Street Art appeared in the US in 1930`s in New York. The graffiti was made by street gangs mostly on the trains and walls of the city. Later the street wall art started to transmit political situations and social hesitations. Initially illegal activity started to be a form of self expression as well as a good indicator of mood in society. Street Art and graffiti was the beginning of murals art, which now became a cultural heritage for many cities in the world.
In this article you will find some information about the most popular US street artists who created graffiti art.
1. Cornbread
He is known as the first modern street artist who was making his Wall art on the streets of Philadelphia in the late 60s. His practice was well known in New York as well. He became well known after a scandal when he got into Elefant`s cage in a local zoo and painted “Cornbread Lives” on the animal's body. It's difficult to call his Art abstract one, but it wasn't appreciated and understood by many people of his time, the same situation as with the contemporary abstract artists.
2. Dondi White
He had been creating on the streets of Brooklyn. His art was a mix of lettering and modern pop culture. Dondi created the team of street artists which were painting the walls of New York. He never acted spontaneously and usually pondered over his art several times and made several sketches before recreating his ideas on walls. Later he found himself in Europe and switched to collages and drawings. His hand art started from street graffiti and led him to the canvas art.
3. Lady Pink
Was known as one of a few female street artists in New York. She could descently compete with male artists in Large Wall Painting. She was painting trains with graffiti and was exhibiting her works in local galleries as she was a college student. She is considered to be a woman artist who fought for women's right of being equal with men. Lady Pink is still sharing her knowledge with young artists and gives lessons to all the interested people.
4. Keith Haring
When Keith was a teenager he found his canvas, the empty walls in the subway of New York. Unlike other street artists he made art not only with spray paints but with chalk as well. Haring made friends with Basquiat and Kenny Sharf. They all shared the same viewpoint, they wanted to make the New York streets more interesting and memorable. Together they were an Art gang, they used to make underground exhibitions, Art clubs where music, art and danses intertwined together. He was caught several times by policemen for “vandalism” but still his Original wall Art turned to be immortal.
5. Tristan Eaton
This artist is known for his distinguishing style. The murals by Trisan beautify the streets of the USA and European biggest cities. He made designs for Nike and Hublot and he is a well known person all over the world. His art is bright and vibrant, he uses the images of women and adds surrealistic and psychedelic details, which makes his art noticeable.
He is also well known as a toy designer and some of his works of art are now exhibited in one of the famous museums in the world - Museum of Modern Arts in New York.
He made a huge contribution into changing the attitude of authorities to street art. It became honored and paid as well as started to be taken seriously.
