OFF THE WALL AND INTO THE STORE
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| Hand carved by artist IWASHERE from a pencil eraser and stamped on stickers |
ART-CREEPING: Unlike street art, art-creeping is found indoors, imitating the objects it surrounds; labels, signs, tags, stamps - even products - from toys to clothing.
Art exists in many forms and can be found in many places, but it is especially poignant when it is found unexpectedly, like on a sugar packet in a greasy diner or in the pocket of a garment in a clothing store. Such 'found' art is the work of an art-creeper. At the core, art-creeping’s roots are embedded in street and performance art (and obviously a bit of art pranking), basically art borne of - and for - thought, a form of conceptual art that becomes a subtle act of guerrilla art.
"Art can't happen in a vacuum, but it can appear on one"
From stamps carved from pencil erasers and you-name-it craft arts to hand drawn, painted and printed imagery done on every surface imaginable, the medium of art-creeping takes on many forms. Only one hard and fast rule applies to art creeping; that the work, the message, be left for an unsuspecting finder. Art-creeping pieces can be found in banal, common-place forums (an elevator, a shoe store, a grocery store). The more juxtaposed the location, the better. The 'goal' is to evoke some level of thought or emotion within the person who stumbles upon the piece - be it surprise, shock, confusion or simply amusement. To hopefully elicit some reaction on the part of the finder. Although the art-creeper rarely sees the fruit of his or her labor, the thrill lies in the concept and execution of the piece.
(For years the movement lacked a name, it was not fully street art and it was not fully performance art. American artist Kalynn Campbell coined the term 'Art-Creeping' in 2012)
What separates Art-Creeping from Street Art?
Street Art is exactly that, art seen and found on the street - Posters on walls, stencil art on sidewalks and graffiti on billboards. Art-Creeping is mainly found in public places INDOORS and often the art imitates the items it surrounds - stamps and labels, signs - even products.
There is growing global movement of artists who participate in art-creeping, yet it largely goes undocumented. I hope with this blog I can begin to create an archive of art-creeping moments as well as inspire future creepers.
Happy creeping you creepers.
-Viktoria R.
Unfortunately, because of the times we live, there has to be a disclaimer. So listen up. Art creep
at your own risk! Art-creeping is a legal gray area at best and not
every shop owner or badged man in blue is going to understand that what
you are doing is 'ART' and not vandalism of some sort, or worse. All art
presented on this site was done at the sole risk of the individual
artist.
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  "Even Pixies' get get the blues" - Shrink art Pixies slipped into packages of Disney Pixie stickers at local stationary stores - from creeping artist IWASHERE |
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| Art-creeping at its most primal / Photographed by Yoan Aviv, Japan |
The Art Creeping mascot (hand carved from a pencil eraser)  |
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| unstructured art with blatant structure: these cards were left in shopping malls |
