Artwork Description
Ceci n'est Pas Un Singe Giclee Print by Brett Crawford Artwork Limited Edition Print on Somerset Fine Art Paper Graffiti Pop Street Artist.
2018 Signed & Numbered Limited Edition of 50 Artwork Size 22x22. Crease in upper left margin.
Ceci n'est Pas Un Singe by Brett Crawford – Identity, Irony, and Flight in Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork
Ceci n'est Pas Un Singe is a 2018 limited edition giclee print by American artist Brett Crawford, printed on Somerset fine art paper in a 22 x 22 inch format. Released in a signed and numbered edition of 50, the work showcases Crawford’s signature mix of realism, parody, and surrealism within the context of Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork. The central figure is a chimpanzee outfitted in red gloves, a superhero-style mask, and a bright yellow backpack adorned with pop culture patches. Perched atop a floating astronaut helmet in a sky of clouds and soft gradients, the chimp raises a peace sign as it gazes out from a dreamlike elevation. Every detail, from the fur texture to the sheen of the helmet and the subtle gleam in the eyes, is carefully rendered, blending classical painting discipline with the irreverent humor and cultural remixing that defines Crawford’s visual language.
Visual Wordplay and the Challenge of Classification
The title Ceci n'est Pas Un Singe, which translates to this is not a monkey, borrows from René Magritte’s surrealist phrase while introducing questions of identity, misrepresentation, and context. Crawford toys with both literal and symbolic interpretation. The chimpanzee, a common stand-in for human behavior and scientific curiosity, becomes a layered character—a rebel, a child, a cosmonaut, and a cultural echo all in one. The use of a non-human protagonist, paired with human accessories and posturing, challenges viewers to rethink what symbols actually represent. Within Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork, where iconography is constantly reinterpreted and re-contextualized, Crawford’s work finds power in absurdity. The message is not defined, but rather delivered through tone, detail, and visual contradiction.
Technical Precision and Symbolic Density
Crafted using high-resolution giclee printing, Ceci n'est Pas Un Singe achieves remarkable depth, ensuring every hair on the chimp’s body, every glint on the backpack’s surface, and every cloud in the sky is faithfully reproduced. Somerset fine art paper provides a soft, velvety base that enhances the vibrancy of Crawford’s color palette. The artist’s command of light and surface texture brings photographic clarity to fantastical subjects, allowing each symbolic element to register visually before it registers conceptually. The chimp’s backpack features patches referencing pop culture—such as the masked raccoon and animated faces—inviting interpretation while anchoring the piece in a shared visual lexicon.
Brett Crawford’s Commentary on Adventure, Persona, and Urban Mythology
Brett Crawford’s visual narratives frequently place hybrid creatures or anthropomorphic characters in surreal or heroic contexts. In Ceci n'est Pas Un Singe, this figure is both explorer and joke, astronaut and outcast. Its peace sign gesture undercuts the seriousness of the title while enhancing the mystery of its intent. The floating helmet below it evokes flight, exploration, or perhaps abandonment. With no ground in sight, the figure is literally and metaphorically suspended. This print, like much of Crawford’s work, distills humor, reflection, and spectacle into a single moment. It speaks through suggestion rather than statement, a hallmark of Street Pop Art & Graffiti Artwork where visual power is amplified by cultural fragments, attitude, and the unexpected. Crawford’s chimp is not just a character—it is an avatar of exploration, uncertainty, and transformation.
