Heart of the New West 2

heartofnewwest2.jpgheartofnewwest.jpg

Spending alot of time as pedestrian in a city gives one the opportunity to see the world from a unique perspective. For me, its key to finding inspiration, and understanding my environmental surroundings.

I often encounter these thought-provoking stenciled graphics around Calgary and I’m not sure how to interpret them. Obviously, its no secret we produce oil out here in the West. In fact the backbone of our economy depends heavily on the Oil and gas industry. On one hand I see some tongue-in-cheek humour in these images, and on the other, there is an honesty that says: “the New West is driven by oil”…. Whether that is good or bad thing, this debate it is very much a part of being Albertan- particularly here in Calgary.

-Greg Ball


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6 comments — Leave a Comment




  1. Big McLargeHuge   April 28th 2009

    I’ve seen these around the City myself, and interpreted them to mean that oil IS the “Heart of the New West” as you did. It seems to speak not only to our economic reliance on oil, but also to our media-propogated identity as poor stewards of the environment as a result of that same reliance.

    At first blush, my immediate reaction was “why didn’t I think of that…”. A simple design that promotes a topical discussion about what should be important to Calgarians and Albertans.
  2. Andrew McL.   April 28th 2009

    Hey, it’s the commodification of art! Or maybe not?
  3. Alexandrina Victoria   April 28th 2009

    Any kid with $10 in his pocket can buy a can of spraypaint and deface our city’s mailboxes and bus stops with poorly executed “tags”. It is a breath of fresh air to see some Street Art in the city that is stimulating.
  4. Joe Artist   April 28th 2009

    the capitalist market denies artists an audience
  5. Marnie Blair   April 29th 2009

    1) This is just a cheap imitation of decade-old Banksy brillance
    2) Postmodernism is SO last season
  6. SuperPaul   April 29th 2009

    In response to Marnie (if that is your real name),

    Postmodern is last season. Very true.
    Bansky was just imitating real artists: does that make this an imitation of an imitation?
    Like Banksy, this is a social comment focused on the community in which the work is situated. What oil means to those in the West does deserve pause, as it means something quite different there than it does in the world at large.
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