Street artists, often characterized as urban creatives, wield the cityscape as their canvas, transforming mundane streets into vibrant galleries of expression. These intrepid individuals defy the confines of conventional art spaces, utilizing public spaces as platforms for their craft. Armed with cans of spray paint, brushes, and boundless imagination, street artists infuse life into concrete jungles, sparking dialogue, contemplation, and occasionally controversy with their evocative works. From sprawling murals adorning towering buildings to intricate stencils tucked away in alleyways, street art encapsulates a diverse spectrum of styles, themes, and messages, serving as both a celebration of creativity and a reflection of societal currents. Today, we’ll talk about some of the most popular and beloved street artists.
Banksy
Banksy is an England-based street artist known for his anti-capitalist, anti-establishment, and political artworks. The artist’s identity is a source of speculation, with numerous conspiracy theories surrounding it. Since graffiti and street art are illegal in England, Banksy makes his pieces using stencils. His artworks combine dark humour with political messaging, creating an ironic upheaval. His popular artworks include ‘Shop Until You Drop’ and ‘The Grin Reaper.’
Swoon
Swoon or Caledonia Curry (1977) is an American street artist, printmaker, sculptor, and animator. Through her artwork, she turns the spotlight on art’s therapeutic and healing nature within communities dealing with crisis. This crisis includes natural disasters, addiction, mass incarceration, trauma, and others. Swoon is best known for creating ‘Santa’s Ghetto’ and a memorial portrait of ‘Silvia Elena Morales.’
Keith Haring
Keith Haring (1958 – 1990) was a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and AIDS awareness. One would notice the use of simple stick figures, seldom seen as animated beings. Apart from being a vanguard of queer rights and safe sex, he has portrayed the negative effects of drugs and addiction. His symbols and imagery are now instantly recognised, with several designers recreating them in textiles. Some popular Keith Haring street art includes, ‘Safe Sex’ and ‘Andy Mouse.’
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 – 1988) was an American street artist who depicted the Lower East Side culture in his artworks. He is renowned for his social and political commentary, which chronicled class struggles and colonialism. Through the juxtaposition of appropriated poetry and drawings, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artworks were a unique and rather entertaining spin on social vices through the neo-expressionist style. He is known for ‘Hollywood Africans’ and ‘In Italian.’
Tracy
Michael Christopher Tracy or Tracy 168 (1958 – 2023) was an American graffiti and street artist, who pioneered the intricate ‘wildstyle’ format. His artworks, often engulfed in flames have a kinetic quality about them. In most of Tracy 168’s artworks, you would notice cartoon characters and the trademarked ‘Tracy face,’ a smiling face with visor shades. His popular artworks include, ‘Inked in’ and ‘Tracy/Lovester.’
Cornbread
Cornbread or Darryl McCray (1953) is known to some as the first modern graffiti and street artist. He grew up writing his moniker ‘Cornbread’ in 1960s Philadelphia, from where it was quickly spread throughout the USA. Throughout his life, he advocated mural protection and the difference between vandalism and graffiti. He is best known for tagging an elephant in the Philadelphia Zoo along with his ‘Cornbread Lives’ mural after his late friend was misidentified as the artist.
Dondi
Donald Joseph White or Dondi (1961 – 1998) was an American street artist who began his career as tagging, transitioning into intricate graffiti. Even though he was known for his ‘wildstyle’ he swapped it in favour of public access. Hence, his later graffiti showcased legible letters and meticulous fill, a stylistic standard which became popular with the newer generation of street artists. During the 1990s, he juxtaposed pencil drawings with the blueprints of the subway systems. Dondi is renowned for his series, ‘Children of the Grave.’
Shepard Fairey
Frank Shepard Fairey (1970) is an American activist and street artist who is known for his pop-art imagery. His style is straightforward, yet invites the audience to come together and contemplate. The way Shepard Fairey uses colours is unparalleled. His bold colours are reminiscent of cartoon animations, yet they convey serious messages, thanks to the intertwined phrases. Some of his famous works include ‘Rise Above Rebel’ and ‘We The People’ series.
Lady Pink
Lady Pink is the pseudonym for Sandra Fabara (1964); an Ecuadorian-American street artist. She was the first woman active during the 1980s subway graffiti period. Lady Pink is known for her feminist roots and the use of South American iconography, through which she weaves the narrative of gender disparity. She is known for her paintings, ‘The Black Dude’ and the mural, ‘Brick Woman.’
Retna
Marquis Lewis or Retna (1979) is a contemporary street and graffiti artist known for his unique constructed script. It is a mix of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Hebrew, Arabic calligraphy, and blackletter. His tall geometric script almost feels like a secret language, oscillating between religious and ritualistic. Retna’s most popular work is considered to be Justin Beiber’s ‘Purpose’ album cover.
Barry McGee
Barry McGee (1966) is best known as the proponent of the Mission School art movement. He is also known by his aliases, Twist, Ray Fong, Bernon Vernon, and P.Kin. Throughout his career, he engendered several black-and-white pictorials featuring a screw-shaped figurine. His works depict the vices of urban settlements, which are brought on by the constant bombarding of crafted advertising messages. Some of Barry McGee’s popular artworks include, ‘Untitled (Bottles)’ amongst other Untitled pictorials.
Image Courtesy – Pexels
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