Heart Art // "We the People" Art

Happy Memorial Day! 

The Tarnished series by Saber

All Photos from Saberone.com

Saber has long been known for his graffiti work in Los Angeles, CA. He become legend when he painted the largest graffiti piece ever on a cement bank in the LA River. He more recently has begun to exhibit his fine art and created some major controversy with the Tarnished series (above) and has been featured in major exhibitions at Street Cred (Pasadena Museum of Art), Art of the Street (MoCA) and at Opera Gallery (New York).

Controversy over the Tarnished series stems from a misinterpretation of the work, in that critics felt like the graffiti was defiling the American Flag. Saber has quite a different take on it and finds it to be more empowering then disgraceful. I could not help but to be reminded of Jasper Johns' paintings of the American flag when I first saw this series from Saber. On Saber's blog I found this quote that I think sums it up nicely: "Like Jasper Johns before him, Saber seems to have grasped the endless diversity of meaning that can be found in the symbol of our nation." Embracing the "we the people" movement, rather than a lash out toward America as a whole.

What do you think of Saber's work? And the integration of graffiti into fine art?  I personally love the juxtaposition it creates. Graffiti is art and I find it far more interesting when displayed in a fine art medium. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Enjoy!