methods of street art

1. STREET ART
METHODS
By Gabriela Sokol

2. There are many ways of creating street art. Different artists
use different methods. Two types of making street art can be
distinguished: permanent and non-permanent. The permanent
ways usually damage the properties they are being made on
and the environment. The non-permanent methods have no
impact on the surrounding and disappear after a period of
time. The methods vary depending on the artist’s background.
In poorer areas artists may not be able to create sticker or
poster art as it requires, not always cheap, printing. That could
lead to them using traditional graffiti and stencil. In bigger
cities where there is less space and possibility to create graffiti
without getting caught posters and stickers may be more
popular.

3. Tiles Art
Tile art is a way of putting different coloured tiles together so
they make “pixel” images. This method has been invented and
is used by an artist nicknamed Space Invader. The artist
creates the images at home and sticks them together so he
can then quickly stick them in the urban area without being
caught. This method allows him to create original pieces that
don’t permanently cause damage to the properties as he uses
glue to stick them on, and the artwork can be easily removed.
The artwork made using this method makes the area look
more colourful and interesting.

4. Sticker Art
Sticker Art is a method of representing street art using
stickers. The stickers can be placed anywhere in public to
display the artwork. They may present any kind of images,
illustrations, slogans or other forms of text. Using sticker art
became ore popular as technology improved and printing
stickers at home became an option also the cost of the
printing has changed, the ink and paper are cheaper. Those
changes encouraged more street artists to create their own
designs and put them onto stickers.

5. Stencil
Stencil art is a type of street art that uses stencil, previously
cut out templates that allow the artist to quickly spray over it to
create an image. Stencil are widely available, can be made by
anyone using any type of material from plain paper,
cardboard, plastic sheets, metals to wood and a sharp tool.
Using stencil allows you to recreate your work once you have
the stencil done. One of the most famous street artists,
Banksy is mainly using stencil to create his artwork. It is
important to him to stay anonymous and stencil is the best
way to quickly create a permanent piece of artwork. He uses
his stencil to recreate his famous artwork.

7. Poster Art
Poster Art is a type of street art that is presented in a form of a
poster. The posters can exhibit illustrations, slogans, messages.
This method is a non-permanent method however placing
posters in some places is illegal. Poster art is widely available
and once the design is created the poster can be reproduced
many times what means a larger audience gets to see it.
Improvements in technology keep on making posters in large
formats being easier and cheaper to print at home what inspires
and encourages more people do this type of street art. One of the
most famous artist using poster art is Shepard Fairey. His poster
“Obey” that has been copied and hanged around the city got a lot
of attention because of the strong image, original style and many
copies of the poster that made it noticeable. Posters are a easy
way to get your message across in public.

9. Flower Bombs
Flower bombs are balls containing seeds of wildflowers that
can be thrown into not the best looking, damaged areas to
make them better looking, more interesting and
environmentally friendly. To grow the seeds are rolled up with
organic compost so they can survive even in rough areas,
they only need some rain and sun to grow and start to sprout.
The balls are made of non toxic color powders to make them
more interesting. This method of street art is totally harmless
and is made to improve the area and make it more enjoyable
for people passing through.

10. LEGO
Lego street art is a way of street art where artists fins broken,
damaged buildings or other constructions and fill the holes
with Lego. It makes the damaged, old structures look colorful
and interesting again. This for of street art makes the area
look nicer and attracts people. It is also non permanent as the
Legos can be easily removed if the owner of the property
doesn’t like it.

11. Chewing gum
Paintings on chewing gum have been invented by Ben Wilson
who started it in London. He covered over 10,000 of chewing
gum on the pavements, turning ugly, dirty looking litter into
interesting, colorful artwork. His work is tiny and very detailed,
it is done with paint and is permanent however he doesn’t
damage anyone’s property as it is done directly on the
chewing gum.

12. LED lights
Jenny Holzer in her projects used lights. She would set up a
projector or LED lights to display the text she has created.
This method was temporary and got a lot of attention because
of the unusual method. These days using e.g. LED lights to
create street art is a lot easier that it used be because the
resources are cheaper and widely available, that encourages
artists to use different methods to create their pieces.

13. Bibliography
■ http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/save-bees-seed-
bombs.html
■ https://growtherainbow.com/
■ http://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggseedbombs.html
■ https://stickerobot.com/blog/interviews/interview-you-are-
beautiful-sticker-campaign/
■ https://www.stencilarchive.org/node/3
■ https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-
kingdom/england/london/articles/ben-wilsons-chewing-gum-
art-on-the-millennium-bridge/
■ http://projects.jennyholzer.com/biography