If you just knew a little bit about graffiti, it would be easy to think that there were some young punks who scribble and one talented artist named Banksy. Banksy’s book proliferate shelves, thank you Urban Outfitters, and his work has been catching major media attention as it auctions for hundreds of thousands of dollars. While I am not in any way discounting Banksy’s obvious talent and amazing artwork, it is frustrating that he is the only graffiti artist in the mainstream.
Graffiti art does not begin and end with one man.
However, as this article on “the Banksy effect,” says, most people need entry points to become comfortable with things that are new. And for millions of people, Banksy is the entry point they need in not only seeing art in a new way, but in accepting art as a part of their daily lives.
So I guess many artists out there can thank Banksy for bringing graffiti art into the mainstream – but hopefully, with time, more artists will come to be appreciated in this way. Along this theme, this Web site compiled a list of some of New York City’s best graff artists, some very famous, like Swoon, and some lesser known or appreciated, like Goya. Some other artists of note: Claw (New York), Pose (Chicago) and Revs (New York).
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Additional info: There is also a great New York Times article from a few years ago on Swoon that features a slideshow of her work.
