Urban Art Association

I agree 100% Silky. It is crazy. I wounder what the US street movement was like when Basquiat was around? I doubt it was nearly as big as this could get, but I don't know.

Are you talking about the little guys like us or the big auction house buyers? I think RED was a good introduction for Banksy in the US. The auction gained a lot of press and help get his name out. I think he needs to do another show here. Maybe New York! I don't live there, but that is the top for the US art market.

I think this year will be the year where getting hold of a Banksy will be in the reach of the very, very, very lucky on POW and im afraid the rich! i.e not me!

I see this as a result of mainly how the web has made the world a smaller place. How easy was it to access what auction houses / galleries / street artists all over the world where doing 5 years ago. This allows the spread of images, and ideas and so opens up so many more avenues to both collectors & Artists.
I also see art has taking on a far more active role of political comment than music - in both content, and media. With the increase in popularity of screen prints it is more affordable to have a great piece of art on your wall that reflects your personal leanings. Whereas up until the mid 80's a measure of protest / political feeling was in buying a certain vinyl album (ie the clash / Specials) and having that 12"sleeve, now that option has been superceded by buying the newest print. I see the streetart movement has filling the gap left behind by the lack of politically social comment that has gone from music.
Sorry - got sidetracked a little there!

Silky is right, the UK street art scene has gotten much bigger over here in LA as well as in NY over the last year.

I think the UK is scratching their heads as to where US graffiti went after Basquiat because it really doesn't hold a singular "street art" style movement like the UK has had. With the exception of a strong general connection with skateboarding culture (where most American street artists come from) there is no unifying bind that connects all American street art. In fact, I think it is reasonable to say that America doesn't have a pure "street art" movement (the closest thing being Swoon/Faile/bast and wooster street), but rather things that incorporate street art into their work on different levels. I think that this can be in part attributed to the size and decentralization of the movement in the States. You guys have London, we have New York, but we also have Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Austin... the list goes on. With that being said I think that communication between our different cultural centers is a bit slower, but just as strong and a bit more pluralistic.

To illustrate my point, I'll throw out a few examples:

San Francisco's Mission School from the 1990's gave us Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen. McGee particularly (who is way too underrepresented on this forum) is represented by Dietch in NY, and has exhibited al over the world for the last 15 years. His work sells for between $10,000 - $40,000, and he and Margaret were featured along side artists like Matthew Barney, Bruce Nauman, and Richard Serra in the PBS documentary ART 21 in 2003.

In my own experiences living in Southern California, Texas and Philadelphia, my friends with no interest in art usually knew who Shepard Fairey (or Obey) was, but only the people who were genuinely interested in street art knew who Banksy was (When I lived in London however, it was exactly the opposite). Admittedly, it was mainly because of his clothing line, or commercial design work but it still has caused him to be one of the most widely known street artists today.

Lastly, there are a number of institution accepted young artists living in NY who base the majority of their work on an urban street art style. Particularly, this group includes Dash Snow, Ryan McGinley, and Dan Colen, all of whom used to run around NY as amateur taggers. All of the artists are collected by Saatchi, and they are all represented by respected galleries.

No one can deny Banksy's astronomical rise to the top, but it was with the help of many pieces going up for auction. Also, for the past year you all have had a 2-1 dollar to pound ratio, sometimes you simply price us out. American street style art doesn't go up for auction as much, but that doesn't mean that it isn't in good hands. Barry McGee recently had a solo show over there, he was also part of the 06 Liverpool Biennial. Snow and Colen were both featured in Saatchi's USA today show in 06 as well.

There are plenty of good American artists that incorporate street art styles into their work as well as many great American galleries that were established long before LAZ/POW opened their doors, unfortunately most of them are overlooked by this board.

great thread. at last one worth reading!

;D ;D ;D

Go ask Brangelina...

I can see it taking off in Japan.

we're all going 2 look sooooo cool at party's when it really takes off

Do you think street art will go all the way, or become a victim of its own hype!!!
Will Banksy and friends really reach the heights of the big boys.

BONGO CANNOT COMMENT ON AS THIS BONGO RARELY LEAVES HIS COMPACT POMMEE DE TERRE AND BRAVE THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND INFREQUENTLY GOES OVERSEAS TO THE COLONIES

BUT BONGO DID READ THAT THE ANTIPODEAN TINGED LONELY PLANET NOW ADVISES TRAVELLERS THAT THE WEST END OF LONDON IS NO PLACE FOR THE OPEN MINDED AND SUGGESTS GETTING OUT EAST TO GET THE FEEL FOR THE NEW IMPROVED LIVELY LONDON.

BONGO ADVISES ANYONE WHO HAS NOT BEEN TO LONDON TO STAY WELL CLEAR OF THE FAMED CARANBY STREET AND ITS PARTNERS IN CRIME.