Street artist
Encyclopedia
A street artist is someone who creates and/or sells their art
or craft
in public for the pleasure of passers-by.
Some people use the term 'street artist' more broadly and also refer to people involved in busking
, such as musician
s who sing and/or play instruments, acrobats
, jugglers, living statue
s, performers of street theatre
, artists who use pastel
crayons to copy famous paintings onto pavements, as well as artists who sell their paintings, portraits (e.g. caricature
s), prints, and various crafts.
While some street artists may support themselves by selling a physical commodity like a portrait on paper or a painting upon canvas, performers may encourage payment by having pedestrians show their appreciation by giving coins, usually into a hat or a can. Regardless of the accuracy of the likeness or excellence of the work, portrait artists usually consider payment mandatory - which is why some local governments (in London
, for instance) consider it street trading and therefore work requiring a license.
Street artists can be seen throughout the world. In some cities street artists will set up spontaneously wherever they like, but often run the risk of being arrested if municipal ordinances prohibit their display. However in other cities, street artists can be licensed within municipal street artist programs so they may legally sell their artwork. Frequently these municipal street artist programs will describe designated locations where licensed street artists are allowed to display, as well as regulate what they are allowed to sell in an attempt to allow only handmade items of the artist's creation and not the manufactured work of others. San Francisco, Berkeley
, and Seattle are American cities that allow the regulation and legal display of street artists and their wares through municipal ordinances.
Tricks of the portrait artist include exaggerating about the shortness of the sitting, to praising the supposed beauty of prospective customers' wives or children in order to flatter, to charging apparently well-off clients extra. In their favor, many have excellent ability, and as a whole, they add atmosphere to squares and alleys. Popular areas include parts of the West End in London and Montmartre
in Paris
. Many portrait artists are also capable caricaturists.
In New York City, street artists have an advocacy group that has won numerous Federal lawsuits on their free speech rights.
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
or craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
in public for the pleasure of passers-by.
Some people use the term 'street artist' more broadly and also refer to people involved in busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
, such as musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s who sing and/or play instruments, acrobats
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
, jugglers, living statue
Living statue
The term living statue refers to a mime artist who poses like a statue or mannequin, usually with realistic statue-like makeup, sometimes for hours at a time....
s, performers of street theatre
Street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are...
, artists who use pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
crayons to copy famous paintings onto pavements, as well as artists who sell their paintings, portraits (e.g. caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s), prints, and various crafts.
While some street artists may support themselves by selling a physical commodity like a portrait on paper or a painting upon canvas, performers may encourage payment by having pedestrians show their appreciation by giving coins, usually into a hat or a can. Regardless of the accuracy of the likeness or excellence of the work, portrait artists usually consider payment mandatory - which is why some local governments (in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, for instance) consider it street trading and therefore work requiring a license.
Street artists can be seen throughout the world. In some cities street artists will set up spontaneously wherever they like, but often run the risk of being arrested if municipal ordinances prohibit their display. However in other cities, street artists can be licensed within municipal street artist programs so they may legally sell their artwork. Frequently these municipal street artist programs will describe designated locations where licensed street artists are allowed to display, as well as regulate what they are allowed to sell in an attempt to allow only handmade items of the artist's creation and not the manufactured work of others. San Francisco, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, and Seattle are American cities that allow the regulation and legal display of street artists and their wares through municipal ordinances.
Tricks of the portrait artist include exaggerating about the shortness of the sitting, to praising the supposed beauty of prospective customers' wives or children in order to flatter, to charging apparently well-off clients extra. In their favor, many have excellent ability, and as a whole, they add atmosphere to squares and alleys. Popular areas include parts of the West End in London and Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Many portrait artists are also capable caricaturists.
In New York City, street artists have an advocacy group that has won numerous Federal lawsuits on their free speech rights.
See also
- Street paintingStreet paintingStreet painting, also commonly known as pavement art, chalk art, and sidewalk art, is the performance art of rendering original and non-original artistic designs on pavement such as streets, sidewalks, and town squares with impermanent and semi-permanent materials such as chalk.-Origin:Street...
- Street artStreet artStreet art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives...
- Pike Place MarketPike Place MarketPike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers,...
- Poster BoyPoster Boy (street artist)Poster Boy is a New York City based street artist named Henry Matyjewicz whose only utensil is a razor. He is known for satiric collage-like works created by cutting out sections of the self-adhesive advertisement posters in the platforms of New York City subway stations, and pasting them back in...
, a NYC street artist - PosterchildPosterchild (street artist)Posterchild is the nom de plume of a street artist based in Toronto, Canada who may be best known for his Mario Blocks project, the purpose of which is to install homemade Mario blocks in public spaces...
, a Toronto-based street artist