Urban Art Chicago

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Taboo Art Form Taught By Local Artist
Students get hands on experience in graffiti and street art, legally.

CHICAGO, IL (Press Release) June 4th, 2009 --  A local graffiti artist, Revise CMW, is gearing up for his next round of Street Art Classes starting on June 14th at The Galaxie, an art and dance studio located in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.  

The classes, which are held on Sundays from 3 to 5pm, are usually filled with people from all walks of life, from art school students to curious thirty-somethings, according to Revise.  “I try and tell students on their first day to forget everything they think graffiti and street art is, because chances are that their perceptions of who we are and what we do, are probably wrong,” he says.  Revise says he likes to challenge his students and push them to be creative while not worrying about how the final product will look.  “When you’re just starting out, it’s really just more about practice.  Everybody is going to mess up, I used to mess up all the time.  But that’s how you learn, it’s how you improve and find out your strengths and weaknesses,” he elaborates.   

Street art is usually defined as any art placed in the public way, including posters, murals, stencil fills, and stickers, while graffiti art is confined to art pieces created with spray paint.  But both have gained more prestige in the last couple of years thanks in part to a few street and graffiti artists who have gone on to achieve critical acclaim, complete with book deals and world tours.  A famous presidential campaign poster was even designed by a street artist. “What some people don’t realize, is that art isn’t only hanging in museums and galleries, it can also be on that colorful rooftop you pass on the Red Line,” says local art critic Ryan Waxenburg.

In Revise’s class, the students start out by learning just exactly what graffiti and street art culture is about.  The terminology, styles, techniques, and various methods of application including spray can art, wheat pasting, and sticker art are also glossed over.  The students are then each supplied with spray paint and taught basic lettering, design, and can control, all of which have their own subtle nuances and learning curves.  “I didn’t know what to expect, but by the end of the course I made my first ‘piece,’ and now my roommate wants me to spray paint one in our living room!” chuckles Jennifer Corbridge, a former student.

Revise is a co-founder of Urban Art Chicago, the company behind the Street Art Classes.  Their next round of Street Art Classes starts Sunday, June 14th from 3 to 5pm, and runs for 4 Sundays ending on July 12th (no class Sunday, July 5th).  The Galaxie is located at 2603 W Barry Ave, Chicago IL 60618. The cost is $125.00 which includes the cost of most materials (students are just asked to bring a marker and sketchbook.) You can sign up and find out more information at:
http://www.urbanartchicago.com