Intellectual Graffiti
| Article | |
|---|---|
| Title | Intellectual Graffiti |
| Author(s) | David de Hilster |
| Published in | dehilster.com |
| Date | 2026-02-08 |
| Subject area | Art |
| Topics | art |
Read online | Read the full article |
Archived copy | Archived version |
| Retrieved | 2026-07-23 |
"Intellectual Graffiti" is an article by David de Hilster published on 8 February 2026 on his personal site dehilster.com, describing the technique of the same name that he uses in his portrait and landscape work.
The method layers material drawn from the rest of his working life onto realistic portraiture: computer code from the natural-language programming he works in, diagrams from his Four Universal Motions model in physics, hidden words and hand-drawn digital lines, along with imagery personal to the subject. De Hilster describes the intent as deliberately uncooperative — he wants the viewer to have to use their brain, rewarding close looking with details that are not offered at first glance.
He traces the style to his 1993 work Rio Graffiti, with the digital form of it beginning in a 2006 portrait of his daughter. Recent pieces in the manner include family portraits and self-portraits.
Read the full article at dehilster.com →