Viral Art is an online book about the intersection between street art, graffiti and the internet. Written and arranged by RJ Rushmore, the ebook explores the internet’s long shadow casted over contemporary artists gaining exposure. Rushmore’s releasing it here. In a recent interview with Graffuturism he said he’s “frustrated by the lack of scholarly material out there about street art and graffiti.” Although I love his popular site Vandalog, I’m still weighing in on his perspective. He raises some interesting points like, “You can’t understand why a style is the way it is without history, and there’s little point in history without explaining why it matters.” Rushmore is a pretty young dude. His intentions are undeniable. He spent two years researching this book and he’s not getting loot for his efforts. He’s knowledgable and his passionate take on contemporary street art and graffiti is refreshing, but I cringe at his lack of acknowledging the social economic context surrounding graffiti. Granted, I haven’t read his book yet. May be my instinctual reflexes are misguiding me. We’ll see.
You can read his ebook for free tomorrow at Viral Art. Here’s an excerpt.
