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STREET ART: IN SITU OR INSIDE

E. Stochino

Abstract

This study focuses on the birth of the various methodologies concerning the conservation of Street Art. Due to the current commercial success of this artistic movement people have begun to ask how best to conserve the many contemporary artworks painted on walls. Street artists make use of different surfaces when creating their works: canvases, paper posters, stickers and billboards. For the preservation of all works painted on walls the course of action generally taken is to exhibit them in museums. The Smithsonian Institute bought from Shephard Fairey, aka Obey, the “Hope” poster which he created during the Obama Presidential Election. Paintings on walls and urban furniture may be illegal should artists not ask for official permission before creating the work. However, artworks are regarded as legal should the work be commissioned by a private individual or public institution. If commissioned, the private individual or public institution is legally the owner of the work and may decide, in accordance with any applicable law, the best way to carry out any restoration deemed necessary. The communicative and sociological worth of illegal works lies in their being created in specific parts of a city, urban areas which find themselves at the heart of some particular issue. These works must be created in situ so as to enhance their socio-political impact and the same works created elsewhere would lose their semantic meaning.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/SGEMSOCIAL2017/HB61/S15.48

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