[MUSIC PLAYING]
Have you ever used spray paint?
I've been playing with it a lot lately.
And it got me wondering, who invented this stuff?
Check this out.
[THEME MUSIC]
Believe it or not, spray paint hasn't been around that long.
In 1949, Ed Seymour was looking for a fast and easy way
to show customers his aluminum coating for radiators.
His wife suggested he use something
like an insect sprayer, which was a great idea.
Good thing he listened to his wife.
Taking that creative idea, Ed made his own spray paint gun.
Once he realized how efficient it was,
he decided to start using it all the time.
He borrowed money from a local bank
and started making a ton of spray paint cans.
Ed liked how easy and quick the spray painting was.
The paint dried fast while leaving a nice finish
on the radiators.
Ed immediately started his company, Seymour of Sycamore,
which you have to appreciate the name.
It's definitely catchy, Ed.
Seymour of Sycamore took off and even
added automotive and industrial divisions
to touch up and refinish cars and industrial machines.
Household names like Krylon and Rust-Oleum
started catching on to Ed's idea and created their own spray
paint.
By 1973, 270 million cans were produced annually.
Guess how many were produced in 2011.
412 million cans.
That's crazy, right?
[TRAIN BELL AND HORN SOUNDING]
By the '60s and '70s, spray paint
wasn't just popular for commercial use.
People liked the fact that spray paint was easy to use,
dried quickly, and was permanent.
These same features also interested
activists, who could easily conceal
the cans in a bag or a jacket then
use the paint to put graffiti on buildings
and make public protests.
As you can imagine, laws were soon
made to ban the use of spray paint
to vandalize public property.
The big-name companies even refused
to upgrade their nozzles in colors, because they
didn't want to aid vandalism.
But the love of spray continued, and spray painting
developed into the art form we know today.
Through the years, graffiti and mural art
have gained more and more respect.
Spray paint companies now produce
many different and elaborate colors for spray paint artists.
Artists have their own preferences for the quality
and type of spray paint they use.
They even have custom tips made for their cans, which I did not
know and is really awesome.
Have you heard of Banksy?
This famous street artist has hidden his identity.
But we do know his graffiti in the streets of England,
the West Bank barrier, and New York,
which has brought fame and new attention to spray art.
Banksy keeps his art work traditional to the origins
of graffiti by painting politically controversial
pieces.
Banksy's art started as acts of vandalism
and developed into highly prized works of art.
In fact, actress Angelina Jolie bought
a piece of Banksy's called "Picnic" for close to $230,000.
Another popular piece called "Keep It Spotless"
brought in $1.8 million.
Maybe I should invest in more spray paint.
Fact is spray paint has become a widely used tool
for many street artists, like our friend
Dan Thompson, who you should check out after this.
Talk about a multi-talented mural and graffiti artist.
Know what I love most about Ed's story?
It's how his wife discovered a solution with the insect prayer
to inspire the spray paint can we know today.
Reminds me that you don't always have to invent something new.
Use what you've got around you.
I mean, channel your inner MacGyver.
Reminds me of a great book you need to check out
called "Steal Like an Artist."
Seriously, it's an awesome book.
But first, be sure to describe, like, comment, and share
this video, which will make me feel awesome.
And you will feel awesome too.
I guarantee it.
I'm serious, people.
In the comments below, I would love
to hear how you steal like an artist.
Where have you found your creative inspiration?
Hey, art's all about sharing ideas.
Share away.
Until next time, be Artrageous.
So in order to make more "Artrageous" episodes,
I really need you.
If you like what you see and happen
to have a few bucks a month, check out my Patreon page.
I mean, this is your chance to become
a producer for a PBS show.
Now, that is something you could definitely brag about.
Trust me.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So you're probably having the same response I had,
which is that this cannot be true.
But trust me, it is.
In order to understand, you have to dig pretty deep
into history.
In fact, we have to go back to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who
is actually the founder of the International Olympic
Committee, or IOC.