Growing up on the outskirts of the city of San Francisco, American artist Barry McGee is making another revolution in the art world. His work is reminiscent of what in modern society is called "vandalism": McGee smashes and flips cars, paints walls with spray cans, paints graffiti, sticks prints, and puts it all on display in some of the most famous museums in the United States.
The first creative steps of the American artist were drawings on the walls of the outskirts of San Francisco, where McGee lived with his family as a teenager. In those distant 80s, he was known as a graffiti master under the pseudonym "Twist". But after receiving a classical education at the Art Institute of San Francisco, Barry McGee began to create, already using his own name.
When, ten years ago, Barry was first invited to participate in an exhibition of one of the leading New York museums, the artist decided to arrange an unusual hooligan installation. He painted several overturned trucks with graffiti, creating a "work of art" in the middle of the museum exposition, more reminiscent of an act of street vandalism.
Working on this performance, the artist clearly followed the lead of the "mainstream", with its main stated goal "to always ignore society." And, oddly enough, it worked, the trucks overturned by him found a lot of fans among lovers of modern art.
McGee's attitude to graffiti, like many other masters, is completely traditional - the problems of his work cover a wide range of issues, from survival "on the street" to the harmful effects of capitalism and luxurious life. The artist is enraged that public places are dominated by advertisements for the numerous services generated by the consumer society. Carrying out his actions, he seeks to win back the streets that belong to the people.
McGee differs from most graffiti artists, and artists in general, in their technical capabilities. He is a virtuoso draftsman, whose cartoons reach the same level as the work of such a modern master as George Grosz.
Most of McGee's work can be seen on the streets of New York. Made in black and white colors, they evoke sympathy and a desire for change in people passing by. Importantly, Barry McGee does not turn his "art vandalism" into a hot commodity, leaving him the opportunity to be only a way of self-expression.
Most graffiti drawings have no place in museums, because they were "born" on the streets, and their short life entirely belongs to the streets. But McGee managed to find that "golden mean" in this technique, adapting it for modern museums.
