The Ephemeral Street Art in Today's Art Market
History of Graffiti:
Graffiti by definition is writings, drawings illegally rendered on a wall or other public space, however in the past few years it has become an art form in and of itself. Graffiti has been around since the beginning of humanity, and has developed from cave paintings and depictions of gladiators, to tags and now high art. In the Roman times, graffiti was prominent in every public space, depicting popular gladiators, prostitutes, or slashing politicians. The political turmoil of the 1960’s renewed this same public interest in graffiti, in the form of graffiti protest. Inspired by the Black Arts Movement, Graffiti began to be used as a form of protest, slandering politics, or imploring the public to band together to abolish segregation and racism. At the same time, many of the younger generation began to develop graffiti in the form of tags. Tags, which are still present today, are letterings, or symbols used to depict a person or group. These became popular in the 60’s and 70’s, as it was often used as a competition to see who could “tag” the most public places without being caught. By tagging transit systems such as busses, and subways, graffiti increased in popularity, and moved throughout many of the large cities in the US. The busses and subways also became important in creating the idea of graffiti as an ephemeral work of art, due to the fact that the transit workers, and police often washed the art off due to its illegality.
Graffiti Tag 
In the 1980’s graffiti made an important transition from vandalism, to what is now deemed street art. Many artists had moved beyond their “tags” and began to create more visually appealing work that caught the eye of cutting edge art galleries. The two foremost galleries were Fashion Moda, in the Bronx, and Now Gallery in Manhattan. These two galleries were the first to display graffiti as an art form, and promote artists to the public. The Now Gallery first presented one of the founders of contemporary street art, Jean-Michel Basquiat. With the promotion of this new form of art, street art began to become increasingly popular, leading more galleries to begin distributing street artists’ work, which in turn lead to more artists creating work, altogether accumulating to the contemporary status where street artists such as Basquiat and Banksy have pieces selling in art auctions all over the world for thousands of dollars.
Jean-Michel Basquiat:
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an extremely influential artist in the 1980s, who began as a graffiti artist and through his work in the streets, became recognized and moved forward to become a Neo-expressionist artist. Basquiat began his career when he ran away from home and began to sell his homemade postcards depicting his own designs in order to feed himself. After this, he began spray-painting graffiti on buildings in Manhattan under then name SAMO. Basquiat was influenced by African Diaspora, and used this coupled with his perception of his surroundings while living in the streets, created his unique artistic style, which often included crossed out words, symbols and numbers, which then became signifiers in other street art. Through his work, Basquiat often made political statements, along with discussing his personal experiences. Basquiat became a very accomplished painter, however he never lost the themes he presents in his street art. In one of his pieces entitled Heritage, Basquiat shows his own immediate heritage, as well as that of the United States and the Ancient World. Throughout the painting he also demonstrates his unique style through words in different languages, and misspelled English words, which are not indicative of how educated he actually was. This is demonstrative of the ideology of street art, which is to bring art back to the masses, and away from the academic elite. By misspelling these words, Basquiat is connecting to his audience, the uneducated public.
Basquiat continued to pull influence from the streets long after he had become successful. He continued to depict images reminiscent of the scenes and objects he would have seen on a daily basis when he was homeless. In many of his paintings he depicted car crashes, which reminded him of when he was hit by a car when he was younger, but also demonstrated the uncertainties he faced while living in the street. In many of his paintings he also demonstrated his political beliefs in the equality of African Americans, which was a very popular topic during his time, and often wrote cryptic messages, such as the one depicted here, which discussed jail sentences placed on men of color: “Jimmy Best, Sucker punch, childhood files”. Jimmy Best represents the colored male, sucker punch is the incarceration, and childhood files represents juvenile sentencing. Art Critic Rene Ricard explains: “this is the black man’s first taste of white justice”.
Basquiat became quite popular, and was one of the first street artists to become successful, and many of his pieces are still sold for large amounts of money at renowned auctions such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and many are exhibited in Museums around the world.
Banksy:
The elusive British street artist Banksy employs a technique of stenciling and spray painting on very public areas, depicting political and social satires. Through remaining occult, as well as depicting scenes and images that are controversial comments on society he has become the most recognized and well-known street artists. Even non-art enthusiasts know of Banksy and his creative artistry. Over the years, he has grown in popularity through mysteriously creating his art in famous public places, as well as creating art exhibitions that he himself does not attend, and through this he has gained an unparalleled celebrity. His celebrity is clouded around an anonymous figure that creates his art in secrecy. Not only does he set up his exhibitions and artwork at night when no one can see him, but he also refuses to allow anyone to know his real identity and uses a voice scrambler and facemask in all interviews. The only way that one can know he has done a piece is through his very unique stenciling, which is spray painted in mostly black and white, and sometimes with a splash of color. He is also known by his ironic captions describing satirical pictures. The following photos are typical of his style of artwork.
The location of his artwork is also indicative of his style. Banksy enjoys shocking his viewers by placing art in the most public and most unpredictable locations. Some of his most notable art locations include the following: the Israeli West Bank, The London and Bristol Zoos, illegally in many museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, the Metropolitan, and the Museum of Natural History, as well as on a Disneyland Park ride.
Although Banksy himself refuses to sell any of his street art, many auctioneers have attempted to either steal the art from public areas, or sell it on location, letting the purchaser deal with removing it. Banksy also creates other works in easier to move mediums that auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s have sold. The most recent piece is priced to sell at 100,000 pounds.
Market’s Perception of Street Art:
Since the 1980’s the Art Market has been very open to buying and selling street art, as well as art created by street artists that were not, at any point, in public places. The question of illegality has been pushed aside, because art critics and dealers all realize the value of street art, not only for its aesthetics, but also for its context in the social sphere. Street art often depicts, in a unique or humorous way, the views of the people, and through that the art often depicts a political or social agenda or thought based on the period it was made in. Thus, it is interesting for art dealers to acquire. Dealers, however, are not interested in the beginnings of street art, that is the graffiti tags that began the movement, but rather the pieces created by artists such as the aforementioned Basquiat and Banksy, which depict deeper meanings and also have an aesthetic quality that all can appreciate, not just the people on the “inside” of the graffiti tags.
Due to its rising popularity among celebrities, as well as art critics and dealers, street art has become a very expensive form of contemporary art. The smallest of Banksy’s pieces would bring in at least $50,000, with many going for much more. One of his record sales, a piece entitled Space Girl & Bird sold for a record $576,000.
The Los Angeles MoCA Exhibition: Art in the Streets: 
In August 2011, the Los Angeles MoCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) held an exhibit entitled Art in the Streets, which displayed some of the most influential street art since the 1980s. “One of the goals of this show is to place the best of these artists coming out of street culture into the context of contemporary art history,” director of the exhibit Jeffery Deitch explains, “I don’t think that there’s some separate category — real contemporary art versus street art. ... [I want] to look at this art in a similar way as a museum looks at new abstract painting. You look for the people that are original, the innovators who have exemplary technique”. Some of the talented artists from around the globe exhibited in this show were: Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Futura, Margaret Kilgallen, Swoon, Shepard Fairey, Os Gemeos, JR, Craig R. Stecyk III, Chaz Bojórquez, Mister Cartoon, RETNA, SABER, REVOK, Banksy and RISK. One of the largest complaints by the audience is that it does not include all graffiti and street artists, and therefore it is not a complete history of street art. To this, the director replies: “The common misconception here is that this show is a complete history or an L.A. graf show,” Gastman says. “It’s neither of those things. It’s 30 to 40 artists who raised the profile of an entire movement with high artistic merit. ... The participating artists were very supportive once they understood this intent. ... There is a reason and thought behind every one of the pieces included.”
In order to garner excitement for the event, Deitch commissioned a graffiti artist to make a mural on the entire front side of the MoCA exhibit. Unfortunately, graffiti artists are prone to making commentary on all of their artwork, and the piece that muralist Blu created which showed coffins covered with dollar bills, caused too much unrest in the area, and thus had to be changed to a less provocative mural.
This, in turn, caused strife between the artists and their fans, because the exhibit was supposed to show street art as it is, and applaud the brave and controversial messages behind the art, but at the very beginning planning stages, the museum was already reneging on this idea, and censoring one artist’s work. Dietch explains the difficulty behind hosting graffiti and street artists in a museum setting: “Museums are used to dealing with artists who behave in a museum,” Deitch says. “But here, we’re dealing with artists many of whom misbehave in a museum”. Many artists also agreed with this statement, and therefore disagreed with the prospect of putting street art in the museum setting, one such artist Revok, states: I want to do art that you can’t avoid — not that you have to seek out,” he said. “I’m about painting walls and being out in the city, interacting with people on a daily basis.”
Revok demonstrates a popular belief of street artists, and thus museum exhibitions such as Art in the Streets are received with mixed feelings. Although it is unprecedented to bring that many street artists into one setting, and the director Jeffery Dietch worked hard to maintain a sense of being in the streets, the context is completely different, and thus the overall message, and reaction to the artwork are much different. It is commendable that Dietch is trying to preserve a part of this ever-changing art form, however at the same time that goes against what graffiti and street art stand for. Street art was meant to be fleeting, here one minute and gone the next, and it was meant to remain in the public’s hands. By taking it away from the public sphere, and the all-inclusive audience, the art show moves street art to a place it was never supposed to be in: the museum.
Pieces from the Art Show: 
The Public Sphere of Street Art and its Ephemeral Nature:
The most interesting, and almost ironic things about the increasing popularity of street art in the art world, is the fact that it was never meant to be sold in auction houses, nor was the intended audiences ever supposed to be the type that visit these galleries and auction houses. Street art originally intended to be for the masses. It was made so that it could take art out of the hands of these aristocratic dealers, critics and gallery owners, and put back into the average persons hands. Not only that, but the art was made to be set in a specific context, and does not make sense outside of the context. One of Banksy’s most controversial, and interesting pieces is a stencil and painting he did on the side of the wall separating the West Bank. This picture, shown below, depicts children playing next to the cracked hole, which shows a sort of paradise, thus demonstrating his anti-war stance. By removing this art from its context, meaning the location, and time it exists within, the piece does not make as strong of an argument, or create as much discussion as it does within the context. Without the war, or the barrier, which in itself symbolizes the split between the Palestinians and the Israelis, the art is just a pretty piece of stencil and painting, that is interesting, but when it is within its context on the wall, the piece becomes provocative and controversial. Thus it is interesting that art dealers and critics desire to make a profit by taking these pieces out of their context, and selling them at exorbitant prices when that is starkly contrasting with the original definition of street art.
I agree with the idea of selling pieces by street artists that were not created in public spheres, but to remove a piece from its context simply makes the piece worthless, and goes against everything street art stands for.
Street art at its very essence is an ephemeral form of art. It changes constantly, and could be there one minute and gone the next. The illegality of street art causes it to become a forbidden art, thus making it more appealing. Not only that but the idea that street art can be so fleeting, due to the fact that one day an artist could make a beautiful painting, and the next day the authorities could remove it, makes it all the more beautiful when its there, and all the more missed when it’s gone. The nature of street art as something intangible, something that cannot be bought, because it is not all that certain it will remain forever, creates an allure to the artwork that cannot be fabricated, and thus there is an immediacy and a realness that comes with the art.
Many times there are also competing street artists that may draw over each other’s art, as a way to assert dominance. By doing this, they also, intentionally or not, bring the audience in to their art on a more personal level. The viewers can see the progress made on one piece of art, thus they feel as though they took part in the creating of it. One such battle was between street art legends Banksy and graffiti artists Robbo. One can see the progression of the art with each artist adding on top of the others’ work. Not only do each separate artist add to the piece, but by wiping out the art, and painting over it, the authorities actually add to the art itself. Street art is not always about the finished product, but rather is about the path to get there, and often artists are not upset by other artists adding to it, or being blocked by authorities, rather they are excited that their art has provided so much discussion and action. This discussion between different artists, the authorities, and the audience creates a context that is so valuable it cannot be duplicated or valued as high in any other location. 
Links explaining the war between Robbo and Banksy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nolionsinengland/4199803487/
http://graffoto1.blogspot.com/2009/12/banksy-vs-robbo-wrh-wd-checkmate.html
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/people/my-graffiti-war-with-banksy-by-king-robbo/
A video about the war:
http://www.babelgum.com/4023670/banksy-robbo-its-war.html
Sources:
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/basquiat/street-to-studio/english/explore_visual.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_Gallery
http://cutnspray.com/theforum/discussion/5514/rise-of-street-art-at-auction
http://avant-streetart.com/avant_street_art_1980s_New_York.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy#Notable_art_pieces
http://artist.christies.com/Banksy-b-1975-54406.aspx
http://lagente.org/2011/02/20/writings-on-the-wall-piecing-together-graffiti-art-and-culture/
http://www.artinfo.com.au/articles/read/reversal-of-graffiti-subversive
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nolionsinengland/4199803487/
http://graffoto1.blogspot.com/2009/12/banksy-vs-robbo-wrh-wd-checkmate.html
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/people/my-graffiti-war-with-banksy-by-king-robbo/
http://www.babelgum.com/4023670/banksy-robbo-its-war.html
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/14/070514fa_fact_collins?currentPage=all
http://www.artinfo.com.au/articles/read/reversal-of-graffiti-subversive
http://lagente.org/2011/02/20/writings-on-the-wall-piecing-together-graffiti-art-and-culture/
http://www.graffiti.org/faq/stowers.html
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2011/11/street-art-finds-home-tel-aviv/415/
http://flavorwire.com/18899/exclusive-redefining-urban-art-at-the-auction-house
http://unurth.com/1312858/MOCA-Art-In-The-Streets-Los-Angeles
http://www.laweekly.com/2011-04-07/art-books/street-art-at-moca/
http://www.nicolettemason.com/2011/07/art-in-streets.html
http://www.moca.org/audio/blog/?cat=84
http://www.moca.org/audio/blog/?p=1522
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/36614/street-artists-strike-back-at-deitchs-mural-whitewashing/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GEbYFrWUgTQ
Banksy Film." Exit Through The Gift Shop. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.banksyfilm.com/synopsis.html?reload>.
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