Hands Up Who Loves Street Art?

Hands up who loves street art? O.K, even if at first you don’t think you do, here’s betting at some point in your life you will definitely have seen street art that you really took a fancy to. And no, street art is not just about graffiti. There are oodles of different types of creative projects that come under the urban ‘street’ umbrella so let’s get started and explore some of the street art trends that are causing a stir across the globe.

Graffiti

Let’s start with the most obvious. Graffiti. Love it or hate it you have to admit that there are some talented graffiti artists out there leaving their mark on the world. Literally. I mean, if you haven’t heard of ‘Banksy’ then you must have been living in a coal cellar for the last 20 years. The Bristol based artist’s humorous yet political stencil street art quickly sprung up in all corners of the globe. Without a shadow of a doubt, Banksy’s work helped to put graffiti firmly on the map of the art world. In fact, some of his ‘pieces’- often created on walls and bridges - were attempted to be sold by art auctioneers who left the problem of collecting the said piece of art to the buyer.

His popularity and notoriety has soared to such heights that much of his art is now protected on the side of buildings with clear perspex to stop others from ‘tagging’ over them. This has to be seen as kind of ironic as any form of graffiti done without permission (despite whether the artist is famous or not) is regarded as a criminal act .Banksy, who is known for his contempt against the government for labelling graffiti as vandalism, must be laughing up his sleeve now that his political art has become highly valued and appreciated.

On the other side of the coin, even though such graffiti has become popular and is in some cases associated with urban beautification and regeneration, it can also cause unexpected problems. Banksy has often received letters from residents in areas where he has painted asking him to stop. Many have considered his art work has contributed to the gentrification of their neighbourhood. House prices have soared as the demand to live in an area where he has painted increases leaving locals unable to afford housing in their own area.

Interestingly, the rising popularity of street art has also resulted in a growing number of urban landscape photographers keen to capture the spirit of this creativity. Some, such as RuediOne used to be graffiti artists themselves but then turned to photographing others work to show the emotional side of graffiti artists in action and how stressful the work can be.

Street Art Installations

This is a massively growing trend. 3D objects are left in the street by the artist and these installations are often interactive and sometimes humorous. Like graffiti, more often than not the artists have not asked for permission.

American, Leon Reid IV is one of the most notable street installation artists was originally a graffiti artist. He later became famous for his 3D street art such as a metal sculpture of a spider on a bricked up window of an empty house in Bristol and a three foot high green metal figure posed as if it was about to cross the Tottenham Court Road in London.

Mark Jenkins, also a well-respected street installation artist holds workshops all over the world teaching others his techniques. Have a gander at this YouTube video which shows a few corking examples of his work over the years.

Love em or hate em street art installations definitely provoke reactions. Personally, I love this type of art as it can really brighten up your day. Here in Brighton, I have to say I am particularly fond of the ‘tin man’ who appeared years ago at the bus stop in Patcham. Locals have adopted the tin man and dress him up from time to time, varying his clothes seasonally. Last year a tin wife for him appeared for a few months! No one knows who the artist is but it is rumoured that the same artist made a life size horse out of car parts and popped it slap bang in the middle of a roundabout where it was more than a little distracting for drivers and had to be removed.

Yarn Bombing

Now this is the kind of art your granny would love! Originating from America where knitters in Texas needed to find a creative use for all their unused and leftover knitting projects. Almost anything can get yarn bombed from trees, shopping trolleys, statues and rubbish bins to steps. It’s really all about being creative and beautifying the everyday rather than making a social or political statement as is the case with many graffiti artists.

One of the most famous yarn bombers is Polish artist Olek who has recently pulled off the biggest yarn bombing project in the world. With the help of four assistants and working solidly for two days she covered a Px48 steam locomotive engine and carriages in crochet to honour famous Polish poet Julian Tuwim, whose poem entitled The Locomotive is cherished in Poland.

So, like I said, I bet that at least once in your life a piece of street art has tickled your fancy. From graffiti to yarn bombing these urban pieces of creativity aim to beautify and often send a political or social message too. There is no denying street art is on the rise and perhaps there are mixed feelings about the side effects on the urban areas that initially inspired such creativity. However, it looks like ‘street’ is here to stay and in for the art world the future looks bright and most definitely ‘urban’.