Nanograffiti route: Mine is smaller than yours
Big, small, commissioned, or completely self-contained. You can spot cool street art on just about every street corner, even in unexpected, sometimes invisible places. Take the ten nanograffiti artworks from the project Mine is smaller than yours. From complex street art to intimate scribbles, this route takes you along the city's ten mini works of art.
About the project
Big, bigger, biggest; Street art needs to be bigger, bolder, and more colorful. Until the Slovenian artist NAME: had a compact answer: to make the smallest graffiti in the world, better known as nanograffiti. His solo work spreads across various places in Europe. For the ten pieces in Eindhoven, he sought cooperation with both local and international artists. So now you can spot the 'nanos' in the wild. How to get started? The works have QR codes that send you to the digital environment of the work. This way, you can see exactly what you can't see yourself.
The ten ultra-small graffiti artworks are all made with nanotechnology. Nanocenter Ljubljana and local party Thermo Fisher Scientific joined for the nano-part, and Jasper van Es curated the whole thing. Now you can find the work of ten prominent artists from the local scene at ten locations that play an essential role in the history of Philips.
Boyscout Designer @Videolab
You could also call the work of Bouke Bruins, alias Boyscout Designer, playful interventions. To this end, he links the world of design to that of boy scouts. He argues that (over)shaping of public spaces makes visitors passive, in contrast to boy scouts. The latter need to interact with their environment respectfully. A serious game of noughts and crosses between art and science might be the solution.
51.4456293, 5.4602114
Helmut Smits @Anton Philips
A heart accompanied by cupid's arrow and your names. A sweet declaration of love for all the world to see. That's just one way to do it. The love between Helmut Smits and his wife is theirs and nobody else's and therefore needs no public affirmation. Without seeing it, knowing it is there, his work feels like a sincere act of love. Keep it small, would Helmut Smits say, we guess. PS it might be possible there won’t be a QR code for this work. If that’s the case, view the work online.
Johan Moorman @Evoluon
As if the Evoluon isn't unique enough already, Johan Moorman has made it a bit more special. You may have passed by one of his works before, like this one. His nano is a digital face, a kind of modern Mona Lisa. And requires a little more attention to detail ;)
51.4438713, 5.4467555
Antigoon @Natlab
Did you know that the Natlab, short for Natuurkundig Laboratorium (physics lab), is the place where the CD was invented? That invention is the basis for Antigoon's mini-graffiti: the pattern of pits on a CD was the inspiration for his complex drawing.
51.4456594, 5.4546834
Jeffrey 'Sektie' Warlich @Klokgebouw
A drowning man will clutch at a straw, but does that still count at nano-level? We're guessing so. 'Pheline' makes an unashamed confession while smoking a cigarette: 'I had nine lives, but I've already used up eight of them.' As long as no one sees it, right?
51.4472099, 5.4575427
Jasper van Es @MU Hybrid Art House
Does an artist still have freedom when graffiti is legalized and commissioned? Jasper van Es has his doubts. He keeps his plea small, but his message is significant: 'Make graffiti illegal again.'
51.4471242, 5.4574243
Wladimir Manshanden @Philips Stadium
We'll keep it short but sweet, just like Wladimir Manshanden: May 8, 2016. PSV fans know what's up. By the way, Wladimir does take on more work in the city. You may know his work on the traffic control boxes.
51.4416360, 5.4691643
Zime @Philips Stadium
This is where it all started. The soccer club PSV Eindhoven was founded as early as December 12, 1910, by the Philips Light Bulb Factory workers. The home ground is still the same: the site of the Philips Stadium.
51.4417330, 5.4691305
Guido de Boer @Philips Museum
Guido de Boer's work is all about the essence of graffiti. Or rather even about text in the public domain in general. Does something really take place if you can't perceive it?
51.4393288, 5.4756576
NAME: @Lichttoren
Of course, we must not forget the founder himself. You can find NAME:'s nano at an iconic spot, namely the Lichttoren. His work is all about the building. Warning: if you scan the QR code, you will be caught in a constant loop of tangibility and perceptibility.
51.4410770, 5.4758303