How did street art become a movement?

Everyone had their definition of what street art, or urban art, is. While some people think it is the art of public places, others define it as a contemporary movement. Street art encompasses all forms of art made in the street, such as graffiti, tagging, video projection and many others.

Where does street art come from?

According to experts, street art is not a recent movement and has rather existed for centuries. It was the two artists known as Cornbread and Cool Earl who did the first graffiti writing in Philadelphia. Shortly afterwards, Taki 183, Keith Haring and Blade One made their appearance in the world of American street art by writing various messages on the walls themselves. This was the beginning of the rebirth of street art in the United States, which then spread to the rest of the world. In some countries, street art is used as a means of expression during political, economic and social protest. At the end of the 1910 revolution, walls were covered with paintings in Mexico. The same phenomenon appeared in Russia. This craftwork also broke into France in 1980 thanks to urban artists Jérôme Mesnager and BLek Le Rat. The art of the New York subways reached Paris in 1982 through the American Bano.

The various types of street art

To begin with, there is graffiti, which is the oldest form of expression. This art consists of reproducing a writing or an image to convey messages in public places. In the graffiti family is the tag which is a kind of signature or mark made quickly with an aerosol. Staying in the graffiti category, we can mention the flop which is similar to the tag, but in a large format with many colours. Then there is the stencil technique where the artist has to represent a drawing on a rigid material and then place the stencil before flunking it. In this way, the drawing can be reproduced several times. Street art is not limited to graffiti and stencilling. Indeed, artists have improved their technique by adopting stick-art or sticker art. Stickers are less degrading than spray cans, and you can take them anywhere and stick them anywhere.

Other street art techniques

In the last ten years, street art has become an important part of the art world. Although it is still illegal and considered an act of vandalism, street art has been revolutionised and additional techniques have emerged. Among these is the mural or drawing portraits on a wall using many colours. Apart from that, there is the use of mosaics as well as yarn bombing which consists of painting real estate or trees. This technique is based on the use of yarns, in order to give a positive mood to those who look at them.

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