For my final project, I am going to focus on street art. Street art is a upcoming form of art that has provided much controversy based on the question: Is it legal? In order to explore this new art form, I plan to mainly follow the biggest street artist, Banksy, while also touching upon other artists such as Basquiat, Jef Aerosol, Mat Benote, Tod Hanson, Invador and Mr. Brainwash. I also plan to discuss the artist Richard Hambleton, who began his art career with street art, and then moved on to a contemporary art career in galleries and museums. My overall question will be, is it vandalism or art? I plan to explore this by asking other questions such as, how can you compare it to famous artists that work in other mediums such as Picasso or Warhol? What is it's social agenda? Is it wrong for publications and art houses (such as Sotheby's) to condone his law-breaking by promoting and selling his artwork? Should action be taken against his pieces, should they be covered up because they are illegal? What precedent and example are these artists, namely Banksy, giving to other street artists, or even street vandalizers who follow in his footsteps? When does graffiti become art? What place does it take in the art market if it cannot be sold?
An outline would be as follows:
I. Introduction
II. A short history of Street Art
a) how/when started
b) progression of street art
c) contemporary street artists/major contributors
III. Reception of street art
a) First reception
b) contemporary reception in the art market
IV. Street Art and Gallerys/Auctions
a) How sold
b) Moral obligations of the galleries/auctions
V. Illegality of Street Art
a) contemporary police action against street artists
b) difference between art and vandalism
c) Example it sets for younger artists/vandalizers
VI. Big Picture
a) How does street art compare with other forms of art?
b) What is it's place in the art market?
c) Should street art be considered art?
Some potential sources:
"Banksy Film." Exit Through The Gift Shop. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.banksyfilm.com/synopsis.html?reload>.
Banksy. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/qaa.html>.
"Dept. of Popular Culture: Banksy Was Here." The New Yorker. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/14/070514fa_fact_collins?currentPage=all>.
Droney, Damien. "The Business of "Getting Up": Street Art and Marketing in Los Angeles." Visual Anthropology 23.2 (2010): 98-114. Print.
Edwards, Ian. "Banksy's Graffiti: A Not-so-simple Case of Criminal Damage?" Journal of Criminal Law 73.4 (2009): 345-61. Print.
MacFarlane, Jo, and Sharon Feinstein. "Banksy or No Banksy, We're Painting This Wall." Mail on Sunday (2008): 10. Print.
Riggle, Nicholas A. "Street Art: The Transfiguration of the Commonplaces." Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism 68.3 (2010): 243-57. Print.
Visconti, Luca M., John F. Sherry Jr., Stefania Borghini, and Laurel Anderson. "Street Art, Sweet Art? Reclaiming the Public in Public Place." Journal of Consumer Research 37.3 (2010): 511-29. Print.
Ward, Ossian. "Banksy Interview - Art - Time Out London." Time Out Worldwide - Your Guide to the Best Things to Do in the World's Greatest Cities including London and New York. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.timeout.com/london/art/article/863/banksy-interview>.
"The World According to Banksy - Photo Essays - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1678584,00.html>.
Young, Alison. "Negotiated Consent or Zero Tolerance? Responding to Graffiti and Street Art in Melbourne." City 14.1/2 (2010): 99-114. Print.
1 Comment
Cheryl Finley
Dear Khrystyne, you've chosen a popular topic -- and this can be a blessing and a curse. While, as you've shown in your list of sources, there are many good and reliable sources for you to use, you'll have to use them in such a way as to offer a new and alternative spin on the topic. I'm less concerned about street art's validity as art because the market's support of it -- from the laws enacted to try to stop it to the critical praise of artists like Banksey and Basquiat to the sales that take place in galleries and at auction -- proves that it is noteworthy, if not art. I'd be interested in your take on the market's perception of street art and you treat this in your already well developed outline. You may want to look at Tricia Rose's book Black Noise (re: graffiti) and the recent Los Angeles MoCA street art exhibiton (2011) http://www.moca.org/audio/blog/?p=1522. This show was critically acclaimed and widely reviewed. Finally, as a longtime resident of the East Village in New York, I am very familiar with, if not a fan of street art, including graffiti. One of the things that I love about it is its ephemerality. One day, your favorite mural might be painted over or tagged by another graffiti artist --- and that's the nature of the medium. Might you say something about this, that is, the value of ephemeral art, somewhere in your paper? I'm looking forward to reading your work! Good luck