Earlier this year I posted a photo on Instagram of some fantastic street art that caught my eye around town. I remember that I also posted it to my Facebook iHeartnola.com page and within the amount time it took take to make pop-tarts, there was a negative comment. I dwelled on the comment for weeks, sort of in awe. It was surrounding the idea that street art was defiling the city of New Orleans with it’s blight. I have to admit, and this is totally my opinion, that the street art found around our city is part of the fabric and culture of New Orleans. Of course as a photographer, the city is my backdrop and the street art is my own visual MDMA.
The street art vs. graffiti vs. vandalism argument is certainly one for the ages and I’m not even trying to solve that riddle with this post. Some folks around town go to the extreme and label most street art vandalism and will scream it from the rooftops.
The fight is still one that needs to be fought. There are super talented artists out there who are gaining permission and the legal stance from property owners all around town to create and share their talent with the rest of the city. Mindsets are changing for the better and folks are slowly coming around to notice the overwhelming beauty and benefits to street art.
I recently met up with the super talented trio Time Is Money aka #TIM to discuss their latest mural Uptown as well as the positive marks they are leaving around town. Jolean, Wendall, and Angel are a ride or die tight knit family of artists who are humbly creating some of the best street art I’ve ever seen. Their work is super intense, precise and refined. The mixture of branding and pop culture is on point and the scale at which they work defies all notions that this is not real art. Time Is Money is all about being legit in every way, spraying legally, and helping everyone acknowledge that street art is here to stay.
Below you’ll see their latest finished piece on the wall of the Chevron station on Carrolton and Willow Uptown. Further down you’ll see some detail photos of the Chevron wall as well as their other works including murals at The University Of New Orleans Fine Arts building as well as at David Art Center in Metairie. Take a drive around town, take it all in, and soon you’ll agree grey is not the city’s best shade.
