Vision of the Month – Ben Eine
Ben Eine has been painting the walls of the world for a long time now and first came to prominence over 30 years ago with his gigantic spray-painted graffiti letters which appeared across the shop shutters of London’s East End. He has since become synonymous with alphabets and letters. He is the urban typographer and his view is that there is a difference between graffiti artists and street artists. Graffiti and tagging is perhaps a thrill-based adrenaline rush whereas the true street artist is conscious of his/her environment and is looking to enhance the surroundings with well-thought through imagery. And you wouldn’t be upset if you turned up to work and found your nondescript shop shutter had been turned into a majestic and colourful, magnificent Eine letter. Yes, please!
In 2003, Eine along with Banksy, set up Pictures on Walls to sell street art and publish prints. Their success was unprecedented and is a symbol of true visionary class within the urban art world.
This picture, Happy E, throws together Eine’s art with the rave culture, and the fact that he surrounds a bright vibrant “E” with smiley faces makes me smile every time I look at it. Makes me want to play a few tunes and relax! So come on, get your dancing shoes on and enjoy yourself…
The painting is available here.