Graffiti Research Lab
For decades technology enthusiast have followed a certain philosophy when it came to knowledge: Share it with your peers. In the 1980’s, the Free Software Foundation took this philosophy and set it forth in a software license called the General Public License (GPL). Now millions around the world develop powerful software using the GPL license. These individuals have a strong belief that software should be open and free to the public. Now we are seeing a new group of individuals being attracted to this philosophy, namely, street graffiti artists.
The Graffiti Research Lab has been created by Eyebeam OpenLab to cater to this new breed of urban artists using Open Source technologies. The Graffiti Research Lab has already created and published instructions on how to make LED Trhowies. As it has been explained at the Graffiti Research Lab, “LED Throwies are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. A Throwie consists of a lithium battery, a 10mm diffused LED and a rare-earth magnet taped together. Throw it up high and in quantity to impress your friends and city officials.”
The Graffiti Research Lab has also published instruction on what they call, “Electro-Graf.” Electro-Graf is quite impressive. It consists of a electronic circuit painted onto a wall with conductive paint with attached LED lights. Imagine a tag on a wall with flashing lights all around and you have an example of Electro-Graf.
Video of LED Throwies being tossed in NYC
The future of graffiti might be very different from what we see today. Flashing lights, streaming video and audio on walls might be a common scene in big cities a few years from now. How do you think graffiti will change in the upcoming years? Feel free to share your views with us by leaving a comment.
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