The Birth of Contemporary Street Art

Popularized in New York City, late 1970’s

Origins

Political Propaganda

Vandalism triggered a sense ofrebellion

A powerfulway to express ideas. The street being the canvas of the art.

Art became for the people rather than something exclusivelyshown 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

• 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”• Started in 1998

Spotted In Amsterdam

www.space-invaders.com

Hot Tea

• Work spotted since 2009 • Works with yarn • Experiments with public space

HotTea California, February 2013

HotTea – Rituals (Video)Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn NYCExperiments 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 2008100 pieces printed

Comparison

“Women Are Heros” JR Rio de Janeiro August 2008

Bust of Roman Emperor Galba 1st Century BCE

• 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-history-of-modern-street-art-and-graffiti-continued/