Liceul Teoretic “Al.

I Cuza” Bucuresti
Lucrare atestat de Limba Engleza

Candidat : Constantin Andra Profesori coordonatori:

Clasa a XII-a E Malancu Paula
Ciotarnel Raluca

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 Contents

1.Argument
2.History of Street Art- When and how it started?
3.Types of Street Art
4.Street Art nowadays-Most beautiful paintings and
artists in the U.S.A
5.Conclusion
6.Bibliography

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 Argument - Why I am talking about Street Art
“How can you not walk up
a flight of piano-stairs without humming?”

I have chosen to talk about street art because I love art in

general but it was way too much to speak about when it comes to all
kind of arts. My English teacher suggested Street Art as it is a type of
art which express a lot of feelings, moreover, street art has become
an inevitable integral element of contemporary art, fact that made
me curious about it. It is the most popular form of public art. It is
not limited to the gallery nor easily collected or possessed by those
who may turn art into a trophy.By reading about it on the Internet
and seeing some pictures I found it is just fascinating. The paintings
are not only amazing by their colours but also by the new way of
expressing feelings.Some people appreciate it,some people consider
it to be act of vandalism. In my opinion it is a very beautiful art as
long as it is not performed on old or important buildings, as street
art isn’t appropriate everywhere. Street art can be a controversial
topic, but is also undeniable hugely popular in urban areas.At first, I
thought that street art is an act of vandalism aswell, but seeing some
paintings I came to the conclusion that this type of art is beautiful in
its way and it should be acknowledged.

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How Street Art started

The precursor to modern graffiti and street art are the slogans of
protest and political or social comments or complains painted onto
public walls around the cities. By the end of the 20th century and the
beginning of the 21st, street art has evolved into complex
interdisciplinary forms of artistic expression. From graffiti, stencils,
prints and murals, through large-scale paintings and projects of
artistic collaboration, to street installations, as well as performative
and video art, street art has found it’s way into the core of
contemporary art. Some of the earliest expressions of street art were
certainly the graffiti which started showing up on the sides of train
cars and walls. This was the work of gangs in the 1920s and 1930s
New York. The impact of this subversive culture was extraordinarily
felt in the 1970s and 1980s. These decades were a significant turning
point in the history of street art, it was a time when young people, by
responding to their socio-political environment, they started creating
a movement. The movement took on very quickly in New York City
and names and nicknames started to appear on buildings, post-boxes,
phone boxes, underground tunnels, buses and finally on subway cars
Soon, this subcultural phenomenon gained attention and respect
and it slowly grown in the world. From the fingers and cans of
teenagers, it had taken a form of true artistic expression. One of the
most respected names in the field of documenting street art and
artists, is photographer Martha Cooper. Photographs weren’t the only
medium for capturing and ‘displacing’ street art into different
contexts. Essentially an illegal activity, a process of creation through
destruction began its evolution into numerous forms of artistic
expression which found it’s way to galleries and the global art market.
Although still subversive, and in its large part an illegal movement,
through art enthusiasts and professionals, street art earned its place
in the contemporary art world.

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5
Types of Street Art
1.3D Street Art
3D street art is so realistic that can me you believe that there is
suddenly a huge pit on the road which you walked on yesterday and
from that very pit a monster is coming out. 3D street art or the
Three Dimensional street art is not an art that has emerged up in
recent years. 3D art dates back to 1980s when Kurt Wenner
invented this fabulous form of street art which can be done with
chalk or paints and are surprisingly successful in creating an optical
illusion in the eyes of the viewers.
2. Stencil Graffiti
Stencil graffiti is one of the many types of graffiti. These use a
design cut on a cardboard that can be easily used to produce a
number of graffities. Stencil graffiti also uses spray paints and
markers just like a normal graffiti, and these paints are applied
across the stencil to complete intricate designs. Hugo Kaagman was
a Hollander who started graffiti in 1969 and created his first street
stencil graffiti using a spraypaint.
3. Graffiti
Conventionally made by spray paints and markers graffiti can
either be just for displaying art or they may contain a serious social
message. Most of the graffiti artists work anonymously and leave
their initials along with their work at the wall of display.
4. Wheatpaste
Wheatpaste, as the name suggests, involves use of a paste made up
of flour (preferably wheat). It is a technique that street artists use to
put up detailed images quickly. One can make posters, drawings and
paintings on paper which can be glued on the streets using this
paste. This technique is fast, easy, effective and cheap. That’s why
artists all over the world use this method to display or promote
their work and ideas to the masses.

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5. Sculptures
Sculptures are what we usually see as a clay, stone, metal, ceramic
or any other material carved in a creative way to give it a beautiful
and a definite look. Sculptures can be moulded, carved or welded.
These are often associated with a religion or politics and Ancient
Mediterranean, Indian and Chinese are some cultures who have a
large number of sculptures preserved till present. Ancient Greece is
known to be the place where the western tradition of sculptures
started. When these precious sculptures are displayed outside a
museum, a temple or anywhere from where the local public can
view it, it takes form of a street art.

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Street art nowadays
Today, we can see street art all over the world, a popular and
lively art movement. Street art can be found on buildings, sidewalks,
street signs and even trashcans from Tokyo to Paris to New York
City. This special kind of art can take the form of paintings,
sculptures, cloth or even stickers. Its international presence is
supported by Web sites, artist communities, books and magazines.
Street art has become part of a global visual culture. Now, even art
museums and galleries are collecting the work of street artists.
Street art gives people hope. No matter how the world will look like
over the years,people will always try to make it a meaningful, funny
or hopeful place. There are brilliant, talented, forward-thinking
artists around the world who happen to like painting and drawing
on public space.
Street art today takes many forms. One well known New York City
street artist goes by the name of Swoon. Swoon creates detailed
paper cutouts of people that she observes around her. She places
these life-size images on walls in different areas of New York. For
example, one of her artworks is of a little boy playing. He is turning
his smiling face and seems to be running into the distance. The lines
of Swoon’s drawing give energy and movement to the picture.
In the future, street art can get ever more complex, more striking,
more three-dimensional, more full of movement or appeal to other
senses.It can cover every single ugly bare surface surviving in an
urban area.

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Best cities to see street art in the USA

1.Washington
Alex Brewer, aka Hense, covered a former church in a multi-colored
mural in 2012.

2.Denver
I Know You Know That I Know” mural by Sandra Fettingis in Denver in
2014.

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3. Chicago

4.Los Angeles
A Shepard Fairey mural in West Hollywood, Los Angeles in 2011

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5.New York
Maya Hayuk’s mural on the Bowery Wall in New York City in 2014

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Conclusion
To sum all up Street Art is debatably the first form of art to ever
exist. The intentions of our ancestors who created all those ancient
cave paintings were the same as those of artists today. Whether it's
done on the side of a cave or on the side of a building the wish of
expressing feelings is the same, what distinguishes street art from
other forms of art is that it is the voice of the public that is meant to
be heard by the public. Many street artists create work with the
belief that freedom of speech and free art should be enjoyed by
everyone. They create out of pure enjoyment and give their art to
the world selflessly, without the expectation of reciving something
in return.
Though street art has garnered a poor reputation because of its
origins in the vandalism of graffiti, it is fundamentally different on
account of its artistic value and capacity to improve city landscapes.
Street Art might improve city dynamics, making people happier,
more and more people might get up off of their couches and go into
the fresh air either to create or observe street art. These positive
changes, however, can only occur if we promote and protect this
type of art.

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Bibliography

http://lionelgallery.com/en/love-street-art/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_art
http://listdose.com/top-10-types-of-street-arts/
https://www.good.is/articles/10-things-we-can-learn-from-street-
artists

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