The Provocateurs

Artist: Johny Chow

Medium: Wheat Paste, Stencil, Paint

Location: 293-391 Exchange Street

A simple mixture of starch (usually wheat flour) and water, wheat paste has been used for at least two centuries to glue ads, propaganda, flyers and artworks to city walls. 

Wheat pasting allows artists to create complex images in the safety of their studios. Once they’re out on the streets, they can quickly adhere the paper artworks with a brush and a bucket of paste. Like graffiti artists, wheat pasters often work in groups to reduce legal risk. Dozens of images can go up overnight.

Wheat pasting has long been the choice for those with something to sell—whether it’s a circus ticket, a political idea or a thrill. Toulouse-Lautrec’s famous ads for the Moulin Rouge were glued to the walls of Paris with wheat paste. Barnum and Bailey’s wheat pasted circus posters could be found in every American city at one time, as could the iconic Uncle Sam Army recruitment posters.

These days, wheat pasting is still used to sell you stuff. But it’s also been co-opted by street artists like Don’t Fret who are far more interested in giving you something to think about.

“Mickey Mouse Skull” is the trademark symbol of artist, musician and restauranteur Johny Chow (@chowmonstro). It can be spotted on walls here in Buffalo and all around the world.