Stikman Explained

stikman (stylized lowercase) is an pseudonymous American street artist best known for placing images of humanoid, robot-like stick figures on the sidewalks of cities across the United States.[1]

Background

He is reported to be Philadelphia native. He has been active in street art since the 1960s, when he began his career at age 14 with anti-war graffiti.[2]

Street art

He has been creating the stikman figures that he is best known for since the 1990s.[3] [4] [5] These are usually made of yellow linoleum-like pavement marking tape that becomes embedded in the asphalt over time,[6] The artist places the figures, most frequently on crosswalks,[7] without any direct indication of authorship. This has led to articles in the media investigating the origin and authorship of the figures.[8] [9] While they are frequently interpreted as robot figures, the artist has said that they are simply "little men made of sticks".

A Washington Post article stated that the Washington, D.C. area had over 150 stikman images embedded in its sidewalks in 2008.[10] The figures have also been placed in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Wheeling, West Virginia, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Minneapolis, Minnesota, San Francisco,[11] and Chicago.[12]

stikman has also created the figures in other styles and media.[13]

Although known primarily for works placed on the street, the artist has also been featured in gallery exhibitions.[14] [15] Works by stikman were selected for Amazon's first collection of limited-edition prints by seven international street artists.[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lowman . Stephen . On the Trail of the Mysterious Stikman . washingtonpost.com . 21 September 2008.
  2. Web site: Cooley . Patrick . Guerilla artist Stikman leaves his mark on Cleveland . cleveland . en . 27 July 2017.
  3. Web site: McDonald . Blair . Curious Nashville: How Stick Figures Spotted Downtown Fit Into A Global Street Art Project . WPLN News - Nashville Public Radio . 6 April 2021.
  4. https://streetartnyc.org/blog/2012/11/28/speaking-with-the-legendary-stikman/ "Speaking with the Legendary stikman"
  5. Armstrong, Phil "Cincinnati Crosswalks Are Being Invaded By Mysterious 'Stikmen'" Cincinnati Refined (September 29, 2017).
  6. Kelly, John "If you've walked over an alien robot plastered to the street, you've met stikman" Washington Post (March 21, 2020).
  7. Street Art: The Transfiguration of the Commonplaces. Riggle . Nicholas Alden . Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism . Summer 2010 . 68:3 . 244 .
  8. Web site: Trigg . Lisa . No one's quite sure where mysterious robot-like street markings come from . Terre Haute Tribune-Star . en.
  9. Web site: Secrets of the Square: Mr. Stikman, bring me a dream Magazine The Harvard Crimson . www.thecrimson.com.
  10. Web site: Wear . Ben . Keep an eye out for Stikmen in the crosswalk . statesman.com.
  11. Web site: HARRIS . BERNARD . Has 'stikman' left his mark? . LancasterOnline . en.
  12. Web site: The hide-and-seek story behind the yellow stikman figures in Cleveland . www.cleveland19.com . 26 July 2017 . en.
  13. Dale, Eric "Philly Street Art Interviews: The Artist Behind stikman" StreetsDept.com (December 10, 2020).
  14. https://streetartnyc.org/blog/2015/12/02/the-ever-evolving-stikman-at-woodward-gallery-on-the-lower-east-side/ "The Ever-Evolving stikman at Woodward Gallery on the Lower East Side"
  15. Crimmins, Peter "Mysterious 'Stikman' artist's iconic street figures on display at Fishtown gallery" WHYY.org (March 24, 2015).
  16. Middleton, Josh "Amazon’s First Series of Artist Prints" Philadelphia Magazine (November 23, 2015).

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