The general opinion about street art

In the streets of England, street-art has slowly but surely taken possession of many usable media. Mainly the walls, but also the floor, street lamps, benches, rubbish bins, everything is a pretext to stick a sticker, put a stencil, or illustrate a whole section of wall up to 3 meters high. A bit like everywhere else in the world, you might say! And you're right. But here, we are going to approach England via a survey conducted by the BBC, on the perception of street-art by the inhabitants.

First of all, the simple observation of the evolution of society's view of the democratization of street art is evoked. Today, works from the street display (for some of them) a market value that did not exist a few years earlier. Thanks to references such as Shepard Fairey or Banksy, a stencil or poster stuck on a wall is worth thousands of dollars. What people are now saying to each other is, "Is this worth money?

Richard Clay, Professor of Digital Science at the University of Newcastle, answers as follows: "The authenticity, location specificity and unique nature of street art could be an answer to the overabundance of images on the web and to streets saturated with commercial images. »

Blackloop

In London, street art is now said to be associated with improving the economic conditions of working-class neighbourhoods, according to a study by the University of Warwick.

The commodification of art in general is a great debate lulled by many questions, each one more abyssal than the other. What is art? How can we say that such and such a thing is art? Does art have to be beautiful? Why art? Do cultural institutions determine the "forms" of art? To this last question, everyone is free to find the answer they want. However, if there is one that comes up repeatedly in relation to street art, it is this one.

So, finally, we come back to the question of the commodification of street art and its exhibition in cultural institutions. If we follow Scotty Brave's thinking about the power "conferred" on street art by those who try to categorize it, i.e. museums and other curators, then we come up against a wall. For some people, street art has to stay on the street, while for others, it can be a way to simply make a living. Sam Fishwick, a graffiti artist in Liverpool says, "It's not street art if you put it in a museum. To which John Doh adds, "When a piece is taken off the street and hung on the wall of a museum or gallery, it's almost a crime. Sometimes location is as important as the piece  itself. »

The debate remains open, and may not need to be resolved. Art is subjective in the same way that street art is art. So, it is up to each artist to decide whether or not his 4 by 8 meter illustration should take root on the walls of a museum; and even to decide if he defines himself as an artist. For as Neil Morris said: "Money changes everything. ».

And if there is one thing we can be sure of, it is that it will always be there.