What is Street Art? Origins, Styles, Techniques & Intentions

The term "street art" describes an art form that takes place in public spaces. It is essentially free and freely accessible to everyone, as the works of art are found on a wide variety of surfaces throughout the city.

The artists use facades, exterior walls, electrical boxes, traffic lights, street lamps, and sidewalks as their canvas. They use spray cans, brushes, paint rollers, stickers, and other materials to create their works. Some artists operate in the realm 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.

What we know today as colorful facades and provocative messages in urban spaces had its modern origins in the 1960s in crisis-ridden New York City. In Spanish Harlem and other parts of the city, creative young people found the empty spaces a canvas for their artistic expression.

During this time, pioneers like TAKI 183 and Tracy 168 began immortalizing their names in public spaces with spray paint. The subversive art movement emerged from these early days and has evolved into a distinct art discipline. While graffiti once stood for violence and misery, today it enjoys a high reputation and is even considered by some to be a symbol of the gentrification that has taken hold in New York's former working-class neighborhoods.

In the 1980s, the urban art movement experienced its decisive breakthrough: with artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, it became internationally known and found its way into prestigious galleries and museums.

anonymous Banksy is the most famous street artist in the world.

Imagine a city where graffiti isn't illegal, a city where anyone can draw whatever they want. Where every street is drowned in a million colors and little sayings. Where waiting at a bus stop is never boring. A city that feels like a party, to which everyone is invited, not just the real estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like this and stop leaning against the wall—it's wet."

Banksy, world-renowned street artist and political activist.

Street art is characterized by its direct connection to the urban environment. Unlike traditional art in galleries and museums, it takes place directly on the street. This accessibility makes it an integral part of the urban experience. Many street artists consciously use their works to convey messages. They often address political or socially critical themes such as justice, equality, environmental protection, or individual freedom. In this way, they encourage viewers to reflect on their environment and society.

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: In this form of street art, artists critically examine advertising and alter it in whole or in part. For example, they cover billboards 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.

Differentiation from graffiti

We often see street art and graffiti confused or equated. Strictly speaking, however, these art forms differ in many ways. Graffiti focuses on the artistic writing of typography using a spray can, whereas street art predominantly focuses on images—even to the point of huge murals.

Graffiti is based on the legible or abstract representation of letters. Figurative representations, if present, are usually embellishments. In contrast, street art focuses on human or animal figures, representational motifs, or abstract patterns.

Graffiti in public spaces is almost always illegal, whereas street art can be both legal and illegal. Street artists also utilize a wider range of media and techniques. In addition to conventional spray paint, they use stencils, posters, collages, and sculptural elements.

There are also differences in terms of target audience. Graffiti artists primarily address other sprayers, whereas street art seeks to communicate with the masses. The hope for a positive, collective perception displaces the egocentric aura of graffiti.

From New York to Berlin: the evolution of street art

In the 1960s and 1970s, New York experienced a social upheaval that gave rise to an art movement that soon became internationally known.

Beginnings in the United States

New York's neighborhoods, suffering from poverty and urban decay, became the cradle of a revolution. Teenagers began spraying their names on walls and subway trains. Subways were a particularly attractive canvas—they acted as rolling galleries that transported the artwork throughout the city, ensuring maximum visibility.

In a short time, the fundamental graffiti styles developed: from simple tagging and throw-ups to artistic pieces and the complex wild style .

Influences of hip-hop culture

The legendary "Block Party" that DJ Kool Herc threw in the South Bronx on August 11, 1973, is considered the birth of hip-hop. He created rap by extending instrumental passages with two record players while Coke La Rock improvised over them; this revolutionary technique marked the beginning. Besides music, breakdancing and graffiti the other pillars of this urban subculture.

New York graffiti art was documented in films such as "Style Wars" and "Wild Style" and placed in the context of hip-hop. These documentaries made a significant contribution to its global spread. The cultural form spread to Europe and found enthusiastic followers in Germany as well.

Street art in Germany since the 1980s

In the 1970s, street art found its way to Berlin, influenced by punk and hip-hop culture. Initially, socially marginalized groups, such as punks and Turkish migrants, used the streets of West Berlin for their artistic expression.

Surprisingly, the European graffiti movement developed differently than the American one. In Europe, visual graffiti art developed significantly, especially in Paris. Contrary to popular belief, Munich is a pioneer of the European street art scene and has had a significant influence on the German development of this art form since the 1980s.

The significance of reunification

Even during its existence from 1961 to 1989, the Berlin Wall was an extraordinary canvas. Political artworks and messages adorn its western side. Even in the GDR, there were forms of graffiti and street art – for example, a Nicaraguan artist beautified the facades of prefabricated apartment buildings in Marzahn, East Berlin, in the 1980s.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the beginning of a new era: Artists from West Berlin brought their culture to the East and collaborated on projects with local street artists. Numerous international artists left their mark on the East Side Gallery , thus turning Berlin into a street art metropolis. After reunification, the graffiti scene was initially heavily criminalized before eventually regaining social acceptance.

The best places for street art tours

You can admire street art in numerous cities, both large and small, around the world. This includes the German capital, Berlin . It boasts a huge street art scene. Various walls and other surfaces are covered in 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.

Other street art works in Berlin can be found in Mauerpark, Kreuzberg, Berlin-Mitte, and Teufelsberg, for example. If you'd like to admire Berlin's street art on a sightseeing tour, a street art map help. Besides Berlin, there are many other cities in Germany with interesting and beautiful street art. These include Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Leipzig.

Outside of Germany, you can discover many urban artworks in places like London or New York . In London, the artworks are spread throughout the city. Fans of the famous artist Banksy will especially enjoy a visit to the Leake Street Tunnel, located beneath Waterloo Station. Many Banksy can be admired here. Because of this, the tunnel is sometimes referred to as the 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)

Beyond high culture, coffee houses, and Sachertorte, Vienna also Arte TRACKS has taken a look at Vienna's exciting street art scene for you.

The intentions behind street 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.

Furthermore, there are many street artists who want to convey a message to people with their work. They often want to point out social injustices or draw attention to political ideas. Often, these artists express their opposition to capitalism or consumerism through their artwork.

Graffiti as protest – on the road with Berlin sprayers

Y-Kollektiv reporter Toni Lilly Schanze had questions that went beyond the hackneyed discussion of "art or vandalism?" She wanted to understand the background, to grasp the soul of the sprayer: What does graffiti offer them that makes them willing to expose themselves to physical danger or political repression?

In her film, she meets Jurij , who came to Germany at the age of ten and sees graffiti as a way to integrate. Berlin graffiti legend Rocco explains why graffiti no longer captivates him after 18 years and how he's reaching a wider audience with his (still illegal) performance art. And because "only illegal graffiti is so romantic" (Rocco), the author joins him on a nighttime graffiti tour. Two pixadors from São Paulo, Brazil, explain why their form of graffiti is highly political, life-threatening, and hated.

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

Recognition, respect, and fame are at the heart of the first episode of our new documentary series Street & Urban Art . The goal of the graffiti writers is to make their own crew or themselves known as writers, spreading their name as widely as possible with marker and spray can. Legibility is irrelevant.

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're always there and almost everywhere: murals, spray-painted images, and adhesives on the walls of buildings and walls throughout our city. Street art is omnipresent, inspiring, and inviting us to engage with it.

This three-part documentary series on German street and urban art introduces artists who each tell their own story. While they each have their own personal style, motifs, and statements, they have one thing in common: they want to get involved, shape the space, conquer empty spaces, and counter the omnipresent advertising posters and prohibition signs with "their own style." Above all, they want to connect with local residents through small, disruptive nuisances.

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.