Street art
Street art
 Street art is any art developed in public spaces
— "in the streets”.
 The term street art is used to
distinguish contemporary
public-space artwork from
territorial graffiti, vandalism
and corporate art.
The cave paintings in Lascaux in France
ca. 15,000-10,000 BC.
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Ancient graffiti
 Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating
back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
 Graffiti art is free – made by people because they want to, not
because they need to.
Ancient Graffiti on the walls of
Pompeii, 79 AD
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Graffiti refers to the hip-hop graffiti writing
(tagging) originated in New York and
Philadelphia in the late 1960s.
Graffiti is any type of public painting of simple
written words on wall paintings.
Street art as a term was first used in the 1980s
to describe any art in the urban environment.
The term refers to art, as opposed to the
society.
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Mission of street artists
The term street art is used to distinguish contemporary publicspace artwork from territorial graffiti, vandalism and corporate
art.
Reclaiming the city space is often the main mission for graffiti
artists either as a reaction against the society or a need to make
a persona mark on their environment.
Sometimes graffiti is painted to communicate social and
political messages.
It can be an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions
– or it is just considered vandalism.
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Graffiti tags
Graffiti is often related to underground music creating a lifestyle
that remains hidden from the general public.
Graffiti is used as a gang signal to mark
territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag"
for gang-related activity.
There are many different types and styles
of graffiti.
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Tags
 Graffiti exists in one specific place for a limited amount of time
and then it disappears
 Making your own mark is the
essence of graffiti culture.
 Writing your name or tag
on the wall or on a train is
the essence of graffiti
tagging
 Video of train tagging in London:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCFKrRcC5m4 or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBJSl4BqnEc&feature=related
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Street art or the neograffiti era
Due to the rich development and use of new techniques it is
getting harder to distinguish between graffiti and street art.
Tags have been replaced
with more personal logos.
A shift from typographic
graffiti to iconographic
graffiti started.
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Iconographic graffiti
Cities all over are loaded with signs.
The fascination is what signs symbolize: they represent
order, authority, consumer culture.
Icons are visually stronger than
words using the more emotive
visual language of symbols.
Iconographic approach speaks
more directly to the audience.
“Brandalism” first introduced
by Banksy in 2003 expressing
antipathy against corporate
branding.
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Stencil graffiti
 Stencil graffiti use paper, cardboard, or other media to
create an image or text that is easily reproduceable.
The design is cut out of the
selected medium – paperboard - and then the image
is transferred to a surface
through the use of spray
paint or roll-on paint.
 One of the best known
graffiti artists who use
stencils extensively is
Banksy.
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Banksy
 Banksy is an English graffiti artist, 1974.
 His artworks are often satirical pieces of art on topics such as
politics, culture, and ethics.
His street art combines graffiti writing
with a distinctive stenciling technique.
His art has appeared in cities around
the world.
Banksy's work was born out of the
Bristol underground scene which
involved artists and musicians.
Banksy art in Brick Lane, East End, 2004.
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The flowerguy
Screen printing on found paper.
Best known for his iconic flower
prints.
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El tono – a public space artist
 Street poster art is a kind of graffiti where posters are hand-made
of paper or printed graphics on thin paper.
http://www.eltono.com/interior/pubblico/
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Websites
http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/horizontal_1.htm
http://www.workhorsevisuals.com/flash/index.html
http://www.conorharrington.com/index.php?pageID=3
Musician:
http://fortminor.com/site.php
Tutorial:
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/2d__and__pho
toshop/photoshop_street_art
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/tutorials/2d__and__pho
toshop/8_fume-free_graffiti_tutorials_for_digital_artists
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Street art - Characteristics
Graffiti taggers writing stylized names
eye-catching devices added to the letterforms
“Brandalism” expressing antipathy against corporate
branding
Many visual methods/materials in use e.g. spray painted,
drawn, stencilled, postered, stickered, sculptured and
computer made.
Forms of expression: pictograms, abstract shapes,
mysterious characters, signs, spontaneous drawings,
powerful symbols
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