As a Westchester County interior decorator and designer, it’s my job to educate my clients about collecting art and sourcing original and affordable pieces for their homes. And lately, I’ve been talking to them a lot about graffiti!
Urban Art, or graffiti, consists of visual art forms coming out of cities and created by artists who are inspired by street life. Any passerby in an urban cityscape has observed the colorful, provocative, illegal “eyesore” that is called graffiti. Once considered vandalism and still considered a nuisance by some, graffiti is currently recognized as a legitimate form of art and can be very expensive, whether or not the artist is classically trained or remains an “outsider”.
Graffiti artists have moved from anonymous commentators to internationally known provocateurs. I thank figures like the elusive graffiti king Banksy (Exit Through The Gift Shop) for that mysterious aura of the contemporary urban artist, whose spray-painted images or unnamed sculptures leave ghostly footprints on the world at large. And, as London claims Banksy as their clandestine hero, cities across the world have trumpeted their own national street artists – Brooklyn, Berlin, Los Angeles, Albuquerque and Buenos Aires, to name just a few.
Thankfully, these accomplished artists have inspired lots of young followers who are willing to work on a private basis, creating customized or ‘commissioned pieces” to adorn the walls of suburban interiors! And so, instead of spending my summer in the air conditioned museums of the Upper East Side – I’m going to work the Brooklyn outdoor art scene and find those emerging talent, interested in bringing their work to my clients.
On May 20 I leave for a short trip to Paris. High on my agenda, just below visit to the D’Orsay, is a walking tour with Underground Paris – to learn more about Paris’ contemporary art scene which is predominantly “street art”. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and discover the next Matisse!
