The history of street art originated by labeling or scratching names on public properties. The graffiti artists of the 1970s and 1980s began to inspire people like Keith Haring, who drew with chalk in the New York City subway system before becoming famous in the art world. Street art has evolved from the first forms of challenging graffiti to a more commercial form of art, since one of the main differences now lies in the messages. Street art often seeks to provoke thought rather than rejection among the general public by making its purpose more evident than that of graffiti.
The issue of permits has also been at the center of street art, since graffiti is usually done illegally, while today street art can be the product of an agreement or even, sometimes, of a commission. However, it is still different from traditional art exhibited in public spaces because of its explicit use of such space during the design phase. Street art was also closely linked to hip hop culture. As such, many of the artists began working in New York, but the medium quickly expanded to urban centers in the United States.
Rap legend Fab 5 Freddy was intimately linked to the graffiti community through artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Soon enough, photographs were not the only way to capture and “move” street art to different contexts. Artists from all over California and around the world will paint murals and create street art during a week-long festival. Renowned contemporary artist Barry McGee is considered one of the most important members of the street art movement.
As the 1980s progressed, there was a shift from text-based works of the early decade to visually conceptual street art, such as Hambleton's shadow figures. Often fun and thought-provoking, street art encompasses an extremely wide range of interesting topics and techniques that go beyond traditional graffiti and spray painting. The dissolution of the Soviet Union left Georgia with a tempting urban space for the development of street art. Street art in the form of text or simple iconic graphics of corporate icons can become well-known but enigmatic symbols of an area or era.
Reflections on political and social issues usually occupy a central place in street art, ranging from sprayed labels, through stickers and woven fibers that wrap around telephone poles to monumental painted murals that cover entire buildings. After his early death, his reputation soared and today, through his paintings and graffiti, Jean-Michel Basquiat is considered to be one of the first and greatest exponents of visual art in the history of African-American art. Paris, France, has an active street art scene that hosts artists such as Space Invader, Jef Aérosol, SP 38 and Zevs. The Chelsea art district became another place, and galleries in the area also hosted formal exhibitions of works by street artists.
Some artists now offer tours of local street art and can share their knowledge, explaining the ideas behind many works, the reasons for the labeling and the messages portrayed in many graffiti works. We take a look at some of the most famous street artists of the past and the most influential street artists of today. While street art is often commissioned, the manufacture of graffiti is often sanctioned and cities often treat the act of spraying graffiti as an act of vandalism.
