Street art

Adrianna Woszczynska, 305575

What is street art?Street art is visual art usually created in public locations, most of the time unsanctioned artwork created outside of the context of traditional art venues. Many people don’t recognise this artwork as art and tend to compare it to vandalism. Street art include different kind of terms, for example: graffiti artwork, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheatpasting and street poster art. There’s no one way to describe this art, with anti-capitalist and rebellious undertones, it is a democratic form of popular public art probably best understood by seeing it in situ.

History of street art.

Some of the earliest expressions of street art were certainly the graffiti, which started showing up on the sides of trains, cars and walls. This was the work of gangs in the 1920s and 1930s New York. The impact of this subversive culture was extraordinarily felt in the 1970s and 1980s. These decades were a significant turning point in the history of street art – it was a time when young people, by responding to their socio-political environment, started creating a movement, taking the ‘battle for meaning’ into their own hands. Soon, this subcultural phenomenon gained the attention and respect in the ‘grown-up’ world. From the fingers and cans of teenagers, it had taken a form of true artistic expression.

Essentially an illegal activity, a process of creation through destruction began its evolution into numerous forms of artistic expression which found it’s way to galleries and the global art market. Although still subversive, and in its large part an illegal movement, through art enthusiasts and professionals, street art earned its place in the contemporary art world.

Examples of modern street art

Examples of legal street art

LEGALITY OF STREET ART

Laws regarding street art (rules against illegal graffiti)

Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

The anti-social behaviour act 2003 introduced powers for local councils to punish offenders and to help them clean up illegal graffiti. The only way of producing legal graffiti within the council is by using free walls provided locally (only in some places). The powers under the Act include the following:

Local authorities have the power to give clean-up notices to owners of street furniture for example phone boxes if they have graffiti on them The notice will state that if the property is not cleaned within 28 days the local authority will be able to remove the graffiti themselves charging the owner for this service.

● The Act also makes it an offence to sell spray paint to people under the age of 16. It is the duty of shopkeepers to prove that they took reasonable steps to determine the age of the person. If they did not do this they can be fined up to £2,500.

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment act 2005

Fixed penalty notices: The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 gives local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notice for anyone caught doing graffiti. While the individual is subject to the fixed penalty notice no criminal proceedings can be brought against him for 14 days after he has become subject to the notice or if he pays the notice.

The Clean Neighbourhoods Act specifies the usual fixed penalty for this offence to be £75. The local authority is able to specify a higher or lower penalty however if it deems to be necessary. Failure to comply with the fixed penalty notice will result in a criminal sanction.

Criminal Damage Act 1971Section 6 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 provides for the offences in relation to graffiti. Someone caught doing graffiti will be guilty of a criminal act and can be fined up to £5,000 if the damage they have caused is less than £5,000. Alternatively they may be given a community service order rather than a fine which is often the case in relation to young offenders. If the cost of the damage is over £5,000 then the case will be referred to the Crown Court which has the scope for tougher sentences.

Currently the Criminal Damage Act does not give stop and search powers meaning that people stopped who have been thought to have been carrying out graffiti cannot be searched for spray cans and such like.

Antisocial Behaviour Order (ASBO)Anyone over the age of 10 can be gives an ASBO if they behave antisocially. Behaving antisocially includes: ● Drunken or threatening behaviour. ● Vandalism and graffiti.● Playing loud music at night.

Getting an ASBO means you won’t be allowed to do certain things, such as:● Going to a particular place, example; your local town centre.

Spending time with people who are known as trouble-makers.

Drinking on the streets.

As ASBO will last for at least 2 years. It could be reviewed if your behaviour improves. Penalties for not obeying your ASBO.

Breaking or “breaching” the ASBO is a criminal offence and you can be taken to court. The sentence you get will depend on the circumstances and your age.

● Young offenders. You can be fined up to £250 (if you’re ages 10 to 14) or up to £1,000 (if you’re ages 15 to 17). The fine may have to be paid by your parents if you’re under 16. You might also get community sentence or, if you're over 12, a detention and training order (DTO) for up to 24 months.

● Adult offenders.You can be fined up to £5,000 or sentenced to 5 years in prison, or both.

Where does Graffiti Fall under intellectual property law? Whether or not graffiti is subject to intellectual property (IP) laws are often determined by circumstance, the type of property the graffiti exists on, and who owns that property. Artists, in general, are allowed to claim copyright protection to prevent others from stealing their work and ideas, and also making profit from those.

One of these cases regards a famous British street artist called Banksy. He created a mural on the side of a building, which has stood for years and a not-for-profit art gallery removed his work. However, the notoriety of Banksy was something the owners of the building realised, and they claimed that the mural was worth an estimated $100,000, proceeding to file for damages against the gallery that removed the mural.

Legal graffiti walls Free walls:

Many local councils within the UK try and provide spaces for graffiti artists to present their artwork legally. It is a good way to deal with it within the society because it gives people a clear indication of where they can do it (and do it legally) and where they can’t. Example:

Glossop (https://legal-walls.net/wall/1038),

Mossley (https://legal-walls.net/wall/481),

Stalybridge (https://legal-walls.net/wall/1039)

STREET ART GUIDE

Tagging This is an example of tagging in Manchester Northern quarter. A tag is the most basic writing of an artist’s name; it is simple a handstyle. A graffiti writer’s tag is his or her personalized signature. Tags can contain subtle and sometimes cryptic messages, and may incorporate the artist’s crew initials or other letters. Tagging tends to be illegal and if caught doing there are fines.

Commissioned MuralCommissioned murals is a type of street art where the owners of the particular place pay the artist to create something on their property. These type of murals are legal since they’re paid for and arranged, plus include the artist's name. It’s considered property and its protected by law.

Large format posterA poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. They are frequent tool of advertisers (particularly of events, musicians and films), propagandists, protestors and other groups trying to communicate a message.

Mosaic A mosaic is a piece of art or image made from the assemblage of small pieces of coloured glass, stone, or other materials. It is often used in decorative art or as interior decoration, however here it’s presented as a street art piece. Most mosaics are made out of small, flat, roughly square pieces of stone or glass of different colours/shades (known as tesserae).

InstallationInstallation is another form of street art,while more conventional street art is done on walls and surfaces - street installations use three-dimensional objects set in an urban environment. Like graffiti, it is generally non-permission based and the installation is effectively abandoned by the artist upon completion. Street installations sometimes have an interactive component.

PoliticalPolitics and political opinions are linked in a number of ways to modern Street Art. Ideology informs both the work produced by the artist and how this work is perceived by the viewer. Artists can convey explicit messages to the general public through Street Art, arguably in a manner which reaches a larger proportion of the population than do more conventional forms of art.

Sticker StickersSticker art (also known as sticker bombing, sticker slapping, slap tagging, and sticker tagging) is a form of street art in which an image or message is publicly displayed using stickers. These stickers may promote a political agenda, comment on a policy or issue, or comprise a subcategory of graffiti.

Sticker artists use a variety of label types, including inexpensively purchased and free stickers, such as the United States Postal Service's Label 228 or name tags.

Wheatpaste posterWheatpaste (also known as flour paste, or simply paste) is a gel or liquid adhesive made from wheat flour or starch and water. It has been used since antiquity for various arts and crafts such as bookbinding, collage etc. Closely resembling wallpaper paste, a crude wheat flour paste can be made by mixing roughly equal portions of flour and water by heating until the mixture thickens. A crucial difference among wheat pastes is the division between those made from flour and those made from starch. Vegetable flours contain both gluten and starch. Using only starch, a fine quality, fully reversible paste can be produced. The latter is the standard adhesive for paper conservation.

Photoshoot I set up for one of my final pieces.

Final pieceThe photoshoot I set up for my final piece was based on a company called “Supreme”. It’s a popular and quite expensive company, sometimes coming up with stuff that has literally no use to them as a clothing/skate company - yet people still buy it for a name. Therefore, I decided to put “Supreme” on a trash bag and make it look like another thing they’re selling. I made my model try and make it look like he’s excited about it too and would also pay money for it.

Supreme red clay brick, selling for £399 retail and on ebay.