The Guerilla Art Kit

A couple months ago I spent an entire afternoon at one of my favorite places--Barnes and Noble. I've always loved going there, getting a tall white mocha, and sitting on the floor by the shelves, poring over books about life, love, and art. On this particular afternoon I scouted out the "crafts" section to peruse through the books for some inspiration for a current project. About half an hour into my browsing I came across a book entitled "Wreck This Journal" by author/illustrator Keri Smith. The whole point of the book was to destroy the book. Hm. Intriguing. On each page there's usually just one line of instructions on how to destroy that specific page. Example A: "Tie a string around this book and drag it behind you."

It was sweet. However, I didn't buy it. But I did look it up on amazon. I found other books of hers there. My favorite was called The Guerilla Art Kit.

I had never heard of guerilla art until I came across this book. In case you haven't heard of it, Keri Smith describes it as any anonymous work (including but not limited to graffiti, signage, performance, additions, and decoration) installed, performed, or attached in public spaces, with the distinct purpose of affecting the world in a creative or thought-provoking way. This is in contrast to the typical view of the guerilla artist as someone who makes extremist work and who is constantly on the run from the law.

I immediately fell in love with not only this book, but this concept; this concept of taking something ordinary and simple, and placing it in a public place to communicate a message to a large number of people. Brilliant! Of course I wouldn't personally see the results, however I have seen others' reactions to others' guerilla art. For a majority of the time, people love it. They love seeing graffiti on trains, messages on the sidewalks, random notes left in books and pockets of clothing at the department store. Who wouldn't love finding a jar on the sidewalk labeled "For You" and finding a message of hope and encouragement? It's brilliant.

If Christians were to take hold of this technique and use it for the cause of Christ just think of how many people we could reach. Of course it wouldn't be the same as meeting one on one and discussing the evidence of the Resurrection and such, but you could plant seeds into the hearts of so many different people.