When most of us think of going to see an art exhibition, it also includes the understanding that the art will be hung in the rarified atmosphere of a sterile gallery space. Yes those four white walls where the art is strategically placed to emphasise its value is a familiar scene. Accessibility and ownership is more often than not restricted to a wealthy minority.
Or else there is the carefully constructed and edited museum set up, where in many cases the sheer scope of work available for viewing can intimidate or overwhelm even the most cultured artistic eye. Environments that, in many cases, don’t actively examine or explore the notion of what actual art is. Nor reflect the methods by which artists create their works and the reasons behind their doing so. Or provide the general public with the ability to both appreciate and interact directly with the artistic process.
But with the increasing acceptance and popularity of the phenomenon commonly labelled ‘Urban Art’, such approaches to the realm of artistic endeavor and dissemination are being directly challenged and in turn are directly influencing public perceptions of the role of art in everyday life.
On a global scale, Urban Art can mean many things to many people. It can focus its attention on the issue of how art relates to the architecture and interior design of a public space. It can look at urban spaces and the relationships created between contemporary art and how it relates directly to ideas of cultural identity. It can span all mediums from painting, sculpture and collage to film,dance and theatre. And it can be intensely personal or manifestly political in its nature.
One of the earliest examples of the urban art phenomenon would undoubtedly be the medium most commonly known as ‘graffiti’. In his work Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art the renowned American installation artist Robert Irwin stated that any work of art can be identified as one of the following categories – site dominant, site adjusted, site specific, or site conditioned. Irwin also identified graffiti as being site dominant.
We see it in the earliest drawings made by cavemen on the walls of their shelters – documenting the activities of their everyday existence. Now in the modern age we see it still – on the sides of buildings, along the exteriors of trains, on the walls of public bathrooms and on the footpaths we walk upon. For many, graffiti is viewed as being merely the illegal activity of destructive and disaffected youth. But for others, this medium of individual artistic expression has long been recognized as holding a legitimate place within the canon of modern art. A visible and culturally significant example of the truths and rigors of the urban experience felt by the many that do not have or do not want access to more traditional art forums.
Now famous artists such as Keith Haring with his iconic image of the ‘radiant baby’ – which he created in chalk on New York sidewalks – and Jean Michel Basquiat, who under the guise of the mythical artist SAMO first became noticed through spray painting quotes such as ‘SAMO as an alternative to mindwash’ on building walls, galvanized community spirit and identity and took art out of the gallery environment and into both the public domain and the collective consciousness. Key tenets of the ideology of urban art.
On UK soil the graffitist Banksy, has been hailed as one of the leading figures in the arena of Britain’s young and upcoming artists. Numerous examples of his large stenciled paintings are found on walls all around the UK and he significantly used his work to great effect in support of a major Greenpeace initiative in last year’s highly publicized anti-deforestation campaign. He notoriously stenciled the front steps of the Tate Modern with the words ‘MIND THE CRAP’, challenging, in turn, the often elitist notions at work in traditional art forums with a distinctly urban sensibility that resonated with many in the general public. What’s more this art is particular dissimilar to the works of other well known British artists such as Tracy Emin and Damien Hirst – who while being variously labeled as cutting edge, fashionable and controversial haven’t had the same sort of cultural resonance.
The cause of Urban Art in the UK is receiving increasing support from both public and private sectors. The Birmingham based music company Punch Records is one of the key supporters of Urban Art in the UK. On their What Is Urban website they hope to, through the support and promotion of British artists, find answers to some of the key questions underpinning the Urban Art movement. Questions such as what constitutes ‘urban’? Is there such thing as an urban aesthetic? Are there any art forms that can be considered truly urban in nature? And significantly, will the current debate taking place on the subject of the emerging ‘urban renaissance’ merely lead to the creation of ‘suburban ghettoes’?
So too, the Urban Art Official website, espouse a philosophy of ‘promoting street based art recognizing and representing each form of urban influenced expression with a key focus on installation based art’ that taps into and responds to the environment surrounding it. An exhibition held in Manchester this year featured three-dimensional structures made of wood, which coupled with a collaborative painting performance worked towards objectively challenging ‘perceptions’ of art in an urban context. Such initiatives are becoming more commonplace, and are effectively helping to take art out of the gallery set up and on to the street where a much wider audience can appreciate it.
Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts in Britain, along with The Millenium Commission joined forces to announce in 2003 the Urban Cultural Programme a funding initiative for cultural projects taking place in urban areas across the UK from 2004-2006. With an allocated fifteen million pounds from National Lottery revenue, applications for funding were invited from interested parties. The fund also included two specific stipulations. Firstly, it should be understood that local authorities would play an active part in the decision process and secondly a locality with population in excess of 100,000 should be chosen for at least one grant. The intent behind these initiative was to create cultural programs such as festivals, exhibitions and installations that would serve to highlight the ways in which ‘culture and the arts were integral’ to the life of the community in question and had a direct contribution to its urban regeneration.’
All in all, these and other similar initiatives are developing across the country. Furthering, as is the intent, some of the key tenets of the Urban Art movement. Mainly being the promotion of cultural diversity, in providing opportunities for advancement for people from all walks of life. This doctrine focuses clearly on protecting and supporting local environments and uniting communities through common goals. Quite literally Urban Art will soon be coming to a place near you.
To find out more about Urban Art check out www.urbanartofficial.co.uk .
