Eltono: Modern Street Artist

When people in the US think of "street art", they often are imagining someone who performs their art on the street. However, the street artist Eltono doesn't perform on the street -- he decorates it. Eltono, an internationally recognized street artist, has also been described as a "graffiti artist." But unlike a lot of graffiti you'll find, Eltono's work is anything but vandalism.

Eltono, whose name is Spanish for "the tone", is best known for painting a geometric representation of a tuning fork on buildings, rail sides, or any surface you would find in a modern city. His work first began in the city of Madrid in 1999, but it can now be found in cities all over Europe, South America, and Korea.

When many people think of graffiti, they envision bright colors and big shapes that can be overpowering. Eltono's work is a statement against this type of graffiti -- his work is subtle and understated. Eltono does such a wonderful job of keeping his work simple that it's possible you could walk by it and never notice it.

Eltono's work is created using a technique that is completely different than that of his contemporaries. While many street artists use spray paint to create rounded shapes and art without straight lines or corners, Eltono uses a combination of plastic paint and masking tape to create uniquely geometric shapes and straight lines.

Eltono's art can be found on buildings and walls that exemplify difference. For example, a brick wall with boarded up windows, with each board being a different grained wood, is a canvas for Eltono. Or perhaps a building that is haphazardly composed of steel, brick, and lumber would be marked. These scenes are his canvas.

Once Eltono has discovered his canvas, he will paint a variety of geometric shapes and straight lines to draw illustrate the inherent discrepancies of the surface. But his work is in sharp contrast to graffiti because it is so subtle, and this characteristic may be the reason Eltono has received wide international recognition.

Good art is always thought-provoking, and Eltono's work is no exception. For instance, is his use of geometric shapes a comment on the banality of modern urban architecture? Is their a political statement involved with his work? Perhaps most importantly for the artist, will his chosen media keep him from achieving notoriety because it is often associated with vandalism? Whatever the case, only time will tell. But one thing is for certain -- Eltono's work is definitely interesting.

Article Source: http://www.rightarticle.com

Author: Jason Lancaster is a student of art and enjoys discussing modern Latin art. Jason has a Latin Musica website emphasizing Tonos. To see more about Eltono, visit the website Eltono.com.
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