Moose: The Original Reverse Graffiti Artist

Real name: Paul Curtis. Moose is the Granddaddy of reverse graffiti. He’s been cleaning the streets of the UK and beyond for around ten years.

Using detergent and a wire brush, the tools of many a cleaner, he works with advertisers to create innovative clean messages and slogans that inevitably turn into works of art. One of his more recent works, the Reverse Graffiti Project, was on San Francisco’s Broadway tunnel in conjunction with Green Works, to promote a plant-based cleaner.

Welcome to the world of reverse graffiti, where the artist’s weapons are cleaning materials and where the enemy is the elements: wind, rain, pollution and decay. It’s an art form that removes dust or dirt rather than adding paint. Some find it intriguing, beguiling, beautiful and imaginative, whereas others look upon it in much the same way as traditional graffiti – a complete lack of respect for the law. Reverse graffiti challenges ideals and perceptions while at the same time shapes and changes the environment in which we live, whether people think for the better, or not.

~ by Voltima on November 27, 2009.