The Unintentional Beauty Of Graffiti Removal

New Mexico-based photographer and artist Mattie Kannard has spent the past eight years photographing graffiti, but only after it has been painted over by the building owners. The results often resemble an unintentional pastiche of Mark Rothko’s style of abstract expressionism.

More info: Mattie Kannard, Flickr (h/t: dangerousminds)

“I love graffiti. But I love buff even more. When graffiti is removed, it is “buffed.” It gets painted over. As in, “Man! That tag I did last night was buffed this morning.” Before I knew the correct term, I called a buff “paint over,” and in 2009 I started taking and collecting photographs of graffiti that had been painted over. Over the last three years I’ve amassed almost two hundred pictures of beautiful buffed pieces,” she said.



















If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

Controversial Chinese Artist and activist Ai Weiwei Showcases Bathroom Fixtures at Alcatraz Transformed into Porcelain Floral Bouquets

Surreal And Dreamlike Manipulations By Herri Susanto

Bizarre Scotch Tape Portraits By Wes Naman

Michael C. Hsiung’s Characters Sport Bushy Mustaches

"Time Fragments": Constructivism in Graphic Design and Illustrations by Vladimir Hadzic

The Emotional Depth of Landscapes in Digital Art and Illustration by Denis Istomin

Pissing Statue Becomes A Symbol Of Belgium’s Attitude To Terrorism

Dark Humor Art Animations by Kajetan Obarski

Creepy 1970s-Era Posters From An Imaginary English Town

Anastasia Koronskaya’s Urban Paintings Feel Like Psychological Architecture

Breathtaking Glitch Graphics And Shoegaze-Inspired Visuals By Joel Villegas

Holy Selfie

People Are Taking WikiHow Images Out Of Context And Adding Their Own Funny And Dark Captions

Star Wars Prints Styled As Traditional Japanese Art

This Artist Makes Unexpected Photo Collages, And Here Are The New Ones

Stenkat for Headict.com

Frog That Looks Like Princess Leia Sparks Photoshop Battle, And The Results Are Hilarious

Spectacular Macro-Winning Photos From The British Photography Awards

If You Had A Gloomy Day, These Illustrations Will Probably Make Your Worries Go Away

Cursed Cute: The Superb Digital Concept Artworks Of Izzy Medrano

Artist Makes Caricatures That Capture Dogs’ Most Prominent Features

Crocodile Trying To Do Things In Hilarious Sketches By The Japanese Illustrator Keigo

Relatable Illustrations Hilariously Reveal the Difficulties of Adulthood

An Introverted Artist Details The Struggles Of An Introverted Life

Artist Turns Everyday Phrases Into Clever Visual Puns That Might Make You Smile Or Groan

The Wonder Of Illustrating Perpetual Movement in Space From A 1875 Astronomy Book

"Arbor Vitae": The Superb Minimalist and Architectural Forms by Bezmiar

"Forest Of Insomnia": Dreamlike And Surreal Photo Manipulations By Kevin Adams

Guy Re-Draws The Map Of Europe By Imagining What Countries Look Like

Man Freezes Alongside Icy Painting in Surreal Self-Portrait Sculpture