The Street Art World

Book excerpt: In recent years, street art has become embedded in popular culture and received growing attention from the art market and art institutions. Work by street artists has entered galleries, auction houses and museums, and some artists have been given the opportunity to create large-scale sanctioned public art projects. Simultaneously, widespread photographic documentation of street artworks and the circulation of images online have provided artists with a potentially global audience. Based on studies of everyday interaction among artists, gallerists, collectors, bloggers and street art enthusiasts, The Street Art World investigates the often contradictory attitudes within the street art community towards art history and the institutions of art. The book also deliberates on street art's connection to the art market and public art. It considers street art's potential to affect the viewer's perception of public space, and the possible challenges the increasing digital mediation of street art may pose to bringing this potential to fruition. Peter Bengtsen is an art historian and sociologist.