Graffiti Research Lab

Street artists are increasingly turning to non-destructive, paint-free forms of graffiti to make a point without permanently defacing property. Their urban pranks and social protests engage mobile gadgets, open-source software, and online social networking. They blend aesthetics from the hip-hop, punk, and do-it-yourself arts and crafts movements to convey messages from the silly to the politically provocative. Free speech, environmentalism, and anti-war messages are common themes.

Artists with the Graffiti Research Lab play laser tag by scribbling with light beams onto buildings. Targets have included the Roman Coliseum (shown here) and Brooklyn Bridge. For the projects, they use a camera, a laptop with open-source software, a projector, and a green laser. Equipment for the mobile, interactive laser shows can be mounted in a camper or car, or on a bicycle.

The summer tour of Graffiti Research Lab, an offshoot of the nonprofit Eyebeam arts center, is working on a new laser tag technology dubbed Green Lantern that can project images on the scale of Batman's bat signal.