The Birth of Contemporary Street
Art
Popularized in New York City, late 1970’s
Origins
Political Propaganda
Vandalism triggered a sense of
rebellion
A powerful
way to express ideas. The street
being the canvas of the art.
Art became for the people
rather than something exclusively
shown in galleries
A street poster from the May
1968 protests in Paris. It
reads "the struggle
continues."
Kyselak is considered the grandfather of modern graffiti and street art.
Left, an unknown artist’s interpretation of Lyselak
and right, an actual "tag" by Kyselak in Austria
1799- 1831
Introduction to a sense of anonymity in art
Notable Artists of the 1980’s
• Keith Haring (May 1958 – February 16 1990) –
First artist to bring more than just graffiti to
the streets.
• Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22 1960 August 12 1988) – More quote based,
wanted to get the average man thinking.
“Crack Is Wack” Keith Haring 1986
Jean Michel Basquiat began the iconic “SAMO” tag in downtown NYC 1977-1980
*some artists still use the SAMO tag a a tribute to Basquiat
Contemporary Street Artists
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Invader
JR
Blu
Banksy
Shepard Fairey (Obey Movement)
Zed1
Morley
Herakut
Hot Tea
Poster Boy
Invader
• Based in Paris
• Possibly influenced by earlier mosaic work of
the Early Medieval Churches
• Inspired by 1978 arcade game “Space
Invaders”
www.space-invaders.com
• Started in 1998
Spotted In Amsterdam
Hot Tea
• Work spotted since 2009
• Works with yarn
• Experiments with public space
HotTea California, February 2013
HotTea – Rituals (Video)
Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn NYC
Experiments with space
Art for the people
Shepard Fairey
• Began as a graphic designer
• “Andre The Giant Has a Posse” sticker
movement of 1989 put him on the map as
“OBEY GIANT”
OBEY GIANT Stencil Spotted in Athens
• Became well known for the 2008 US
Presidential Election stencil of Barack Obama
• Perhaps connects back to the use of street art
as political propaganda – Also, Idolizing a
contemporary figure which can be compared
to earlier portraits of the renaissance (classic
triangular composition)
Shepard Fairey
Ataturk 2008
100 pieces printed
Comparison
Bust of Roman Emperor Galba 1st
Century BCE
“Women Are Heros” JR
Rio de Janeiro August 2008
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Realism
Individualism
Emphasis on Emotion and Character
The Emperor vs. The Average
Woman
Citations
• “Haring” by Alexandra Kolossa published by
Taschen books
• “Street Art” Vandalog.com, n.d. Web. 6 Oct 2013
http://blog.vandalog.com/.
• Ward, Ossian “How Graffiti Became Art” Time
Out. Np., 26 Jan 2008. Web. 6 Oct 2013
• “The History of Modern Street Art and Graffiti
Continued” WEURBANARTIST. Web. 5 Oct 2013
http://weburbanist.com/2009/04/24/the-historyof-modern-street-art-and-graffiti-continued/