Specter has to be one of the hottest names on the graffiti scene right now, one of the reasons his name may not ring a bell is that until recently a lot of his works blended in with the background, hiacking awnings and shop signs where most of the public have learned to immunise against the onslaught of typography and imagery of the 21st Century. He’s probably one of the least offensive street artists on the scene, I say that because this guy doesn’t want to tread on toes, he doesn’t want to make waves, he simply wants to ‘adjust reality’, send it ever so slightly askew, a paradigm shift of the most minute proportions that few people would ever even notice.

This is not a man you’ll find skulking in an alleyway in the middle of the night, tooled up with a mask and a rucksack full of spray cans, he works days, in full public view, with ladders if need be, he researches the sites he wants to transform, he asks locals, he chooses abandoned shops, neglected street corners, and then and only then, begins to paint. In making himself so visible to the public, he becomes invisible, which essentially accounts for the name ‘Specter’.

Specter is a stickler for site-specific pieces, all his works are hand painted, in many ways you could call him a traditionalist, a man on a mission to reflect the state of society, the common man, the pitfalls and broken lives afforded by the oversights of big business and local government. Perhaps a socialist at heart, or perhaps nothing quite so grand, it’s nevertheless obvious that Specter’s art proffers a great deal of kinship with his fellow mankind, especially the underdog, the lost and the forgotten.

City Renewal Project

Here’s one of Specter’s latest pieces that went up on Park Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant recently, well known as a cultural heart for Brooklyn. Focusing on an under appreciated and almost unseen workforce that runs the city, everyone from the garbage man to guys working in a warehouse, the failing independent shop-keeper, the bottom rung of the American Dream, this is where Specter’s heart lies, as does much of the subject matter for his work.

He’s worked with city representatives including The Department of Transportation, and creates spaces and installations that draw the public’s attention to a wide range of issues. For instance his series of "Not Wheelchair Access" stickers which have been pasted on 100s of shops that offer no provision for the disabled. Specter is a supreme voice for the underclass, he is the hero of those ignored and neglected by society. See more of his work at www.SpecterArt.com. 

This post is tagged Brooklyn, city renewal project, gentrification, Specter, Specter Art, specterart.com, urban art