Street Art

Street art as a popular manifestation has existed for a long time. The Greeks produced this kind of art when they recited poems in public spaces, sang and played instruments, or painted walls with messages and drawings that could be appreciated by all.

During the period of the Roman Empire, from 27 B.C. to 475 A.D., the walls of the city of Rome were full of messages and drawings. These manifestations, written in Latin, were seen as a form of expression typical of the people. Some

Some of them had drawings and phrases which were answered by several different people, resulting in a text. Most of these interventions criticized politicians, ironized competitors, or just recorded momentary situations.

During the Middle Ages, the theater was an important manifestation of street art, both liturgical and profane, such as farces and pastoral acts.

As time went by, the artistic manifestations performed in the streets continued to happen, providing everyone, with access, to art. This kind of art goes against the artistic manifestations aimed at the elite (since most of the time they were presented in a theater, residences, palaces, to which access is more restricted, not being possible for the entire population).

In the context of Contemporary Art, however, street art has gained another status. From 1970 on, it became not only a type of manifestation presented in the streets, having developed its aesthetics. Street art productions intervene in the public space, so they take away from galleries, museums, and traditional spaces the status of art holders and take to the streets productions in visual arts, music, dance, and theater, among others.

Thus, street art in contemporaneity marks the choice and the possibility for the artist to leave the consecrated spaces for art towards public spaces.

Urban art presents several forms and manifestations, such as sculptures placed in public spaces, performances, musical presentations, dances, living statues, graffiti, among many others. There is no single aesthetic that defines these different manifestations. But one of the common characteristics of street art manifestations is the fact that they interfere in everyday life.

The Street as a Space for Democratization of Art

The streets and squares of cities and villages are consolidated spaces in artistic practice.

Over time, street art has become more popular. And the number of artists presenting their work in urban spaces has become more significant. Nowadays, especially in large capital cities, these artists occupy city centers and places where people gather. With this, questions have also arisen about how these artists organize themselves since they occupy the public space to work and develop their art.

In some cities, prior authorization from the city government is required for artistic performances on the streets. Many artists believe that this harms the essence of street art, which comes from the people for the people.

Throughout time, street art has been the subject of many debates, where the value of popular art was problematized, in opposition to public policies to support culture and fostering reflections on the autonomy of the people to manifest themselves publicly through art. In several moments this practice was forbidden by the authorities, but it has always managed to subvert the rules and remain present in society.

Nowadays, it is seen that many artists who work on the streets suffer prejudice for being outside the official art circuit, being little valued, or being seen only as urban characters that mark a certain space. This view of these art professionals dialogues directly with today's individualized universe, in which events are increasingly instantaneous. 

Graffiti

Graffiti is one of the most popular street art manifestations in the world. This art first appeared in Paris, France, in 1968, as a counterculture manifestation. But it was in the streets of New York during the 1970s  that graffiti became stronger as an artistic expression when figures began to appear painted in subway stations and on the walls of the city. Over time, the inscriptions made by these young artists started to become more sophisticated, highlighting their styles and techniques.

One of the main artists to emerge in the 1970s was the American Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), who began his career making poetic inscriptions and drawings on the city's walls and buildings. He adopted graffiti in his works and took the language of the streets to the canvases and art galleries, becoming the most prominent visual artist in the history of African-American art.

Today, many graffiti artists of various nationalities and artistic styles develop works with great technical and aesthetic excellence.