No Future

No Future. 280 x 500cm Hand-cut stencil, spray painted wall. The argument of Art vs Vandalism is regularly contemplated in the street art world. Though there is something of a line drawn between the two, you can find beautiful shapes in shattered glass if you look hard enough. This dispute is contemplated here by artist both applauded and apprehended for doing the same thing in different spaces. This painting is a reflection on that notion, but more than that, this painting is a tribute to Piero Cannata, an artist mistook for a vandal. In 1991 Piero Cannata took a hammer to the statue of David. He was unemployed at the time. No job, no hope, no future. He was found to be of unsound mind and sent to a mental hospital. When he was released he was, incredibly, employed as a museum guide giving tours of masterpieces, including David. He went on to deface a fresco by a Renaissance master, took a knife to "The Adoration of the Shepherds Before Baby Jesus" and spray painted a black "x" on a plaque commemorating the burning to death of a 15th-century preacher amongst other acts of vandalism. When he was asked to explain his crimes he expressed a sentiment shared by most artists, "a force inside me urged me to do it." Let's applaud Piero Cannata.