What Qualifies as Street Art?
Justin Kamp, for artsy.net
Jan 11, 2021 12:43pm
photo: An early 2000s Swoon paste-up on a San Francisco public wall

The ascent of so-called street artists into the moneyed realms of the blue chip is not exactly a new phenomenon—it’s been nearly two years since KAWS skyrocketed to a new auction record of HK$116 million (US$14.8 million) with the sale of The Kaws Album (2005) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, which was followed six months later by the record-breaking sale of Banksy’s Devolved Parliament (2009) for £9.8 million ($12.1 million). These two mononym artists could be seen as the loosely defined category’s twin princes, despite their stylistic differences—KAWS’s vibrant cartoon riffs and Banksy’s wry stencils are two of the most easily recognizable, not to mention consistently lucrative, styles in contemporary art. But as collectors the world over continue to be fascinated with “Companion” figures and Girl With Balloon prints, the exact parameters of what constitutes “street art” remain nebulous.

According to Charlotte Raybaud, head of 20th-century evening sales at Phillips in Hong Kong, the category comes with a certain amount of ambiguity baked in. “Street art is inherently hard to define,” Raybaud said. “It is difficult to categorize as sometimes it can feature graffiti, or other times more image-based work. The former oftentimes features alongside the latter, but I would say some uniting elements include the use of stencils and/or elements of reproduction, allusions to and questioning of everyday visuals or slogans, and of course its ‘street’ setting—or indeed proximity to its roots.” When highlighting street art works for potential bidders, Raybaud said she emphasizes both the above aesthetic elements as well as a piece’s conceptual underpinnings, which she said often center on themes of democratization.

Today I am relaunching the Honey Bear Hunt. The bears are better quality, and I am asking everyone to keep them up for at least 3 months and appear on the map. Hunt Kits are now available on store.fnnch.com, and more will be released every Wednesday.

What Is the Honey Bear Hunt?
The idea is for people to put Mask Bears in their windows so neighbors can walk around and spot them. This is a fun, safe activity for individuals, couples, and families.

I launched it last May, and it exceeded my wildest expectations — we have now shipped over 12,000 Hunt Kits to all 50 states and 5 continents!

As COVID rates have soared, much of the country has locked down again, restricting movement and closing galleries and museums. The Honey Bear Hunt brings art to you.

Better Bears
The original bears were printed on relatively cheap paper with relatively cheap ink. The new ones are made by a professional print shop and are much better quality. They should wrinkle and fade less in the sun.

Expectations
If you buy a Hunt Kit, I am asking you to put it in your window for at least 3 months. It would be swell if you kept it up for the duration of the pandemic, but I want to make a reasonable ask. After 3 months I will reach out with a survey to see if you'd like to keep your bear up longer.

Thanks to: the annual TXMX haul, only_stencil_archive (insta)
Spinning: Mingus, Monk
Photo: Meow's meditating cat

>NEW< meow (DE)

>NEW< Props (DE)

>NEW< TaZe (DE)

mittenimwald (just one)

ørk (just one)

pirho ASA

rumo (just one)

seileise

tona (just one)

Thanks to: TXMX, the King of Hamburg Stencil Nation ;)
Spinning: Soul Coughing > Ruby Vroom
Photo: Art by Liz Art; Photo by TXMX

Hamburg

Lembo

Leni

Liebsein (just one)

Liz Art

marie

Thanks to: Josiah, Celeste, Esmeralda, Amanda, Jaime Rojo/Brooklyn Street Art
Spinning: Phish, Set III (NYE 95/96 MSG, NYC)
Photo: @luinova on Market St. in SF, CA, USA

Argentina

Chile (just one)

Mexico

Eclair in SF

fnnch in SF (just one)

Jeremy Novy in SF (just one)

>NEW< Luinova in SF

The Mission, SF

Western Addition, SF (just one)

Market St., SF (just one)

New Orleans (just one)

NYC

Thanks to: TXMX, r/streetart, u/thk, u/TheNaughtyShaman, u/zmerkh, u/Everything4Everyone, u/eferka, u/Aroc2020, u/iptrucs
Spinning: Monk in Palo Alto
Photo: Marsal Arts keeps it surreal in Hamburg; photo: TXMX

Banksy (just one)

C215 (just one)

Marshal Arts (Hamburg)

Prague, CZ (just one)

Greece (just one)

COVID19 related in Ireland (just one)

Poland (just one)

Zuckerberg selling a fix in London

Hamburg, seen through the lense of TXMX, puts The Stencil Archive over the 25,000 upload mark.

Pop the cork! Slowly and steadily, while social media pulls the limelight, The Stencil Archive finally hit over 25,000 photo uploads today. The timing couldn't have been better, since TXMX just sent over his annual zip file of his stencil snaps. Due to COVID-19, his pics are all in Hamburg, which is indeed one of the all-time, still-running capitals of Stencil Nation. We are also giving a shout out to Brooklyn Street Art for one of the Hamburg submissions: a snarky elf wheatpaste by Lapiz attempting to "help" people shop correctly during these strange times.

This is only the beginning of the TXMX annual haul. Stay tuned for artist-focused uploads from the streets of Hamburg, along with pulls, submissions, and originals from your very own Stencil Archive - The Old School Home of Stencils and Street Art, Since 2002 ;)

Thanks to: u/Jmflora11, u/nahmate45, u/Upbeat_Garbage6089, u/iptrucs, u/IronRickNick, Jaime Rojo with Brooklyn Street Art, @only_stencil_archive
Photo: Art by Praxis; Photo by Jaime Rojo for Brooklyn Street Art

Spinning the youtubes: Flippin’ Live with Flippin’ Through (Bill Morrison super special)

>NEW< Davide Maria (IT)

>NEW< LDB (IT)

>NEW< Sarah Aller (IT)

>NEW< Sundra (FR)

Spain (just one)

Czech Republic (just one)

UK (just one)

Palestine (just one)

::: USA USA USA US…. etc etc :::

Faile (just one)

Praxis (just one)

Sacramento, CA (just one)

NYC

TN (just one)

fnnch in San Francisco (just one)