iMedia: Street Chalk Drawings

          Sidewalk chalk... ah, to be a kid again. I remember back in the day, I used to spend hours out in the summer heat in front of my Chicago home drawing stick figures, animals and suns on the sidewalk with my older brother. But this seemingly childish medium is not just for fingerpainters and bedwetters.

        There is a growing movement in the art world known as "street art" and while street art has been around since cities themselves, only in the past decade has the art world started to acknowledge street art as a real art form and not just graffiti. Graffiti can be very cool looking, of course, but usually is a way of marking gang territory or spreading malicious word. Street art has meaning. Most street artists make sure that their "tags" are in places in cities that need "brightening", in other words, look better than they did before. They make sure not to damage beautiful architecture and classic buildings. Most street artists use subliminal messages, word play or creative images to get across societal messages.

        One growing form of street art is Street Chalk Drawing. Street artists specializing in chalk drawing will reserve blocks of sidewalk normally in busy areas, but ones with realtively large areas to walk such as town squares or mall sidewalk. This is so people don't walk on their work. Chalk artists can make money from either admiring donaters (the same way a street performer would make money) or being commissioned by the city. Much of chalk drawings are done in the form of optical illusions that look as if their is a hole in the sidewalk or that an object is popping up from the sidewalk. Others are made to look as if their is a textile draped on the concrete and some are similar to murals.

        I think the street art movement is a good thing. It is a good way to spread positive messages and as long as they are put in the right places can beautify a city. Plus, being the rebel that I am, I'm always down for sticking it to the man. Chalk drawings especially I am in support of as they are fun, look nice and provide a source of income for local artists.