The City as a Canvas: Street Art In London

Black Rat Projects was created to represent established and emerging contemporary artists, both from the UK and internationally. It’s ‘Now’s The Time’ exhibition focuses on street art, showcasing work by some of the key figures of the movement spanning the past four decades, by the likes of Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Banksy, Barry McGee, Faile and Os Gemeos. Catchavibe caught up with Mike Snelle, from Black Rat, to discuss the position of street art in the current decade.

Black Rat Gallery is housed in a space in the heart of Shoreditch, far removed from the ‘clinical established art world’ it is countering in the works it showcases. Indeed, it is committed to supporting both established artists and the ones who aren’t, as Snelle points out: “These ‘80’s artists we’re exhibiting are well accepted but what about the ones that haven’t been?, we also try and work with the artists, so there is no tension between us as a gallery and them”.

Basquiat

The exhibition comments on the recent popularity of street art within the mainstream world, with widespread media attention and public interest on particular artists like Banksy, and emphasises that it is far from a new movement and one that wasn’t always so widely accepted. However, since it has become so ‘fashionable’ in recent years and therefore embraced by the mainstream art world, can it still be counter-culture? Snelle is certain it still can: “In the 1980’s it was a huge movement, taken over by the big galleries but damaged by the ‘fashion’ element. Today, we and artists, are more aware of this danger and can still use the movement to bypass the clinical art world.”

The exhibition includes artists such as Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat, from the New York street art scene, but London also has its own distinct scene. Snelle comments: “Its characterised by a lot of stencilled graffiti”. In London though, artists are being constantly challenged not to put art on buildings and the urban environment. Snelle points out how Stratford is a key place for street art, but with the government’s recent Olympic development works, this is being prevented: “But its not stopping the art, It just means artists have to paint higher!”.

So what about Basquiat, and his position and influence as an African-American artist?  “Basquiat was actually from a middle-class background, but he crossed so many boundaries and opened doors for lots of different kinds of people and artists into a conservative world”.

Snelle remains positive that movements such as street art can progress and remain significant, commenting how there is a “whole new crew of dealers and artists out there, who are non-traditional” i.e. not upper or middle-class and that it is the conservative art world that is having to catch up with the ordinary public in noticing great new art