5 reasons why celebrities + fashion folks love graffiti art
Leave it to Justin Bieber and Chris Brown to get people talking about graffiti again. Last fall Biebs launched his comeback album, Promise, with a graffiti campaign that spread around the world. Granted, San Francisco residents took exception to a mainstream company like Universal Music spray-painting details about the young star’s album on their sidewalks. But for what it’s worth, Bieber has been a longtime fan of the art form. His Instagram feed features him tagging various walls while on the road—often under a bodyguard’s watchful eye—and domestic abuser Chris Brown appreciates graffiti so much he covered the exterior wall of his former home in cartoonish blobs. Apparently his neighbors weren’t impressed either. But Brown continues to seek out creative legitimacy, selling some of his pieces at auction for more than $60,000.
Fashion insiders have long embraced graffiti in their collections. Alexander McQueen used robots to tag model Shalom Harlow at his Spring 1999 collection and Steven Sprouse gave graffiti a touch of luxe when he collaborated with Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton. And this season, Jacobs encouraged people to tag his new advertising campaign. It makes you wonder what a graffiti purist might think.
The Artist Project art fair returns to Toronto for its ninth year. In addition to the 250 artists featured on-site to sell their wares, special ‘art chats’ on various topics are held over the four-day affair. We checked in with Toronto’s Tour Guide of Graffiti Alley, Jason Kucherawy, who talks “Graffiti and what Lies Ahead,” on February 21st.
One of the largest murals I’ve ever seen is going down along Lawrence West! @brunosmoky @shalakattack @fiyabruxa A photo posted by @streetartintoronto on
What is the difference between vandalism and graffiti? And what elevated it to art form?
JK: There is overlap between graffiti and vandalism, but not all graffiti is vandalism and not all vandalism is graffiti. I’ve met graffiti writers who have told me straight up they’re vandals, and others that consider the work they do to be art. I don’t think we can pinpoint a single artist [for elevating graffiti], but in New York City in the mid 1970s, the writing on the subway cars started to evolve into more and more elaborate writing as the kids that were doing it (very few were in their 20s, the vast majority were teens) tried to top each other. They were trying to be better than the others by developing a better “hand” or style. They’d add characters from the Sunday comics and other things they liked in order to grab attention. It was the publishing of the book “Subway Art” in 1983 by Martha Cooper, and the films “Style Wars” and “Wild Style” around the same time that pushed graffiti out of the alleys. It got the attention of the public as an art form, albeit a very raw one.
Fashion designers appreciate graffiti. Marc Jacobs even uses it in his Spring 2016 campaign.
JK: He’s inviting people to tag their name on his posters and post it with a hashtag #streetmarc to win a contest. This is co-opting a type of self expression and using it as advertising and a contest entry. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s just about as far from actual graffiti as you can get. So much so I wouldn’t even classify it as such.
#tagsforlikes A photo posted by iHeart (@iheartstencils) on
Are there any awesome stretches of graffiti in Toronto or elsewhere, we should know about?
JK: Toronto has done a good job of managing the graffiti situation (they won a national award in 2014) and as a result more neighbourhoods are working with graffiti writers and artists to create works that are supported and appreciated by the community. “Graffiti Alley” or Rush Lane as it was formally known is a laneway that runs south of Queen St. W. It’s where my company runs walking tours. The Dundas W. underpass, near the new UP Express train station, has remarkable graffiti, as does the alleys off of Ossington Street, and on the back of businesses visible from the subway between Keele Station and Dundas St. W. subway stations. In Montreal they have a huge graffiti festival called “Under Pressure” on St Catherine every year and the area around St Laurent E. has some great stuff. Vancouver (@iheartstencils shown above) has a growing scene and most of it is in East Vancouver around Hastings Street.
Can you bring graffiti into the home?
JK: You can contact a graffiti artist [ed. note: Artist Dani Copperman, above, works in graffiti canvas] who are happy to paint a unique piece in return for payment. Some independent art galleries will show work by graffiti artists who have started moving from the street into the studio in order to sell canvases. So you could either buy a canvas (or have one customized for you) or have the artist come to your home to paint directly on the wall. As graffiti is becoming more accepted, many artists are becoming easier to contact and to hire.
Powerful proposition by @j_samina in Cascais, Portugal. Produced for @muralizacascais A photo posted by MURALfestival (@muralfestival) on
Ok, since you mentioned it, what lies ahead for graffiti?
JK: Graffiti is already the largest art movement in the world and reaches every nook and cranny of the planet thanks to the accessibility of the materials and the ubiquity of the internet. As more people are creating, there will be greater diversity in style and form. Much like in music, rock and roll spawned other genres and countless sub genres, so too will graffiti and street art will continue to spread and diversify. Spray paint and permanent markers were new tools in the 1960s and with technology advancing and giving artists new materials to work with and new ways of creating, people will probably look back on the original graffiti of the 1970s and 80s and even today as charming and quaint, as tastes change and trends shift.
 on Oct 28, 2015 at 11:17am PDT
Leave it to Justin Bieber and Chris Brown to get people talking about graffiti again. Last fall Biebs launched his comeback album, Promise, with a graffiti campaign that spread around the world. Granted, San Francisco residents took exception to a mainstream company like Universal Music spray-painting details about the young star’s album on their sidewalks. But for what it’s worth, Bieber has been a longtime fan of the art form. His Instagram feed features him tagging various walls while on the road—often under a bodyguard’s watchful eye—and domestic abuser Chris Brown appreciates graffiti so much he covered the exterior wall of his former home in cartoonish blobs. Apparently his neighbors weren't impressed either. But Brown continues to seek out creative legitimacy, selling some of his pieces at auction for more than $60,000.
Fashion insiders have long embraced graffiti in their collections. Alexander McQueen used robots to tag model Shalom Harlow at his Spring 1999 collection and Steven Sprouse gave graffiti a touch of luxe when he collaborated with Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton. And this season, Jacobs encouraged people to tag his new advertising campaign. It makes you wonder what a graffiti purist might think.
The Artist Project art fair returns to Toronto for its ninth year. In addition to the 250 artists featured on-site to sell their wares, special 'art chats' on various topics are held over the four-day affair. We checked in with Toronto’s Tour Guide of Graffiti Alley, Jason Kucherawy, who talks "Graffiti and what Lies Ahead," on February 21st.
One of the largest murals I've ever seen is going down along Lawrence West! @brunosmoky @shalakattack @fiyabruxa A photo posted by @streetartintoronto on Oct 31, 2015 at 8:47am PDT
What is the difference between vandalism and graffiti? And what elevated it to art form?
JK: There is overlap between graffiti and vandalism, but not all graffiti is vandalism and not all vandalism is graffiti. I've met graffiti writers who have told me straight up they're vandals, and others that consider the work they do to be art. I don't think we can pinpoint a single artist [for elevating graffiti], but in New York City in the mid 1970s, the writing on the subway cars started to evolve into more and more elaborate writing as the kids that were doing it (very few were in their 20s, the vast majority were teens) tried to top each other. They were trying to be better than the others by developing a better "hand" or style. They'd add characters from the Sunday comics and other things they liked in order to grab attention. It was the publishing of the book "Subway Art" in 1983 by Martha Cooper, and the films "Style Wars" and "Wild Style" around the same time that pushed graffiti out of the alleys. It got the attention of the public as an art form, albeit a very raw one.
It’s yours to tag! Our SS16 ad campaigns are all over NYC.... #streetmarc
A photo posted by Marc Jacobs (@themarcjacobs) on Feb 11, 2016 at 9:23am PST
Fashion designers appreciate graffiti. Marc Jacobs even uses it in his Spring 2016 campaign.
JK: He's inviting people to tag their name on his posters and post it with a hashtag #streetmarc to win a contest. This is co-opting a type of self expression and using it as advertising and a contest entry. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's just about as far from actual graffiti as you can get. So much so I wouldn't even classify it as such.
#tagsforlikes A photo posted by iHeart (@iheartstencils) on Feb 15, 2016 at 12:53pm PST
Are there any awesome stretches of graffiti in Toronto or elsewhere, we should know about?
JK: Toronto has done a good job of managing the graffiti situation (they won a national award in 2014) and as a result more neighbourhoods are working with graffiti writers and artists to create works that are supported and appreciated by the community. "Graffiti Alley" or Rush Lane as it was formally known is a laneway that runs south of Queen St. W. It's where my company runs walking tours. The Dundas W. underpass, near the new UP Express train station, has remarkable graffiti, as does the alleys off of Ossington Street, and on the back of businesses visible from the subway between Keele Station and Dundas St. W. subway stations. In Montreal they have a huge graffiti festival called "Under Pressure" on St Catherine every year and the area around St Laurent E. has some great stuff. Vancouver (@iheartstencils shown above) has a growing scene and most of it is in East Vancouver around Hastings Street.
Finishing touches #latergram #artistproject #paintinginprogress #workinprogress #art #instaart #painting #photography #graffiti #streetart #toronto
A photo posted by Dani Maisels-Cooperman (@danicooperman) on Feb 7, 2016 at 9:53am PST
Can you bring graffiti into the home?
JK: You can contact a graffiti artist [ed. note: Artist Dani Copperman, above, works in graffiti canvas] who are happy to paint a unique piece in return for payment. Some independent art galleries will show work by graffiti artists who have started moving from the street into the studio in order to sell canvases. So you could either buy a canvas (or have one customized for you) or have the artist come to your home to paint directly on the wall. As graffiti is becoming more accepted, many artists are becoming easier to contact and to hire.
Powerful proposition by @j_samina in Cascais, Portugal. Produced for @muralizacascais A photo posted by MURALfestival (@muralfestival) on Feb 5, 2016 at 11:48am PST
Ok, since you mentioned it, what lies ahead for graffiti?
JK: Graffiti is already the largest art movement in the world and reaches every nook and cranny of the planet thanks to the accessibility of the materials and the ubiquity of the internet. As more people are creating, there will be greater diversity in style and form. Much like in music, rock and roll spawned other genres and countless sub genres, so too will graffiti and street art will continue to spread and diversify. Spray paint and permanent markers were new tools in the 1960s and with technology advancing and giving artists new materials to work with and new ways of creating, people will probably look back on the original graffiti of the 1970s and 80s and even today as charming and quaint, as tastes change and trends shift.){kind=link}