To this day some people still do not consider graffiti a form of art, but think it is a crime. Street art is visual art created in public places. For the most part it is unsanctioned artwork that goes outside of the traditional context of art venues being executed in outdoor locations. The term Street Art became popular during the early 1980’s when graffiti was booming. Looking at these pictures I find it hard to say this is vandalism.
The terms “urban art”, “post-graffiti”, “urban art” and “neo-graffiti” are also sometimes used when referring to artwork created in these contexts.
Traditional spray-painted graffiti artwork is often included in this category, excluding territorial graffiti or pure vandalism.
Artists who pick the streets as their gallery are often doing so from a preference to communicate directly with the public, free from perceived confines of the formal art world.
Street artists sometimes present socially relevant content infused with esthetic value, to attract attention to a cause or as a form of “art provocation”.
Street artists often travel between countries to spread their designs. Some artists have gained cult-followings, media and art world attention. They have gone on to work commercially in the styles which made their work known on the streets.
One very well know artist is Banksy. He is a UK-based graffiti artist, film director, political activist, and painter.
This one adds a little greenery in an urban setting.
Slogans of protest and political or social commentary graffitied onto public walls are the precursor to modern graffiti and street art, and continue as one aspect of the genre.
Some street artists have even earned international attention for their work and have made a full transition from street art into the mainstream art world.
Street art exists worldwide.
Some street artists use “smart vandalism” to raise awareness of social and political issues. Other street artists see urban space as an untapped format for personal artwork, while others may appreciate the challenges and risks that are associated with installing illicit artwork in public places. A universal motive of most, if not all street art, is that adapting visual artwork into a format which utilizes public space allows artists who may otherwise feel disenfranchised to reach a much broader audience than traditional artwork and galleries generally allow.