Sticker art

Sticker art in Amsterdam

File:Label being printed in a freshly made PVC pipe in a factory in Uttar Pradesh, India.webm

A label being printed in a freshly made PVC pipe in a factory in Uttar Pradesh, India

Sticker art (also known as sticker bombing, sticker slapping, slap tagging, and sticker tagging) is a form of street art in which an image or message is publicly displayed using stickers. These stickers may promote a political agenda, comment on a policy or issue, or comprise a subcategory of Graffiti.

Stickers can be placed anywhere accessible, with a much lower risk of apprehension by officials enforcing anti–vandalism laws.

Sticker artists use a variety of label types, including inexpensively purchased and free stickers, such as the United States Postal Service's Label 228 or name tags. Label 228's are often used with hand-drawn art, and are quite hard to remove, leaving a white, sticky residue.

Sticker artists can design and print thousands of stickers at low cost using a commercial printing service or at home with a computer printer and self-adhesive labels.

Sticker art is a popular processing method to create artworks with a 3D effect. The artist cuts vinyl sheets and foam board components with a scalpel. With this components the artist glues a sticker art collage.

Sticker artists also print their designs onto adhesive vinyl, which has a strong, permanent adhesive, is waterproof, and generally fade resistant. A variant type of adhesive vinyl, called "destructible", is used by some artists. Destructible vinyl decals are primarily used as tamper indicators on equipment and shipping containers. The difficult–to–remove nature of this material is attractive to sticker artists, including B.N.E. and Obey Giant.

Artist Cristina Vanko refers to her "I am Coal" project as "smart vandalism." Vanko uses stickers to identify objects that are coal powered, spreading awareness of global climate change.

The artist Cindy Hinant created a series of projects from 2006-2009 that combined the tradition of sticker collecting and sticker bombing in works that reflected on feminine representations in popular culture.

Sticker artists often trade their work with each other in order to expand distribution. An artist's stickers may be distributed worldwide and end up adhered in places they themselves have never been to. These trades are sometimes arranged personally or through social networking sites, an example being "Stick My World" a bombing series organized by Omino71.

• Smear Sticker.png

  A sticker by Smear photographed in Los Angeles, CA in 2006

• ABOVE stickers in Portland, Oregon 2011.jpg

  The artist Above is known for applying stickers in high density patterns.

• Stickerart.jpg

  Sticker art in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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  Street Art in Dixon, CA taken in 2012

• Street art sticker Ottawa Canada 2011.jpeg

  An example of sticker art in Ottawa, Canada.

• Goldenstash.jpeg

  A Goldenstash sticker in Cambridge, MA

See also

• Culture jamming
• Flyposting
• Graffiti
• Guerilla art
• Papier-mâché
• Stencil street art
• Street art
• Street installation
• Street poster art
• Street art sculptures
• Wheatpaste

Further reading

• IZASTIKUP:A Unique Collection of Stickers Compiled by Bo130, Microbo and The Don. Drago Media (2005) ISBN 978-88-88493-33-6
• Claudia Walde (MadC): Sticker City. The Paper Graffiti Generation (Street Graphics / Street Art). Thames & Hudson, 2007. ISBN 978-0-500-28668-5
• PEEL: The Art of the Sticker by Dave & Holly Combs. Mark Batty Publisher (2008). ISBN 0-9795546-0-8
• Stickers: Stick Em' Up by Mike Dorrian & David Recchia. Thames & Hudson (2002). ISBN 978-1-86154-247-2
• Skateboard Stickers by Mark Munson & Steve Cardwell. Laurence King Publishing (2004). ISBN 1-85669-379-1

External links

• Live New Orleans webcam with sticker art