I’ve been wondering a lot lately about items on top of bus shelters. People throw all manner of things up there – keys, shoes, full cans of beer... and more often in North London, guerrilla art. It’s amazing what you see when riding on the top deck of a double-decker. A piece of turf in the shape of a heart, a model UFO, plasticine balls stuck with toothpicks and florescent yellow cotton buds. I saw my favourite yesterday: a mouse-sized table and chairs laid out for tea.
The joy of these latter items – as opposed to drunken acts of vandalism – is that you feel as if you’ve glimpsed something no-one else has. After all, there is no way of seeing these things unless you’re on the top deck of the bus. And, of course, you’re glad to be entertained by something other than the daily commute.
Whenever I ask my fellow bus-riding pals about this phenomenon, they’re equally perplexed. “What are they?!” is the usual reply. “They seem to be evolving!” said an alarmed colleague.
A quick search online reveals that people are calling them “spudniks” because some of the items are potatoes – stuck with toothpicks and decorated with fluorescent paint. They come in all shapes and sizes, colours and variations on the materials used. They seem to serve no purpose other than creating a buzz, just as the anonymous Banksy did. It’s far more thought-provoking, subtle and involving than a billboard or a poster. People don’t want to be treated like sheep, but they do want to be involved in something exclusive, covert, ahead of the crowd, and ultimately, cool.
Nightclubs have already cottoned on to this idea. Walk around Old Street tube and you’ll see adverts stencil spray-painted on the pavement. This “street art” approach to advertising is now being utilised by some mainstream companies – Nokia has started using pavement stickers around cities and SwitchMaestro picked up on the idea when they stuck hundreds of pictures of coins on the floor of Liverpool Street Station, with the catchphrase, “The new cash”.
It’s only a matter of time until someone reveals what this latest bus stop phenomenon is all about. And if not, it still gives me a little thrill when I spot one on the way home.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/may/07/art
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Comments
1. On 20/10/2008 at 12.27pm Mike wrote:
Street art is a fantastic way to get your message across and one that should be used more often. As for the bus stop art, it wouldn't have appeared to reached Edinburgh yet but I shall keep my eye out!
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