(images via graffiti research lab, time, and treehugger)
The development of the graffiti and green movements were anything but parallel. Sure, both began as outside-the-mainstream subcultures, but the aerosol paint and urban landscapes of the graffiti world were inherently opposite to environmental stewardship. But new technology and trends in street art mean that spray paint is not the only tool in the hoodie-wearing artist’s palette. The result: street art has gone green with its practices and even its philosophy.
Reverse Graffiti
(image via ecomonkey)
British street artist Moose first came up with the idea of reverse graffiti in his hometown of Leeds. He has since taken his talents to the US. Reverse graffiti simply involves “cleaning” words and visuals into dirty walls. Authorities aren’t quite sure what to make of this, as it is not vandalism in the traditional sense.
Laser Tagging
(image via Graffiti Research Lab)
Laser graffiti is a rather new invention. Utilizing lasers, high powered projectors, and Macintosh computers, artists have been able to reach previously unreachable heights when it comes to tagging. This impermanent form of graffiti is making headway in Hong Kong, where famed tagger MC Yan has been been laser-painting some of the cities most recognizable structures.
Living Graffiti
(image via inhabitat)
Moss is the new spray paint. Artists in London, New York and Eastern Europe are using moss, which clings to surfaces and eventually spreads, to make statements about the environment and also to create unique, attention-grabbing, naturally evolving public art.
Reverse Graffiti Goes Corporate
(image via October Online)
Not only are eco-conscious street artists practicing reverse graffiti, some of the world’s biggest corporations are using this new approach to graphic art to put their logo on the street (literally). Companies like Dirty Street Advertisng are specialists at this form of guerrilla marketing. If nothing else, this offers reverse-graffiti artists a chance to fund their night jobs.
Masking Tape Art
(image via Melbourne Metblog)
This rather ingenious idea has been around for a while. Rather than using it as a kind of makeshift stencil, some artists have been using tape to actually make art. The result is interesting, non-toxic, and easy to clean up.
At the Bus Stop
(images via coolinsights and hanser ciecierski)
German design house Hanser Ciecierski shows that bus-stop art is alive and well with this award winning poster that advertises a conference about the environment in Poland.
This bus stop ad in Singapore used recycled cans are part of the visual. Unfortunately, the cans on some posters were crushed or taken, a rarity in super-strict Singapore.
Moss Graffiti
(image via inhabitat)
Artist Edina Tokodi used moss to create living graffiti in a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood. Despite the fact that it is an easily removable form of graffiti, a surprising amount of her work remains in place, untouched by authorities or residents.
Brochures
(image via Bridgitte Schuster)
This invitation card was made by Montreal-based graphic designer Bridgitte Schuster. The card was made to help advertise a conference about urbanization and the environment that was taking place in Brazil.
Street Art for Pedestrians
(image via fractal enlightenment)
Montreal-based street artist Peter Gibson began painting crosswalks as a way to protest his country’s car culture, which, according to some, has grown at the expense of more traditional means of travel, like walking. Some of Gibson’s art uses already existing traffic lines as part of the picture.
Street Calligraphy
(image via stay live and keep fresh)
Tsang Tsuo-Chio was the self-proclaimed King of Kowloon. He claimed that he found documents that prove his family owned a majority of Kowloon prior to the British take-over of Hong Kong. His work was mainly done in calligraphy-style, not typical spray-paint street art (call him an unintentionally environmentally-friendly graffiti artist). He was quite famous by the time he died in 2007.
Recycled Art
(images via Good Magazine and Oregon Live)
Graphic Designer Dylan Royal took recycling in creative directions with his college project entitled How to the a Graphic Designer without Hurting Little Bunnies.
Portland-based SCRAP (School and Community Reuse Action Project) created this ornement out of recycled material and had it hung on the White House Chrsitmas tree last holiday season.
Recycling Gets Violent
(image via Lemon Tree)
This stencil was photographed in Greece. Anarchists put an ironic twist on the whole “recycling is good” message. No matter what you think of protests, graffiti and recycling, you have to appreciate the dark humor and irony.

