Street art has led the way from Roman days to the modern era.
The history of the world can be found spread through building murals and graffiti. This is true activist art.
Maybe, or maybe not, you’re old enough to remember when a stream of people fled from Communist-controlled East Berlin during the post-World War II Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. They were seeking refuge in the West. In 1961, a wall of concrete slabs and hollow blocks was erected to stem the exodus.
While the side of the barricade facing East Berlin remained grey and unadorned, the other face was covered by images of peace and love. It became one of the most iconic and memorable examples of political street art.
The ancient history of graffiti street art
Using illustrations posted in public traces its roots back to the first century BC, when Roman citizens scribbled messages on brick walls. In the 1960s, New York City and Philadelphia protesters began using public graffiti to express their thoughts. Some of the most talented creators became well-known and starting in the 1980s, examples of graffiti and street art began to find their way into galleries and museums.
Still, the best places to view displays of this meaningful medium are where they have been positioned to catch the public’s eye, attention, and in many cases, activism. Whether where you live or plan to travel, opportunities abound to view samples of this unique form of art.
Activist street art is all around us
Rather than gallery or museum walls, activist art is applied where it will be seen by as many people as possible. That includes the outside walls of buildings, highway bridges and overpasses, sidewalks, benches, lamp posts, and telephone poles.
The materials used to make this art form are as unconventional as where it appears. Beginning with spray paint employed by early graffitists, they now include wheat paste, stickers, knitted fibers, mosaics, and even video projection. Other innovations are the soft, diffuse glow cast by LED lights and spray paint from a fire extinguisher.
Activity murals adorn walls in Clarion Alley, San Francisco
Some handiworks are part of collections that include more traditional forms of artistic expression. For example, Clarion Alley in San Francisco’s Mission District is a small street whose outside building walls are covered by murals. The messages they convey change along with the issues facing the local community and the world.
These range from challenges caused by the gentrification of the neighborhood and support for LGBTQ rights to the plight of Palestinians. Among other political and social subjects upon which street artists focus their talents are Black Lives Matter, environmental challenges, drug addiction, women’s issues, and the horrors of war.
Wynwood Walls in Miami is an urban graffiti art museum. It shows the way to diversity.
An even more expansive collection is on display at the Wynwood Walls, an urban graffiti art museum in Miami, Florida. It uses the outsides of old warehouses as canvases on which visiting artists express themselves. Hundreds of people representing many countries have contributed works, along with more traditional images are messages about empowering women and saving the environment. A panel titled “Rise Above” includes portraits of the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The words of Reverend King and other world-renowned spiritual and political leaders share space on large panels that line a building wall in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC. They’re the product of a government-sponsored project that represents and celebrates the cultural diversity of community members.
The exhibit was created by Thomas Block, executive director of the International Human Rights Art Festival. That non-profit organization uses artistic creativity in all forms to work toward a world where human rights are honored equally for everyone. It gives voice to artists from many countries, highlighting those who are suppressed or oppressed because they struggle for human rights.
Buildings and a water tower provide a painter’s palette in Texas
Murals decorate many historic buildings in Deep Ellum, Texas, just east of downtown Dallas. Local, national, and international artists have showcased their talent and improved the neighborhood’s reputation as a center for the arts. Not far away is a water tower which serves as the palette for a painting with the uplifting title “Cultivate Harmony.”
Street art stars earn fame with delicate art creations
Like many endeavors, street art has its superstars. The man who goes by the nickname Banksy started spray-painting walls and train cars in the 1990s. Since then, he has become a worldwide phenomenon, leaving his mark in cities around the globe.
Keith Haring was a famous graffiti artist in New York in the 1980s, and his works helped to break down barriers between street culture and fine art.
Stencils, murals, and other works by Frank Shepard Fairey have made him one of the best-known and most influential street artists. He designed the famous “Hope” poster for Barack Obama’s successful presidential campaign in 2008. His work has been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Modern Art, and in other famous collections.
Over the years, public displays that convey a social, political, or similar message have been described as graffiti, guerilla, urban and street art, and protest paintings. Whatever its name, the movement has become a ubiquitous and sometimes controversial part of the American scene.
Examples of it await discovery in countless places around the country, and unlike entry into some museums, you may view them without having to purchase a ticket.
Victor Block
After gallivanting throughout the United States and to more than 75 other countries worldwide and writing about what he sees, does, and learns, Victor Block retains the travel bug. He believes that travel is the best possible education and claims he still has much to learn. He loves to explore new destinations and cultures, and his stories about them have won many writing awards.