 "Photo: Courtesy")
 "Photo: Courtesy")
Do you stop to notice event flyers taped in the windows of shops you're entering or words inscribed in the pavement underneath your shoes?
Have you ever considered messages crafted with spray paint to be a form of art?
Most people take street art for granted or see it as little more than public nuisance.
One class will challenge students to take a closer look and examine the true meaning behind the art of the street.
Folklore graduate student David Ensminger is presenting folklore 199, "Dynamic Street Art," as an out-of-the-box option for summer classes.
Ensminger said students should take the class to be culturally literate and to be more experimental with their class choices.
He believes that one of the missions of a university is to provide things that expand knowledge and break down barriers
"Go to Borders and you'll find at least two shelves of books on street art," he said.
"Why is there a disconnect between what's happening at the University and what's happening in mass culture?"
The class will focus on expressions of street art, including stencils, flyers, graffiti, stickers, murals and signs.
Ensminger wants the class to concentrate less on "art for art's sake" and be more of an exploration into the motivations of artists and the art's impact on communities.
Dynamic Street Art
| WHAT: | A 4-credit folklore class exploring graffiti, stencils, murals, stickers and more |
| WHEN: | 12 p.m, MTWR, starting July 21 |
| MORE INFO: | David Ensminger, densming@uoregon.edu |
Ensminger hopes students will find answers through his class.
He plans to invite a wide range of speakers into the classroom including folklore experts and members of law enforcement.
He will present films and articles that deal with street art and the idea of contested space.
Students can also expect to immerse themselves in context and document manifestations of local art, from markings in concrete to lost dog posters.
"Street art has been one of the most important contributions of our generations," Ensminger said. "It's all about the museum of the street."
At the end of the class, Ensminger hopes to create a virtual space that showcases what students document and discover during the term.
"Street art challenges us," he said. "There is a reason it's there."
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