Part I: The Word on the Street, by Alex Smith

by pmaxwell, 25 August 2008

This article is part of an ongoing series on urban art. This style of art will be a new feature of the Saturday@Phillips auctions at Phillips de Pury & Co. this fall in London and New York. The auction in London will take place on September 06, 2008 at 12pm with a viewing from Sept 2-6, 2008. The auction in New York will take place on October 25, 2008 at 12pm with a viewing from October 20-25, 2008.

Street Art is all the rage these days and its influence can be seen anywhere and everywhere: you’ll see its squiggly lines and rough edges peering back at you in various TV and print ads; experience its sassy strut walking down the runway in haute couture in Paris, Rome and Milan; feel its touch on everything from the tee shirt to the custom sneakers you’re wearing; be awed by its magnitude on the façades of major museums such as the Tate Modern in London.

KAWS, “White Gloves”, 2001

There are many inherent paradoxes and contradictions to this relatively new art movement:

It is perhaps the most popular and collected type of art being made at the moment and yet street art and graffiti is likely to be the most notorious and misunderstood art form ever to be seen.

Watch i-D Magazine's interview with KAWS

Another notable dynamic is that street art is one of the most informal and accessible examples of public art and yet the identities of the artists who make the work often go unknown to their audience. Many of them use monikers and clever pseudonyms such as KAWS, Twist or D*Face and must work incognito or at odd hours due to the illegal nature of their art. At the same time, these artists are “well-known” for selling their legal work at galleries and auction houses, designing merchandise for corporations, and running their own boutiques.

Many street artists use the public sphere as the conceptual platform for their art:

Invader, from his invasion of Kathmandu

Paris-based Invader permanently attaches colorful mosaics of his signature aliens and spaceships in strategic spots around the globe. Invader even sells maps of his “invasions” and limited-edition tile kits that he signs and packages with instructions for others to follow his example.

Over the past decade, Obey/ Shepard Fairey has plastered the earth’s surface with his propaganda art made up of stencil paintings, stickers, and wheatpasted posters that singularly urge us to “obey”. Along with this command in text, a graphic depiction of famed wrestler Andre the Giant stares out at you ominously in shades of red, black and yellow. Over the years, Fairey has adapted his highly distinctive style to depict other celebrities and political figures with new slogans. This past year, Fairey has received considerable attention for his screenprinted portrait of Barack Obama.

Shepard Fairey/Obey, Barack Obama campaign posters, 2008

Adam Neate, based in London, makes drawings and paintings on found cardboard that he has collected from city streets. Once his art is complete, he often brings it back to the original site, leaving this “free art” to be discovered by a lucky passerby. Neate's work is in high demand--selling out shows in Europe while joining the ranks at auction with established kings of the movement Banksy, Os Gemeos, and Faile.

West Coast artist Skullphone gained worldwide attention this past spring by hacking into several digital billboards in Los Angeles owned by Clear Channel inserting his trademark image between the ads.

Faile, found on 63 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2007

Known for their collaged and appropriated imagery taken from comic books and romance novels, Brooklyn-based collective Faile are known to paste their rare screen prints in overlapping layers on brick walls to be left to the elements such as fierce weather conditions or fellow graffiti writers.

The artists mentioned and many more will be on view this fall in our air-conditioned galleries in London and New York. Come indoors from the heat of the street and experience urban art without breaking a sweat.