Artist ‘Vandalizes’ The Streets With His Fun And Unique Pixel Art (30 Pics)
Interview With ArtistIt's sad to see that youthfulness and playfulness often disappear when you grow up. Everything becomes kind of bland. We stop enjoying the little things in life. But what if those simple things were a little bit more playful and fun themselves? Let's take the streets, for example. We walk through them almost every day and they're usually pretty meh. But what if they had hidden Easter eggs that would make your day a little brighter?
That's what Johan Karlgen has in mind when he creates his street art. The Swedish artist creates pixelated art pieces that make bland locations much more interesting. They almost always interact with their environment and even though they are not realistic, they blend in very well. His themes usually range from video games to movies to other pop-culture references. Johan went viral on Reddit recently because of his transformed concrete barriers in a parking lot. He made them into a Toblerone chocolate bar.
Johan has been featured on Bored Panda before, click here and here to see the previous articles.
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This is hilarious and Well done! But where is the Bear in the mountains?
And to think, Theodor Tobler's inspiration for the shape (of the bar) came from The Matterhorn (in the Alps)!
We got an interview from Johan Karlgen and asked him what the main goal of his street art is and how he got into art: "To make myself and other people happy. It's been a lifetime love story. I studied arts in high school just to be able to go to another city to live and skateboard. But in the end, creating stuff with my hands and mind ended up being my calling."
I have never stopped missing Calvin & Hobbes...Bill Watterson, your lunch break is over—it’s time to come back and catch us up on our favorite boy-and-tiger couple!
We asked the artist what the most difficult part of creating his art pieces is: "The craft in creating Perler creations is the ironing part. That’s what you can get really good at."
Johan shared what topics he likes to create about: "Anything that makes me feel something. It could be anything from childhood memories to politics or people doing awesome stuff that I wanna interpret." The artist also mentioned that the style of his street art is quite playful and fun: "I don’t really choose what to create. My work is sprung from playing, and I’ll try to go with the ideas that come up in my head."
🤔Shall I pretend that there's supposed to be an "s" on Lego and start some trouble?
Load More Replies..."I started doing this in 2015 or something. I got tired of shooting my stuff in my studio and moved outside. I’ll continue till I run out of ideas."
Johan tells us what keeps him inspired to create: "The fun of it. Since it’s a hobby that got out of hand, I promised myself to only chase the fun of it. Luckily I’ve got people supporting me cause my kids can’t eat likes."
"I’ve never had a bad experience in the streets. I call my street art 'civil disobedience with a conscience' meaning, for example, that I don’t paint on people's private property but focus on weird, broken (often ugly) things in the streets. And that’s probably why no one minds."
"All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don't break 'em for no one!"
If he stays more in the snow he won't have his balls anymore
Load More Replies..."Make things that make you happy," said Johan when asked what advice he would give to artists that are just starting out.
The artist gives us some facts about himself and his life: "I’m a father of four who loves gaming and skateboards every now and then. My wife has come to terms that I’ll never fully grow up."
🤡Smile bc it confuses people. Smile bc it's easier than explaining what is killing you inside. --The Joker🤡
Well, He is not Human bc He MADE Humans. And He is not from Earth bc He MADE the Earth... therefore=Alien compared to us. (This can actually start fun chats, but PLEASE commence discussion POLITELY)...
Load More Replies...Guessing school as there's no bars on the windows as far as I can see.
Load More Replies...Beatles' album is to "Abby Road," as TMNT is to Splinter Road.
No!!! You edited away the question?!? You had a great idea, put it back please. Then add your answer in the replies to it, please😻
Load More Replies...My inner 80s nerd thanks you for this one! Straight from the NES original game, to boot!
Beatle's album is to "Abbey Road", as TMNT is to ____________? (Since Purple Raen didn't return.)
🐶YES! Droopy Dawg, that's why it looks so familiar🐶
Load More Replies...I agree 👏😻👍, so I've bumped it from #17 to #14 😁 *Oh, man...they're adding posts still. (But that's actually a good thing.)
Load More Replies...Hey! I'm with you, buddy! I would do the same thing! Who wants a tiny pot when there is a WHOLE forest right across the street! -LOL
My first thought too, then I remembered "mushroom" is about as specific as "vertabrate".
Load More Replies...I've heard of "stop and smell the roses." But this, this is taking "it" to the "next level" with "stop and talk to the mushrooms!"
Some of these are really big. The health bars on this one is made from 2x4s
Wondering if anyone else has these random "toupee" emojis? 🦰🦱🦳🦲 No one I know has seen/have them nor knows what they're for. This is the first time I've found a use for them.
Load More Replies...One side plays cool air; the other plays cool music! It's a "win-win!"
🎼🎶George, George, George of the Jungle... Watch Out For That TREE-EE🎵🎶
Yes, from when Mario dies and leaves Luigi to live on by himself
Load More Replies...🎼🎶Who LiveD in a Pineapple Under the Sea 🎵🎶 (but now seems to be "stuffed & mounted".)
After finding him on the street in an earlier post, Patrick brought him home to use him to scare away the fish-crows. He was dearly missed.
Load More Replies...Ok, I can't stand it, I had to return to ask...How many of you have also been driving past a cliff or big drop-off and had a random 1-second urge to "Thelma&Louise" it just to see how it'd feel?
Load More Replies...Very creative, making a dove of peace from a piece of missing wall👏😻👍
This is the best thing I have ever seen. I will go die now because nothing is worth seeing now
Jesus Quintana, don't tell him it was over the line or Liam and him gonna f@ck you up.
Am I the only one who thinks they look like psychopathic killers? I mean……the eyes
Great! NOW I've got that darn "Mario Bros." theme song stuck in my head, and I cannot get it out! "♬Dun-nun-un'nun-nun-nu'ah!♬Whoo-ooh-oop!"♬
Morbidly funny...can you believe that new research suggests that this kind of humor is a sign of high intelligence 🤔
@TheAnimalLady- No. No, I cannot believe "new research suggests that this kind of humor is a sign of high intelligence ." Nor do I think I want to (believe it). (-o⌒)
Load More Replies..."My name is Barney and I'm an alcoholic." "Mr Gumble, this is a girls scouts meeting!" "Is it? Or is it that you girls can't admit you have a problem?" *BURP*
BTW, Turtles and Tortoises CAN NOT survive outside of their shells. It's a myth perpetuated by stupid movies and TV shows, etc.
The Wild Marble used ROLL. It's super-effective!
Load More Replies..."Take that, wall! Maybe next time, you'll think twice before letting me run into you!"
I know that's supposed to be Marilyn Monroe but something's a bit wonky with the head 🤔
FTR- Let's be clear, this is NOT in ANY way, shape, and/ or form considered "vandalism." This IS, however, EXTREMELY AWESOME "Urban Street Art!"
It is not clear from the intro whether these are photoshopped pics or actual objects placed in the real world???
🧙I believe that it's a mix of both & magical🧙♂️
Load More Replies...FTR- Let's be clear, this is NOT in ANY way, shape, and/ or form considered "vandalism." This IS, however, EXTREMELY AWESOME "Urban Street Art!"
It is not clear from the intro whether these are photoshopped pics or actual objects placed in the real world???
🧙I believe that it's a mix of both & magical🧙♂️
Load More Replies...
