Street Art Evolution 1970-1990

By Cornelia Carl and Cie Carl

This richly illustrated book plunges you into the vibrant and provocative world of graffiti and street art in this wide-ranging exploration of a much-misunderstood culture. Our journey spans the tumultuous birth of graffiti in 1970s New York, to its explosive growth and evolution. Be seduced by the visceral impact of the bright colours and intricate shapes, the hard-hitting social and political commentary, and the stories that spontaneously spring from our urban canvases. This book encapsulates the raw energy, innovation and indomitable spirit of artists who dare to make the city their canvas. Join us on this journey, and see the urban world through a whole new lens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Parkstone International
• Release date: Jan 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9781639197668

Book preview

THE ORIGINS OF PRESSURE TACTICS

Experiencing the Vibrant World of Street Art

Step into a realm where the walls come alive, vibrant with fleeting images that appear in every corner of the world. From bustling cities to quiet towns, from roads in distant lands to train stations and forgotten wastelands, these art forms emerge, transforming the mundane into something extraordinary. Street art, an integral part of our daily lives, adorns the walls, injecting colour, power, and beauty into places once doomed to sadness or destruction. They are both rallying signs for the young and a source of contention for the older generation, who view it as a ransacking of the urban landscape. Yet, little do we realize that we are witnessing a silent artistic revolution unfold before our very eyes.

For years, street art was despised and deemed illegal, leading to the artists behind these creations being perceived as outlaws and pariahs. Courts repressed them, and the police relentlessly chased them. However, we find ourselves at the cusp of a revelation, as street art finally receives the recognition it deserves as a true artistic expression. This book seeks to shed light on the origins of this remarkable movement, a pivotal artistic upheaval that has marked the last third of the 20th century.

By christening it From Spray to Canvas, paying homage to the spray can as its newfound medium, the present book aims to demonstrate how we have overlooked this extraordinary artistic revolution for four decades. In doing so, we unwittingly repeat the mistakes of our predecessors, who dismissed the Impressionists at the end of the 19th century. It is essential to remember that since the 1930s, the art world, driven by the veneration of contemporary art, has dismantled the very essence of art history: scholasticism. This scholasticism is the convergence of like-minded artists, thinking and reinventing new forms of art.

Over the past half-century, the art market’s speculative nature, coupled with the superficiality of the cultural world, has given rise to individuals consumed by ambition, desperately seeking the elixir that will grant them fame. In this pursuit, the notion of a school has faded, groups have vanished, confrontation has become scarce, and dialogue has faltered. What remained was merely the pursuit of personal careers.

However, in the 1970s, a group of rebels emerged, expressing themselves through unorthodox means. Labelled as drug gangs and misunderstood by society, their hidden talents emerged. They conversed, acquainted themselves with one another, compared their creations, and measured their skills, ultimately forming a cohesive group. They established their own masters, crowned their kings, rejected imitators and the untalented, and welcomed and consecrated their geniuses. Unfortunately, while Basquiat and Keith Haring managed to transcend their origins and grace the walls of museums, their friends and peers have been forgotten, despite being the architects of a global artistic movement.

This book strives to trace the birth of community groups, primarily of Hispanic origin, who transitioned from street graffiti to canvas works in the 1970s. Galleries and museums never embraced them, branding them as street gangsters defiling our structures. Yet, these street artists are theoreticians of their craft, communicating in their unique manner and understanding.

Unveiling the Hidden History of Graffiti on Canvas

Embark upon an enthralling intellectual odyssey through the annals of a groundbreaking artistic movement that plunges deep into the vibrant realm of graffiti art. Immerse yourself in a mesmerizing assemblage of more than one hundred captivating paintings, meticulously birthed during the transformative decades of the 1980s and 1990s by the unequivocal trailblazers of graffiti on canvas. Brace yourself for an illuminating revelation, as these resplendent masterpieces lay bare the clandestine chronicles that have long been obscured, shedding light upon the unsung narrative of this remarkable movement. By dismantling the unjust association with mere tagging and fervently restoring its rightful place within the hallowed pages of art history, these exquisite works beckon us to embrace a transformative understanding of graffiti’s profound significance.

Amidst the resounding reverberations caused by the burgeoning presence of urban art within the gallery sphere, it is a well-guarded secret that graffiti artists have been engendering extraordinary masterpieces on canvas since the advent of the 1970s. Disentangled from the bustling streets and liberated from the customary realm of street art, these prodigious artists have meticulously crafted a prodigious corpus of artistic endeavours within the seclusion of their studios—an enigmatic realm that has remained uncharted by the masses.

Emerging from the depths of humble origins, youthful graffiti artists, such as the remarkable Coco and Phase 2, scarcely fifteen or sixteen years of age, converged under the unifying banner of the United Graffiti Artists (UGA), under the guiding hand of the esteemed Hugo Martinez. Fearlessly defying conventional boundaries, they embarked upon a courageous venture, unfurling their vivid creations within the sacred halls of galleries. Their inaugural exhibition unfolded at the illustrious Razor Gallery nestled in the vibrant heart of Soho, casting an indelible mark upon the artistic landscape in 1973. Their audacious odyssey continued, reaching its crescendo in the seminal Post Graffiti exposition held at the prestigious Sidney Janis Gallery in 1983. This groundbreaking showcase served as a veritable tapestry, interweaving the artistic brilliance of luminaries such as A-One, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Crash, Daze, Futura 2000, Keith Haring, Koor, Lady Pink, Noc 167, Lee Quinnones, Rammellzee, Toxic, and Bear—illustrious figures whose canvases grace the pages of this present volume. It is incumbent upon the realm of art to embrace and acknowledge this profound phenomenon, dispelling the overshadowing veil cast by its social and ethnic dimensions, and wholeheartedly recognizing its inherent artistic prowess.

Andy Warhol himself recognized the brilliance of two graffiti artists, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, intertwining their stories with his own. This movement, with its rich history and extraordinary masters, has remained hidden from the mainstream art scene and has eluded the public eye for far too long. Finally, the time has come for the world to discover and admire these masterpieces.

Within the confines of France, this artistic movement sprang forth as a fiercely autonomous entity, operating outside the established boundaries of the traditional art world. In a moment of artistic brilliance, Bando, an illustrious luminary in this realm, ventured to transport this expressive practice to the esteemed private mansions nestled in the bosom of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in 1984, effectuating a metamorphosis