Steve Powers started his artistic endeavours on the streets of Philadelphia, writing his name 'ESPO' on walls and gates around the city. But among the traditional lettering styles common within the writing culture, there is something unique about the extensive work Steve made illegally on the streets, which led to a prolific mural project, A Love Letter for You, among other sign painting and mural projects around the world. A lot of his work was made to not look like graffiti, whether that was in the act or the resulting finished artworks. He devised a way of painting storefront gates so that it looked like he was just re-painting them, and then with a few swift movements to finish, he would create the letterforms leaving his name ESPO in big clear block letters. Other pieces are painted to look like advertising, selling imaginary products, similar to a lot of his more fine art work, in which he is inspired by sayings and phrases, creating signs selling feelings or emotions.
I like the way in which he disguises what he is doing as something else, in a way making it more accessible to the general public who are so used to advertising and commercial imagery in their day to day lives, but also how he manages to hide in broad day light. He uses the commonplace of advertising to his advantage, giving him the opportunities to get away with making his often illegal works of art without being suspected. He adopts the techniques and aesthetics of old advertisements to create new pieces of appealing work that engages with communities, but also subtly commenting on the situation and power that advertising has.
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