Arts Explorer #9: Guerilla Art

Art word of the Week: Line

What is a line? It can be something that you draw with a pencil that continuously flows throughout the page. It can be something to which your imagination goes with no limitations. A line can be a pattern, a shape or a reflection. Yes, a reflection; simple yet to the point. No matter what the definition, a line will always be interpreted by each unique individual. 

When applying a "line" to guerilla art, I chose a banana. A banana, to me, is a line. A line that covers the surface of a space and generally...tastes good. 

I found a banana in my house and decided to draw a face and place it outside hanging off of a tree. If I were a casual Joe walking down the street and happen to see a banana hanging off of a tree, I too would stop, look and question. My first reaction would be, "What was the person thinking wasting a really good banana?" But then I would stop and say, "What was the purpose of the banana hanging from the tree?" The possibilities could be anything and that...is something to each person's content. 

 

This is my guerilla art! The concept behind Mr.Banana Man was the idea to get someone to stop and think. I know that if it was me who was witnessing odd behaviour, I would stop....and think. So I put people to the ultimate test!

Mr.Banana Man hanging out

Children running to Mr.Banana Man

Examining

 

Removing Mr.Banana Man

Let's just say...Mr.Banana Man was eaten. These children instantly showed an interest in the weird and strange guerilla art. It was interesting to see how people reacted to Mr.Banana Man. They seemed surprised to see a banana with a smiley face hanging off of a tree. Another interesting observation was the fact that these children just ran onto the driveway of this strangers house. But the nice thing about living in a neighborhood is that everyone knows everyone. When the children ate the banana, I came out and asked them what they thought of Mr.Banana Man. They looked at me and laughed and asked me "Why is I put it there?" I answered, "Well its for my school. I wanted to see your reactions to something strange." They all got a kick out of Mr.Banana Man and are now looking forward to see him again...in the near future. 

As a future ECE educator, I plan on working with children in creating guerilla art. Its a good way to get children thinking outside the box. What is strange? What is cool? Or what will get people thinking? All these questions will get children thinking as well. Keeping an open mind about art will help in their artistic development. Not everything has to be to "the book" but rather taking something simple, like a banana, and transforming it into a piece of art.