The Enforcer

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Stand in the middle of the lane facing Flinders Street. In front of you is the Ian Potter Museum of Art. The building is, in a sense, a shell for what is deemed proper art. You can just make out the cusps of exhibitions through its glass windows, shielding the art from people’s individual remarks and reactions. You all have the same experience of the art here. You stand, you observe, you move on. You are told how to appreciate and understand the work by the little cards plastered on the walls.

And just a mere 20 meters away, is a lane dripping with freedom. Street art is the stark contrast. You determine what the art is about. You determine how you experience it. You determine how you react to it. Street art stimulates all your senses as it urges you to be curious and take control of your environment. You’re experience is not institutionalised, it is individualised.

Ultimately, street art perpetuates rebellion and freedom in society. It provides people with the opportunity to engage with their environment; moving people from submissively observing their environment, to interacting with it in defiance of what is usually done. Thus, it is a call to freedom and individuality, yielding a healthy sense of curiosity within society.