Street Artists: The Complete Guide.
Eleanor Mathieson and Xavier A. Tapies with photography by Glenn Arango
Published By Graffito Books, an imprint of Korero Books.
These days a big part of being involved in art culture is the consumption of art books. Most of the time we thumb through an art book, pick our favorites, stick them on a shelf and call it a life. Most of the art books I own only get cracked when I have company, the rest of the time they collect dust. The book I have for you today, sits on my desk with a bent cover, here is why. Street Artists: The Complete Guide is just that, a complete guide. Working in the Graffiti world it’s important for me to stay up on artist, but even more important than that is the mediums history. This book acts as an encyclopedia of all revolutionaries in the game. If you did something to progress the art form, odds are you’re in this book. The book showcases over fifty artists world wide, from C215 to Shepard Fairey and gives you a taste of all the different techniques used by each artist. The profiles have bee interesting to read through, just like art class we are given the cultural background of the artist and the society in which they were brought up. Breaking into the cultural voice of the artist adds an extra layer of understanding we do not often see in graffiti books. I have to say, my favorite feature in this book is locations given of the pieces, I mean street addresses and building names. This book contains over two hundred and fifty images with location notes. Granted, in the graffiti world art is here today and gone tomorrow, but that isn’t always the case. Since not everything gets “buffed” This book will travel with me in hopes of locating some of the greatest pieces in the world. If you are just getting into street art this book is perfect for you, if you love art this book is perfect for you and if you think you know your artists, you probably don’t and need the book. Get lost in Street Art and get yours wherever good books are sold.
Thanks for the great review… it means a lot given how long it took us to put it together! I’m very glad you are enjoying the book and find it so useful!!!
I also wanted to add that we’ve created a fan page for the book at Facebook (http://facebook.com/street.artists). Stop by, peruse the images, join the community and become a fan.
woops, link should be http://www.facebook.com/street.artists