What is street art? Origins, styles, techniques & intentions

The term street art describes an art form that takes place in public space. It is basically free and freely accessible to everyone. Because the works of art are located on the various surfaces of the city.

The artists use facades, outer walls, power boxes, traffic lights, street lamps and sidewalks as canvas as canvas. To create the works, use spray cans, brushes, painting roles, stickers and other materials. Some artists move in the field of illegality.

However, many have left the illegal space and are now legally spraying their works of art on certain walls or on behalf of private or public clients.

The street art techniques at a glance

Street artists use many different materials and techniques to bring their works of art to the walls. The best known street art techniques include:

• Murals: Murals are brought to the facades of the houses. They often extend across the entire facade and attract a lot of attention due to their size. Murals are often commissioned and are therefore legal. Some Murals are even seen as a sight.
• Roll-on: With this street art technique, the artists paint the walls with the help of color rolls and facade color. Some telescopic poles are used. The technology is often used to bring sayings or slogans to the walls.
• Paste-up: This form is also called cut-out. This is a section of a special motif like a person or an animal. The excerpts are attached with paste or glue.
• AD-BUSTING: With this street art form, the artists take a critical look at advertising and change them in whole or in part. For example, glue over advertising posters or paint them.
• Sticker: Stickers are a particularly simple street art technique. The stickers can be glued to the surfaces quickly. For example, they are glued to shop window, signs or machines and are provided with a slogan or motif.
• Coarial drawings: Kreide has an innocent effect and is usually considered legal. It is also an advantage that chalk is compact and easy to use.
• Urban Knitting: The artists design street lamps and other objects with knitting elements. This technology rarely occurs.

With the help of street art, the artists often want to draw attention to a social or political problem.

The best places for street art tours

You can marvel at street art in numerous small and large cities in the world. This also includes the German capital Berlin . There is a very large street art scene here. Various walls and other surfaces are provided with a wide variety of works of art. Even Banksy and other well -known street artists have urban murals .

It is particularly worthwhile to look at the East Side Gallery . This is a standing part of the Berlin Wall. It is 1.3 kilometers long and was painted by numerous artists around the world.

For example, you can find more street art works of art in Berlin in the Mauerpark, Kreuzberg, Berlin Mitte and on the Teufelsberg. If you want to marvel at the Berlin street art on an exploration tour, a street art map help you. In addition to Berlin, there are many other cities in Germany with interesting and beautiful street art works of art. These include Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne and Leipzig.

Outside of Germany, for example, you can discover many urban works of art in London or New York. In London, the works of art are distributed across the entire city. Especially for fans of the famous artist Banksy, a visit to the Leake Street Tunnel, which is located below the Waterloo Station, is worthwhile. Banksy here . Because of this, the tunnel is sometimes referred to as a Banksy tunnel.

In New York you should look at the works of art in Bushwick , a district of Brooklyn. There are many beautiful Murals here. Other contact points are, for example, Little Italy, Williamsburg and Chinatown . Other cities that are very suitable for a street art tour are, for example:

• Barcelona (Spain)
• Valencia (Spain)
• Lisbon (Portugal)
• Athens (Greece)
• Zagreb (Croatia)
• Istanbul (Türkiye)
• Prague (Czech Republic)
• Copenhagen (Denmark)
• Mexico City (Mexico)
• Buenos Aires (Argentina)
• Cape Town (South Africa)

Street art works of art are available in various cities around the world-including in Berlin, London and New York.

The intentions behind the street art works of art

The motivation behind the street type depends on the respective artist. For some street artists, the joy of spraying or painting is in the foreground. Others want to participate in the design of the place and beautify the city with their works.

In addition, there are many street artists who want to deliver a message to people with their works. They often want to point out social grievances or draw attention to political ideas. The artists often express themselves against capitalism or consumption with their works of art.

Graffiti: Sprayed rebellion? | Street & Urban Art (WDR documentary series)

Recognition, respect and fame are at the center of the first episode of our new documentary series Street & Urban Art . The aim of graffiti writer is to make your own crew or yourself known as a writer, to spread the name with markers and spray can as widely as possible. Readability doesn't matter.

Sprayed rebellion? The presence and level of difficulty of the respective placement are crucial for the "fame" It is about speed, originality and about developing your own "style" - wild and illegal.

With: 1up crew, Shark, Cat, C100/Layercake - Christian Hundertmark & ​​Patrick Hartl, Cantwo

They are always there and almost everywhere: murals, spray and adhesive images on the walls of the houses and walls in our city. Street art is omnipresent, stimulates, stimulates and invites you to deal with her.

In the three-part documentary series on German Street & Urban Art, artists are presented: inside who each tell their own story. Even if you have your personal style, your own motifs and statements, you have one thing in common: you want to mix in, design the room, conquer empty areas and to counter the omnipresent advertising posters and prohibition signs. Above all, however, they want to contact the residents through small irritation.

You can already see all three episodes of the new documentary on Street & Urban Art in the ARD media library.

Is street type legal?

Especially in the past there have been many street artists who illegally brought their art to the walls. But even today there are still a number of artists who move in the zone of illegality. In the meantime, however, various cities offer areas that can legally spray and paint them.

Where you legally spray , for example, you can find out on the Internet. In other places, however, street art works of art are considered property damage.

If you want to attach your work of art to a foreign property, you can contact the owner if necessary and ask him for permission. If you honestly speak to the owner and show him some photos of the previous works, he may agree.

Some private individuals or public institutions even grant the street artists paid to paid orders to beautify the gray wall surfaces. In addition, there is now the possibility to take part in street art festivals or street art competitions.