhone. They can also share these techno-tags through email or social media share functions baked into the app. The Arts Commission hopes to support creativity while taking a chunk out of an annual graffiti clean-up cost of $22 million.
Using the iPhone’s accelerometer and augmented reality, GraffCity turns iPhones and iPod Touchs into virtual aerosol cans. Artists can “tag” any wall or surface, duplicating the experience of real-world tagging. And with two modes, different brush options and filters, plus an AR (augmented reality) view, street artists can make their mark without worrying about the mess and hassle.
The app will be incorporated into San Francisco’s StreetSmARTS and Where Art Lives programs, two initiatives that support the creativity of established and emerging urban artists. The question is: Who will really be “expressing their creativity” with this iPhone app — urban taggers who have decided to put down the can or hipsters who want to impress Facebook friends and co-workers?