RJ Rushmore Reflects on the Underbelly Project

Street art's secret 'art for arts sake' gallery on its two-year anniversary.

Photo by RJ Rushmore

RJ Rushmore wisely notes, "interacting with society in some way seems to be so much of what street art is about." The niche, too broad to be described as a "ism", form, or anything else, functions best when the intervention causes a visceral reaction in passersby. What happens then when street art's most ambitious project is largely secretive?

On the two-year anniversary of The Underbelly Project—which collected a brilliant collection of works in a disused subway tunnel completely out of public view—Rushmore has published an essay originally submitted for the project's documentary book. His reflections are clear, his thoughts begin to reconcile value in street art for art's sake. The Underbelly Project may not have the same historic ramifications as the most impressive paper architecture, but the importance of the event will remain in urban art lore for years to come.

Read RJ's full essay at Vandalog.

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