contemporary art

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1. Introduzione[1]

Street Art is one of the artistic languages today increasingly present in the media and cultural debate. Born as an expression of a spontaneous intervention, Street Art has imposed itself as an artistic practice that takes a lot of forms, shapes, techniques and strategies of action, giving life to unique models of interaction with the public itself.

When we talk about the phenomenon of street art we have to consider both its features and the urban space with which it interacts.

Walking to work each day is a visual experience, as one passes several larger than life murals painted on every other street, in the Lower East Side of New York City. This public gallery provides a glimpse into the history and transformation of this area over recent decades. However, as gentrification has taken hold, many of the buildings that showcase these community murals are slated to be demolished.

Public art is conventionally associated with formidable forms and colossal sizes. However, recent artistic practice occasionally testifies to quite the contrary.

Working incognito under the cryptic pseudonym Hioshi, the Siberian-born post-graffiti artist is known for incorporating small-sized artworks into the urban fabric of St. Petersburg.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, artists have treated the streets as their canvas and political platform. For instance, in 1917 during the Russian Revolution, members of the Russian avant-garde relied on cutting edge posters to inspire, gather and activate the new, working citizen. Since the next few decades were riddled with war, the popularity and necessity of poster art grew with equal fervor.

There is something unique about art making that takes place underground—in drain tunnels, bunkers, or abandoned crypts. Dark, cavernous spaces offer urban artists the freedom to experiment with forms of expression apart from, but not excluding, the painting or marking of surfaces.