Graffiti and Street Art

World of Art

by Anna Waclawek

A refreshingly jargon-free survey of what many consider the art movement of the twenty-first century. Whether adored or abhorred, graffiti and street art provoke passionate debate. This is the first comprehensive popular survey of the art movement around the world. Organized thematically, it explores the origins of the movement and its evolution, the relationship between street art and the urban environment, its interactions with (or rejection of) the market and the world of commercial galleries, and the culture of street art online.

The book features a wide range of artists working in different media and styles across multiple countries. It explains the terms and language of street art―from tags and throwies to culture jamming and subvertising―as well as its multiple influences and sub-genres. 211 illustrations in color and black and white

Genres: Art, Street Art, Graffiti, Nonfiction, Art History

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2011

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books I've seen that attempts a theory, history, and critique of graffiti and street art. Good balance between academic writing and picture book.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro documental bastante completo (incomparable y único, pues poco se ha escrito y estudiado) sobre el Graffiti y el arte callejero.
En general es un buen libro para entender conceptos y mirar más allá de Banksy (con todos mis respetos).

He podido conocer el trabajo de artistas que merecen una ovación ya sea por su originalidad, por lo que transmiten, por el mensaje, por la vía, por los materiales, por la valentía de mujeres en un mundo masculinizado, etc.

Me ha encantado descubrir conceptos nuevos asociados a la temática, como el trabajo de Ron English, 'POPaganda', que yo lo hacía como un género más dentro del mundo.

Como he comentado en los anteriores avances conforme iba avanzando capítulos, el tema de las galerías de arte me sobran tremendamente. Mencionarlo bueno, pero dedicarles tanto para decir lo mismo -que únicamente sería para poner precio a algo que no puede ponerse-, me parece absurdo.
También me ha chocado que se mencione de pasada a Banksy, dedicándole menos ilustraciones que a otros artistas, pero quizás haya sido adrede. Y, por último, me hubiera gustado haber leído más sobre la politización del Graffiti. Parece que ha sido evitado a conciencia.

[Srđan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of the statements expressed in this book still stand today, 10 years after it was published. Great, compact analysis, breaks down many key points and richly illustrated. A very good introduction to graffiti and street art (called "post-graffiti" in the book - a few redundant terms present).

The only lack I felt was losing the compactness in the second half of the book, where issues seem to be repeating in similar terms and almost the same examples and artists are circulating over and over again. Still, a very good reading, made with a lot of research and attention to detail.

[Patrick Wadden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides a great discussion on the two streams of spray paint art along with accompanying pictures like a curated exhibition but never surmounts the first chapter where I made all my notes. When it starts getting into the weeds of its various theses I was never able to find it again as even though it was quite content retracing the same old steps in each paragraph, I lost my way.

[Scout Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great survey with full color examples which made it so hard to put down lol. I could do with like 2 or 3 less Banksy references though, we get it, spend time on someone else now

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a disappointing introduction, I enjoyed the book and eventually was impressed with the treatment of the subject. The book starts with a history of signature graffiti (tagging) in the 70s. I think it is this first section of the book where I find the writing to be repetitive and elementary. The history was useful, but I felt like the author was trying to hard to make the early tagging into Fine Art. The author also tries to deconstruct the symbolism in the tags and larger graffiti pieces, but there isn't much that needs explaining. A crown means king, a star and underlining add emphasis. The graffiti culture also was less interesting to me.

Most of the book talks about what I call expressive or artistic graffiti and street art that is related but distinct from the origins of signature graffiti. I was most impressed with the inclusion of unusual media including yarn bombing and delicately cut paper installed in the street. There were plenty of high quality illustrations, almost all were in color, and I thought the author did a particularly nice job of supporting her written ideas with visual imagery. The artists represent a wide range of contemporary graffiti art and "post-graffiti" street art. The author will use several artists to support a topic in an early section and then refer to the artist again with new images in a later section. By the end you feel like you recognize the work of the various artists.

I had never heard of artists cleaning dirty city walls to create reverse graffiti images visible in the contrast between the dirty and newly clean sections of the wall. My husband actually wrote on our sidewalk with a pressure washer, essentially cleaning the sidewalk in a pattern that spells out a name, but I didn't make the connection between that and graffiti writing or art. How fascinating, how beautiful and how unexpected to create this "illegal" art in a manner that is ambiguous in its legal status. Is it illegal to clean city walls?

You can read an extended version of my review with images on my blog: http://racheldorn.blogspot.com/2013/0...

[Michael Huczek · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading many art and specifically street art books, I found this one different in a positive way. Unlike many other books involving street art this one does a great job of mixing history of different styles, areas, and people and the impact of each. The book also included many illustrations to show what was being described. I found it interesting that the book went back to original tagging and discussed about that. After reading many street art books I still found new and interesting information. The book is fairly short however it is not completely filled with illustrations as many art books do. The book is good and I would recommend it to not only fans of street art but people looking to learn more about the subject.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes into the history and rationale of street art. Of particular interest is the theory that street art is an attempt to reclaim the public space that has been appropriated by commercial interests. It also goes into the democratisation of art through street art. By bypassing the gatekeepers of art--the gallery owners, the academics, and the rich patrons who buy art--street artists can approach the public directly with their messages. A good read for those who are interested in street art.

[Braden Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a catalogue of writers and street artists, but a full on reflection as to how the art forms have intervened and modified ideas of public space, marketing monopolies, and urban visual culture.

[Azizah Zahra · Rating 3 out of 5]

the genealogy of graffiti and street art is well explained :)