Guerrilla artist “wire bombs” Baltimore
Street artist Reed’s wire sculptures are hanging around town
Above: At North and Maryland avenues, one of the wire sculptures that have been popping up on the streets of Baltimore.
Stand down, Homeland Security, we’re talking about art, not incendiary devices.
Wire sculptures – including a sloth, a cowboy and a child on a swing – are now dangling from the wires that hold up traffic lights and old signs, mostly in the Station North area.
Hung anonymously, they’ve been described as acts of “wire-bombing” in the same way that colorful yarn wrapped around tree trunks and lamp posts by enthusiastic guerrilla knitters is described as “yarn-bombing.”
The wire pieces are the work of a street artist who goes by the name “Reed,” and they’ve been popping up in recent weeks primarily on North and Maryland avenues and St. Paul and Charles streets.
It’s a striking twist on the graffiti-type street art in Station North – these pieces look like line drawings, sketched on a canvas of sky.
One of Reed’s wire sculptures. (Behance)
Reed talked to a D.C. arts blogger and explained why he’s been hanging the wire sculptures around town.
“It’s a mixture of friends pushing me, my love of Baltimore, my love of producing and performing, and a certain danger factor I find addicting,” he answered.
It’s a good post to check out, with comments from Reed on how he hangs the pieces (“I used to have rope and climbing equipment. I’d shimmy up the traffic pole, hang my piece, then slide it over”) and, of course, more photos.
Love to know where the non-Station North ones are, if anybody’s seen one.
Reed’s not that anonymous. Here’s his Facebook page, his imgur page and his behance page.