What is Urban Art? Who are the main artists?

Urban Art or street art
In the second part of the 20th century, we see the explosion of urban art (street art), as a way of expressing and communicating a message or brand through images, illustrations or symbols in public space. This practice began insistently in the seventies, in New York, with the protagonist as Jean-Michel Basquiat, who began to express their thoughts in street actions. The African-American artist, under the name SAMO at the time, linked his own observations into vigorous text messages on buildings in the urban environment. It was on the streets that the basis for his initial artistic production was formed, Jean-Michel Basquiat projected their perceptions of the outside world through their creative acts, through a single word, a short phrase or a simple image referring to a recent person, event or observation. The practice of graffiti grew, initially in New York, but quickly spread steadily to other contemporary cities, thus challenging the current canons of artistic practices. Find out in this article which two Portuguese artists stood out in this field. 

Vhils
Urban culture, namely graffiti, prematurely fascinated the artist Alexandre Farto. Born in Lisbon in 1987, from an early age he began painting the streets of Seixal, where he grew up, signing them under the pseudonym of Vhils. In urban culture, each writer (term used for a painter or graffiti artist) creates his own tag corresponding to your signature, thus marking your authorship, identity and personal style, in addition to marking spots of interest for future murals. One tag which initially had no meaning ended up becoming the name by which, to this day, Alexandre Farto continues to sign himself, and by which he is known nationally and internationally. In an interview with Notícias Maganize he confessed: “They were the lyrics that I liked to do the most and that I did the fastest.”

Such as Keith Haring, who became famous for turning the New York subway system into his own canvas, accompanied or alone, Vhils He began by intervening in walls and trains. He quickly realized that although graffiti still lives in a very closed circle of people, the street was the place with the greatest potential for communication. From the spray can to the stencil, Alexandre Farto explores new techniques, in a phase of transition and evolution that leads him to experiment with other supports. He used advertising posters that accumulated in layers on billboards, painted them white and dug into the layers, sculpting faces. The objective he revealed to Notícias Magazine, in the same interview mentioned above, was: “To reflect on the identity and influence of the consumer society on the individual. Trying to get to the essence of what is behind all this futility that forms us and makes us who we are.”

From this transition and evolution he decides to return to the walls, but this time sculpt them. Faces of anonymous figures that he photographs on the streets and draws on public transport are sculpted on a large scale, with a pneumatic hammer, on walls, tunnels and buildings. It thus offers a face to the city and gives power to ordinary people. It includes the cities, the streets, the buildings that serve as stages for creative action in the process of sculpture and engraving obtained through the subtraction of layers, thinning, drilling and immersion. The walls are generally chosen by him, but he has also received invitations to produce interventions site specific in various locations, always in urban areas and generally abandoned. Through your creativity, Vhils reveals the hidden lower layers and the fragility of urban space, reflecting current themes in the artistic panorama, such as identity, representation, ephemerality and the individual's experience in consumer society. In these mural works, the influence of the artist Gordon Matta Clark can be seen, as he experimented and expressed himself through the practice of destruction as a creative and artistic form of production. The social logics and ideas of public space are questioned, through interventions on the facades of abandoned or degraded buildings. It highlights the invasion and modification of urban space in an ambitious but temporary way, as the works disappeared over time, leaving behind only documentary records. 

During the painting course at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lisbon, he discovered sculpture, ceramics and began experimenting with the most diverse materials. His passion for painting dates back to his childhood, when he spent hours on end watching his grandfather painting in his studio and also in the underworld of the city of Lisbon. Deeply influenced by his grandfather, Artur Bordalo began spray painting walls on the streets at the age of 11, with the artistic name Bordalo II, in honor and highlighting the artistic legacy of his grandfather Artur Real Bordalo (1925-2017). Both Portuguese artists stand out in its visual language reflects on identity and the influence of consumer society on the individual.

Photo Credit Wikipedia.

Without a doubt, these artists have a special power in bringing the challenging style of street art into the home, whether by destroying their own works, as happened with the famous work of Banksy “Girl with balloon" (2006) or other simpler forms of creative expression. Jean-Michel Basquiat The Shepard Fairey, street artists are always known for their creative expressions of rebellion.