Ephemera

June 28, 2007 2:18 AM

'Graffiti' even a grandma could love. (flickr flash slide show link). (Same flickr set, regular view.) Even if it isn't Pablo Picasso, my own flashlight 'drawings' never came out this well.
posted by From Bklyn (25 comments total)

A wonderful post! The "bear" made me squeal with delight, for instance.

I used to do sparkler "drawings" (I guess some of those involve sparklers of some sort, judging by this photo), but after setting fire to a rug I left that area to the pros.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:59 AM on June 28, 2007

Hey that was pretty cool.
posted by gomichild at 3:42 AM on June 28, 2007

Beautiful. Thanks for posting.
posted by The Ultimate Olympian at 3:43 AM on June 28, 2007

Not sure what this is exactly, but it isn't graffiti. Even though graffiti is, by it's nature, ephemeral and semi-permanent, it surely has to last long enough to get *some* viewers. It also, IMO, has to exist in a public or semi-public arena (thus transforming all those graffiti 'artists' into plain old 'artists' and graphic designers.

I mean, if this stuff counts, why can't we have conceptual graffiti, where I exhibit 'We don't need another anti-hero': a postcard describing my idea of a dipper, rifling through the purses and handbags of Women of World War II

Also, where are the classics of the canon? His knob and two balls with a single globule of jism spurting from the tip? The quadraplegic nude, urinating into a handle-less chamberpot?

Guy needs to learn to walk before he can run.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:44 AM on June 28, 2007

I spent all evening working writing my name. Yes, I just self-linked. Nail me up.
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:58 AM on June 28, 2007

(the bear is pretty awesome, but I like the arrow... they must have had a roller of some sort to keep it that straight...)
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:59 AM on June 28, 2007

totally geil. the bear was great!
posted by Etta Hollis at 4:23 AM on June 28, 2007

Thanks for this. How did he get the dotted pattern? Also, I can't help but notice that some of these are indistinguishable from screensavers.
posted by anotherpanacea at 4:36 AM on June 28, 2007

they must have had a roller of some sort to keep it that straight...
I was thinking that maybe he held his arm out or at an angle using the railing as support to keep it straight.
posted by chillmost at 4:36 AM on June 28, 2007

Seems like you could do the same thing with a lot less effort using Photoshop.
posted by DU at 4:48 AM on June 28, 2007

Awesome. I liked the guy walking the dog/monster.
posted by desjardins at 4:55 AM on June 28, 2007

I think this one is great. Nice find.
posted by handee at 5:16 AM on June 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

Some of those are just stunning.
posted by empath at 5:23 AM on June 28, 2007

Great idea, superbly executed. I love it.
posted by Acey at 5:47 AM on June 28, 2007

Can someone explain to me how this is done? Is it just a long exposure? I've always been curious but I've never learned the specifics.
posted by Nedroid at 6:11 AM on June 28, 2007

We used to do this in college but with acid instead of cameras.
posted by The Straightener at 6:46 AM on June 28, 2007 [3 favorites]

nuyce
posted by rare_g at 6:58 AM on June 28, 2007

Seems like you could do the same thing with a lot less effort using Photoshop.

Oh my God - someone please tell them right away! We can save them some future embarrassment. Imagine, all this time wasted!
posted by ORthey at 7:15 AM on June 28, 2007

Awesome find! I've been doing a lot of night shots lately (a few of them in this flickr slide show - self link obviously) and have been considering adding some light-painting to them.

Although this style is more quirky than what I want to do, it's excellent, and challenges me to see what I can come up with.

Thanks, From Bklyn!
posted by The Deej at 7:44 AM on June 28, 2007

Cool. The dotted patterns are flashing LEDs.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:41 AM on June 28, 2007

Nedroid: Time exposure. Camera fixed, as on a tripod. Must be done in semi-darkness so as not to overexpose the background. You can also carry around a flash and light up various parts of the scene, including multiple exposures of yourself.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:45 AM on June 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

The Picasso pics were done in darkness with a flash or two to illuminate and "freeze" the master artist.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:47 AM on June 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

We used to do this in college but with acid instead of cameras.

Finally, now I know why they were all so eerily familiar...
posted by From Bklyn at 9:23 AM on June 28, 2007

(squeals!) handee's find will be my background for a while...
posted by lester the unlikely at 10:59 AM on June 28, 2007

I tried this once, long ago, on film with a flashlight, but never got anything close to this ... truly amazing.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:10 PM on June 28, 2007