Beautiful Crime brought Iranian artist A1one to my attention the other day, and I’ve been spending a good deal of time looking through his flickr. Adam at BC likes him “because it’s raw, effective comment.” As for me, I just think his work is extremely varied, and that that’s something that isn’t always true of street artists. Also, I was surprised that street artists could be so prolific in Iran.
My friend K recently wrote a paper for his art history class comparing Iranian calligraphy and Eine‘s work. I wish I’d found A1one a month ago, because A1one’s work would have been perfect for K’s paper. A1one’s lettering is beautiful on the street, and it’s an interesting twist on classic graffiti.
Now, this last one is sure to strike some people as very similar to work by José Parlá, and I love Parlá’s work, but what’s nice about A1one is that his pieces can actually be read by people other than the artist. For example, the above piece says “Nefrat” or “Hate”. A1one also notes that while Parlá works on expensive materials, A1one uses found materials as a canvas.
Check out more at A1one’s flickr.