I saw this street art while walking the streets of Barcelona at night, not far from the Picasso Museum in the “La Ribera” neighborhood. I’ve always been a fan of Spiderman and read the comics as a kid, but what grabbed my attention here is the depiction of his face. As you can see, the front of his mask has been removed, and seems to be projecting out to his side, revealing a “face” behind the mask that is an example of Rorschach art. Images in Rorschach art are usually inkblots that have a mirrored quality to them, in the sense that the two halves (if seen as such with an imaginary vertical line down the middle) are mirrored images of each other. These inkblot images have been used in the past as psychological tests to see what perceptions the viewer has of an otherwise abstract image. In this case, my perception of this inkblot on Spidey’s face reveals two eyes and a mouth … can you see it?
I find it interesting – and perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps not – that in comic book history, there is a character from DC Comics’ “Watchmen” named Rorschach, and Spiderman meets Rorschach in some “Marvel Noir” universe, where a rare DC and Marvel character crossover occurs in “Spider-Man: Life Story #3.” But the Rorschach design on this street art Spiderman’s face is different from the face of the Watchmen character, so I’m dipping into speculation here.
Maybe this is a lot of something about nothing, but at any rate, I like the street art!