Geek Graffiti Takes on New York

NEW YORK — The group of 12 graffiti artists surrounds its target, a sculpture in Manhattan known as The Cube, and waits for the signal to begin tagging it up. It’s a daunting task — the 15-foot sculpture in Astor Place was recently coated with anti-graffiti paint.

But within seconds, The Cube is covered in LED Throwies, the latest innovation from the Graffiti Research Lab, or GRL, an open-source think tank dedicated to developing new methods and tools for street artists.

LED Throwies, which cost only 75 cents to make and stay bright for two weeks, are one of several DIY, street-ready technologies that the GRL has dreamed up since its inception in February.

Another development is the Electro-Graf, a technique that lets street artists embed LEDs, motors, solar panels or other electrical objects into a wall using conductive spray paint. Electro-Graf techniques give traditional tags a vibrant shine or even moving parts.
via: wired & makezine