Description
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graffiti into a more commercial form of art, as one of the main differences now lies with the messaging. Street art is often meant to provoke thought rather than rejection among the general audience through making its purpose more evident than that of graffiti. The issue of permission has also come to the heart of street art, as graffiti is usually done illegally, whereas street art can nowadays be the product of an agreement or even sometimes a commission. However, it remains different from traditional art exposed in public spaces by its explicit use of said space in the conception phase. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Banksy
World-famous anonymous British street artist whose subversive stencil murals and political commentary catapulted public street art to global museum prestige.
Keith Haring
Legendary pioneer of 1980s street art who transitioned from quick white chalk drawings on New York subway blackboards to public murals advocating social activism.
John Fekner
Innovative 1980s street artist known for stenciling large conceptual words and socio-political messages across decaying buildings in the South Bronx.
Shepard Fairey
Influential street artist who founded the OBEY Giant campaign and demonstrated the immense power of guerrilla poster art and political iconography.
C215 (Christian Guémy)
Celebrated French stencil master whose detailed, highly expressive street portraits honor everyday citizens and cultural heroes on public city walls.
Famous Artworks
Crack is Wack Mural
Keith Haring · 1986
East 128th Street and Harlem River Drive, New York City - Acrylic and spray paint on concrete handball court wall
Balloon Girl
Banksy · 2002
Waterloo Bridge / South Bank, London - Stencil aerosol spray paint on concrete wall
Fun Facts
While traditional graffiti focuses heavily on lettering, tag names, and peer communication within subcultures, street art evolved in the 1980s to prioritize pictorial imagery and explicit socio-political messages intended for the broader general public.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
In 1980, when presidential candidate Ronald Reagan held a press conference at the devastated Charlotte Street in the South Bronx, John Fekner's massive stenciled street art words 'Broken Promises' and 'Decay' appeared prominently behind him on national television.
↗ Source: en.wikipedia.org
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