[ urban canvas ]
It’s a very simple idea everyone understands. A typewriter has paper coming out of it with words. What’s complex is the way glancing at one of WRDSMTH’s street art installations for a split second has the power to make a person feel. They distill the essence of life’s greatest experiences in a short message anyone can find relatable. Hundreds of their messages, posted from stencil and wheat paste images, cover walls worldwide. The art is everywhere and WRDSMTH reaches out through their work to thousands of people daily. Some of their street art aims to motivate, others recall memories of a loved one, and a great number of their ideas are inspired by the writer’s all-too-real wit from living in this ridiculous world.
WRDSMTH is now one of the most prolific street artists in the world, but they consider themself a writer first. They take a story, strip out all the things that make it personal, and write something so succinct and relatable that it becomes universal. “It is an expression,” they explain. “I just boil it down to the fewest words. I’ll never paint something on a wall that doesn’t resonate with me first. Everything comes from something I’ve experienced in my life.” They focus on three types of messages through their street art: inspirational/motivational, romantic, and funny.
People who look for inspiration in the world get a massive dose in the most unexpected places from WRDSMTH. “I started in Los Angeles and I said things that I wish people had said to me when I first arrived,” they say. “It was very Hollywood-centric, but I quickly realized that if I put out something that said ‘Dream Bigger’ or ‘Persevere,’ people in Paris or in Boston would embrace it for different reasons. People all over have dreams. There are stock brokers in Chicago who dream about writing a book, and there are dentists in the Carolinas who want to be actors. My words resonate with those people.” WRDSMTH’s notes are steeped in positivity and motivation, but not in an annoying way. Their words are poetically genuine and real.
The “dream bigger” message came about when artists at the time were using “dream big” in their art. “I thought that was cool, but I just thought ‘dream bigger’ was cooler,” WRDSMTH explains how they took it to the next level. “It’s all about the words for me, but as a street artist, the visual comes into play. My visual a lot of times stays the same, but when you can play with that visual and add images to it, it brings it alive more. I saw that it would come outside the page. It’s just one letter, but it worked visually. The ‘r’ naturally fell off the page so I just kind of ran with that. This biggest one I’ve made was 25 feet high in Chicago.”
One of WRDSMTH’s most popular messages was inspired by a woman in their life. It reads, “The only lie I ever told you is that I liked you when I already knew I loved you.” It’s a beautifully romantic sentiment that stops people in their tracks. “I remember writing it and loving it because it just made so much sense for us and what I was feeling at that moment in time,” WRDSMTH remembers. “I put it out there wondering if people were going to get it and boom, immediately when it was posted the outpouring was amazing. A light bulb went off in my head, because of course people are going to get it. They are in that moment, or they were in that moment, or they want to be in that moment, so it is universal. It’s one of the most popular pieces I’ve ever done. I feel like I wrote a hit song because I have done so many commissions with it and I love that.” People see the post and instantly want to take a picture of it. Just search for it on any social media site and you see for yourself. It’s everywhere.
WRDSMTHing, if we’re allowed to use it as a verb, is a full time job. “Art comes with me everywhere I go,” WRDSMTH says. “I see a wall and I will start to plan what I am going to do and when I am going to do it. It becomes a renegade mission.” Other times they are carrying around a stock of stuff that they have written and will be inspired to put up an installation while walking around. “It’s always coming up with ways to spread the ‘word.’ When I travel, the art comes with me and when I’m walking around the art comes with me so it can happen organically.”
The thing about WRDSMTH is that even though they are usually putting art on a surface that they don’t have permission, most people aren’t going to stop them from putting a positive message out in the world. I mean, it’s like yelling at someone for helping an old lady across the street. People inherently know what WRDSMTH is doing is for the greater good. “I can do it in the middle of the day and just act like I am supposed to be there,” WRDSMTH laughs. “If you just act like you are supposed to be there, you can get away with a lot of stuff.” Add acting to their list of talents.
As for the typewriter idea, WRDSMTH just finished writing a book and realized they were spending too much time in front of the computer. They were looking for a more active hobby so they decided to finally try street art. The idea of sitting at a computer typing all day followed and inspired the typewriter stencil in the art. “I thought I would do stickers,” they explain, “and I started thinking of ideas and I knew it would be word based, so the image came very early. I eventually thought the typewriter could be painted and the words would be wheat pasted and that led me to stencils. I got so excited about that idea that I wanted to make it happen immediately. I wanted to just pee all over the idea because nobody in the street art world had done a typewriter with thoughts coming out of the page. I wanted to own the idea.”
Just starting out and eager to get something out in the world by any means possible, WRDSMTH Googled “stencil typewriters” and got to work. “There was this awful store-bought stencil that I ordered,” they laugh. “For two weeks, I was going out there and using this stencil. Sometimes I see a photo of it and I cringe because that is not something a street artist should do. After those two weeks, I looked at this stencil and it was ugly and big and it was just gross so I started sketching out a simpler typewriter.” They took elements from all the typewriters they liked — all the different brands — and made a unique version. “I started drawing it out and I would take the sketch and put it on the table and cut it to make the stencil and it started evolving. The typewriter from my sketch mostly stayed the same, but it became simpler.”
Since their work was inspired by graffiti artists, WRDSMTH pays homage to a graffiti trend in stencil art. “There is a tip of the hat to graffiti artists that not a lot of people know about in the stencil,” they explain. “In graffiti art, there are a lot of arrows. Like if you see someone right a name there will be an arrow coming off of it, so I included an arrow in it. I love what graffiti artists do because they taught us what to do with a spray can. Putting the arrow in there almost seemed accidental, but 10 years later I am so proud of it.”
“For ‘aspire to inspire others and the universe will take note,’ I remember the day I sat down and wrote it,” they say. “I was thinking about WRDSMTH and it was a few years in and I was thinking about how it has been an incredible ride and such a snowball effect. I was trying to write something that encapsulated me and that came out. I remember when I wrote it, I immediately had to Google it because I was wondering if anyone has ever said this. I like the things I write, but as a writer there is always this doubt if it is really as good as I think it is. But I looked at it and thought holy shit I really like that. It means a lot to me and it is resonating with people. But it really is everything that WRDSMTH is to me.” [end]