WHAT IS ART CREEPING?

OFF THE WALL AND INTO THE STORE

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

Art-creeping at its most primal / Photographed by Yoan Aviv, Japan

The Art Creeping mascot (hand carved from a pencil eraser)

Rubber Stamp used to stamp display boxes in a toy store by IWASHERE

unstructured art with blatant structure: these cards were left in shopping malls

Many thanks to Kalynn Campbell for
 his ongoing participation on this blog

UPDATE: ART CREEPS IN is now an archive.

* This blog will remain up to serve as an archive of art creeping *

Your art creeps into the Art Museum...

- Art creeping from an anon art creeper in Sweden

"How many artists out there will ever get a chance to show their art in a major Art Museum? Not many, the power of choice is in a few curators' hands, and they often exhibit the same famous artists' over and over.

It's time for some guerrilla art in the museum, because art creepers belong there just as much as the established artists.

This is a democratic art act and we are staking our art claim!"

If the core concept behind all art creeping is to engage people in an art act, willingly or unconsciously, then by 'participating' they become part of the artwork. The participant maybe inspired, amused or even feel disapproval. All of these things reflect the power of ART. What better setting for art creeping than in the Art Museum gift shop?!?

This anonymous art creeping friend made postcards of both the Art Creeper mascot logo and their own art and they put a stack of each in the Art Museum gift shop for sale as 'official museum' postcards without any approval of the staff.

Will someone try to buy them? 

Will the shop notice the cards as a guerrilla art act or will they actually sell them? 

If they are seen as guerrilla art, how will the conversation go between the customer and the staff?"

The Gothenburg Art Museum in Sweden 

The Museum gift shop and the scene of art creeping

This art creepers' own art on a postcard, placed in the Museum rack

The ART CREEPER logo as a museum postcard

Comfort Pillow

ART CREEPS ONTO THE TRAM

From an Art Creeper in Sweden:
I had the idea of giving away comfort, consolation, for someone to find in a hard environment. A small pillow you find and carry with you like a security blanket, reminding you of home and warmth, it gives comfort.

I made two pillows, I tied one onto a seat on a tram in Gothenburg Sweden and left it there for someone to find.

My hope is that YOU who finds it will share your thoughts here about the pillow then maybe pass it on to someone else to give comfort to. Add a text or a message, or a picture if you want.

COMMENTS:
Hej Viktoria, jättebra initiativ: tror att många kommer att uppskatta det du har gjort. Jan on Comfort Pillow

Produce stamp

   ART CREEPS INTO THE PRODUCE SECTION

This is an Art Creeping piece by Kalynn Campbell of Los Angeles, California USA.
His idea centered around the idea that food bought at the market, especially produce, has been handled by strangers (maybe with questionable intent) prior to being bought and eaten.

"I printed a dozen 'stickers' (just white printing paper), cut them in shape and lightly coated the back with honey - sticking them to a piece of wax paper which I carried into the store in my back pocket. The hard part was putting them on the fruit without drawing attention from nosy mango buyers.
It's pretty subtle and most likely overlooked by the consumer, but I wanted to match the original label as close as I could and let the art 'blend in with the crowd'. For those who do notice the counterfeit labels, it will be a reminder they really don't know who has handled their food."

 

the art label printed out

 

art labels on the left, the real label on the right

 

final destination 

Vanity can be good

ART CREEPS INTO YOUR NEW CLOTHES TO TAKE AWAY YOUR GUILT

From an Art Creeper in Sweden:

The idea behind this creeping piece is partly about "Jantelagen", a concept deep-rooted in Scandinavians telling them they should not think they are anything special because that would be vanity.

Small cards of this ink drawing were placed in pockets of new clothing at several clothing stores in Sweden - it says to the finder "IT'S OK TO BE VAIN".

 It is a reminder that we are all beautiful and it is OK to feel beautiful. It's OK to buy that new outfit if you makes you feel good. Sometimes it's important to feel special.

The WOW! Signal

ART CREEPS IN FROM OUTER SPACE 

Art is about communication.
Behold a tiny voice on the wall, hand-carved from a pencil eraser.

This art creeping piece is a symbol of communication and making contact. 
The sequence of letters and numbers is from the "WOW! Signal", an actual signal of contact received from space in 1977. 

It now speaks from the wall of a 'Radio Shack' (what better place?) where it was stamped by an anonymous creeper.