Every once in awhile, someone on the Internet gets a really genius idea and deserves a giant gold star. Today, I’m giving it to Fly Art.
There are a couple of similar projects, but the jist is that the people behind Fly Art take rap lyrics and layer them over pieces of classical art. It started off as a Tumblr, but expanded to clothing: tank tops, t-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with the prints. Some of it is a little obscure (both the paintings and the songs), but most of the lyric and art pairings are completely spot-on.
What I like the most about Fly Art is not necessarily sartorial, even though I got a lot of compliments when I wore mine earlier this week. As much as I wish that it wasn’t true, a lot of people don’t appreciate the kind of art that hangs in museums or reside in private collections. The idea of putting art on clothing — something that is almost more public than the museums themselves — with references to songs that people know is a great way to spread it. And even if you don’t know what song the lyrics are from, you can gleam the meaning from the piece it’s paired with and vice versa. Not only does it show that classical art is still deeply relatable, but that rap music is a huge cultural force.
And for that, I bestow a humongous gold star.
You can buy Fly Art clothing here.
What do you think about Internet projects like this? Let me know in the comments.
Zoë Lance. 