Image via Complex Original
Increasingly, street art is not only a temporary medium that lives outside until its painted over or succumbs to the elements. Instead, it's finding a second and permanent life online, specifically through social media. Take Banksy's "Better Out Than In" residency, which the anonymous artist himself distributed through Instagram, posting a new work each day in October 2013. Many people only experienced Banksy's pieces through the Internet, and even if other murals, graffiti, or installations are still called "street art," they're consumed more widely by more people online than they ever would be in person.
Because many street artists are aware that their work will gain popularity through Twitter and Facebook, it's reasonable to suggest that they create works with this in mind. INSA, for one, is a street artist who's creating specifically for the Internet. His GIF-fiti is an artistic style that combines murals and GIFs. Others may consider how to make their work more shareable during the creation process in order to grow their fanbase. With many street artists selling work in galleries these days, a strong following also means increased sales.
Recently Tumblr published a list of the most popular posts about street art. The list represents a wide variety of artists with pieces all over the world, and many of them are unified by common trends. We identified these trends to determine What Makes Street Art Go Viral. Our list begs the question if these trends are just occurrences we have noticed or if, in the Internet age, artists are using these trends purposefully to bolster their reputations.
Site-Specific Pieces
One of the most important considerations for any street artist is placement, and pieces that cleverly interact with their environments are sure to receive a lot of attention. French street artist Levalet is the master of this technique, positioning his black-and-white painted people so they hang from scaffolding and jump through windows. Tumblr's list includes designer and street artist Aiden Glynn's “toon bombing,” with 30,559 notes, where the artist has turned items on the streets of Toronto into silly characters. Banksy also makes an appearance on Tumblr's list on a post with 65,901 notes that reveals different examples of this technique. In his outdoor artwork, Banksy's simple outline turns a bushy hedge into a woman's private parts. Site-specific installations like these may be so popular online because they transform everyday surroundings into entirely new creations, making us re-think how we look at the world.
Text-Based Murals
One thing street art has taken from graffiti is the quick and simple way of conveying a message through writing. Everything from declarations of love to words of wisdom you might find scrawled in a bathroom tend to make waves online. Powerful sayings written across the city are hard to deny. Take Maser's mural Don't Be Afraid (75,393 notes), which offers words of encouragement to passersby, encouragement that's easily shareable on the Internet.
GIFs
INSA is the street artist responsible for starting GIF-iti, an art form that exists both online and on the street where murals are painted more than once, photographed, and then turned into GIFs that reveal their progression. Tumblr's list includes one GIF piece by NemO (52,851 notes) where the digital loop creates a slightly gross cycle of birth and destruction. GIFs, which are the perfect format for viral potential, give street art shareable power even after murals have been destroyed or painted over.
Messages About Feminism and Sexuality
Many street artists have used their medium to deliver powerful social and political messages. With 53,683 notes, Sugarbones' Valentines Day candies deliver an example of female empowerment. A series by Shelby Criswell shows drawings about sexuality and gender norms in a series of stickers (109,130 notes). Another popular project is Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's series of wheatpastes that battle catcalls with images of strong women and captions like “Stop Telling Women to Smile.” Delivering these messages on the streets makes them visible both IRL and online where they're distribution just increases their power.
Portraits of Icons
Of course, iconic portraits always have viral potential, and the one of Biggie Smalls in Tumblr's list is no exception with 53,912 notes. Hip-hop has always been a big part of street art culture, and Biggie is a staple in the visual language of the medium. The Biggie mural at New York's 5 Pointz graffiti mecca was one of the most iconic pieces that was destroyed when the building was torn down this year. Danielle Mastrion, and artist who worked at 5 Pointz, has painted Biggie more than once.
Optical Illusions
Optical illusions and op art always see traffic online, and street art that plays tricks on your eyes is no different. Edgar Mueller and Manfred Stader are two artists who often work in paint and chalk to transform sidewalks into scenes of gaping caverns and terrifying sinkholes. In the Tumblr list, a post with 103,009 notes shows an empty parking space converted into a tunnel to hell. Playing with site-specificity, this op art piece is a double banger online.
Hyperrealism
Like optical illusion pieces of street art, hyperreal murals have the power to mesmerize. Jeaze Oner's seductive mouth has 148,627 notes on the Tumblr list. More recently, a hyperrealistic piece from Art Basel Miami Beach by Bikismo gained a lot of attention online because it depicts a reflective surface that actually seems to mirror its surroundings.
Crowdsourced Projects
Crowdsourcing has taken off in the digital age, so it's no surprise that crowdsourced happenings gain popularity online (even if they're not hosted on the Internet). Candy Chang's crowdsourced street art project, “I Wish This Was,” asks people to write on stickers what they wish was in place of the structure where the stickers stand. The project has 34,241 notes on Tumblr, and it's easy to see how it could take off in digital form with a hashtag.