Graffiti was once considered pure vandalism (a subversive underground movement). Slowly he made his way to the hearts of the people and to the heart of the artistic establishment.
Today graffiti has become an inseparable part of the urban landscape. We walk alongside him throughout the city and we treat it as a legitimate way of expression.
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This is not a modern invention - graffiti existed already in the caves of ancient man. More advanced examples were in the Greek city of Ephesus, in catacombs in Rome and even on the walls of Pompeii.
In the 1970s, graffiti - considered a kind of vandalism - was treated more seriously:
A messenger boy named Demetrius, who called himself Taki 183, used to sign his name on the subway walls in New York. After his signature in hundreds of places in the city and the New York Times published a story about him and the phenomenon, a new popular movement was born: Taki swept the masses after him, and hundreds of more signatures appeared on the walls of the metropolis.
Gallery owners and art dealers, who identified the trend, adopted a number of talented graffiti artists and exhibited their works in galleries. We all know Keith Haring, but also DONDI(Donald Joseph White) and Dream then made the way from the deserted buildings and dark alleys of the city streets to the heart of the establishment.
After the signatures, the graffiti developed into paintings for all intents and purposes, which in the first stage served the city's gangs as a modern territory symbol.
Soon after, the colorful scribbles became urban works of art, such as those that do not depend on the gallery and sometimes do not even survive the night.
Collectors rushed to steal the works before the law enforcement authorities could arrive.
For the most part, being a graffiti artist means staying in the shadows, anonymous. Graffiti artists sign a mixture of letters and numbers, and most of them want to remain anonymous, even if their works reach museums and are even sold.
From the Berlin Wall to Banksy: In Europe and the US, institutional and commercial collaborations are already a natural part of street art
In the world's largest cities, walls decorated with graffiti are an accepted aspect of life. Berlin is an excellent example, not least because of the Berlin Wall, which was the object of protest through the frescoes (the most famous of which introduced Erich Honecker, the former leader of East Germany, passionately kisses Brezhnev, the Soviet leader). Since the fall of the wall, street art has spread throughout the city. The office buildings in the Kreuzberg neighborhood, for example, adorn dozens of meters of Italian Blu. The municipality has shown no signs of resistance. On the contrary, it has financed the restoration of the crumbling part of the 1.3-kilometer-long graffiti-covered wall that has become the East Side Gallery, the world's largest open-air gallery.
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London is also known for its highly developed graphics. Banksy, which is difficult to mention when discussing the subject, is perhaps the most admired and famous street artist today. He paints on walls in London and around the world,
Many claims that he is responsible for the change in the attitude of the London Municipality to Graffiti - after hundreds of his works, valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds, have been erased for years, it seems that the municipality understood that the economic and tourist potential created by Banksy and its members should be exploited and preserved.
Banksy, or maybe Robin Banksy, or maybe he's called Robin Gingham - no one really knows his name - is now considered the world's most famous and mysterious street artist. His true identity has never been verified.
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Banksy is also one of the pioneers who help make street art profitable and commercial. Despite his criticism of consumer culture and the balance of financial power, he earns well from his work. His works received unprecedented offers in the field - "Space Boy and Bird" was sold for £ 288,000 (NIS 2.4 million) in 2007. Banksy also published five books and directed a film on street art that was nominated for an Oscar in 2011.
Obey, who sells a lot of jobs and participates in international events, is the equivalent of Banksy in the US He understood the business potential of his image and opened a graphic design studio, a clothing store and a website that provides commercial products in his branding.
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One of the most interesting commercial collaborations was in February in France - the boutique hotel Au Vieux Panier in Paris invited the Tilt graffiti artist to design a special concept room, half white and half covered with colored graffiti.
In the dilemma between permissible and forbidden in the public space is the winner of the spirit of the time, and a vast area of walls is now devoted to the legitimate use of street artists.
The main difficulty posed by the broad acceptance of the establishment of the genre of street art is its transformation from art protest to art decoration city. But as long as the artists' artistic freedom is preserved, it is to be hoped that the character of the paintings will continue to be kicking and independent, between the psychedelic and not merely aesthetic.
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