Stencil Graffiti (Street Graphics / Street Art)

Book Description

City streets abound with billboards, posters, and corporate advertising that almost invite a subversive response ...and increasingly are getting one. Many of today's graffiti artists have adopted the stencil and spray can, and are using the street as a giant creative forum for their arresting artwork. "The image," says San Diego artist Shepard Fairey, "is integrated with the texture of the street." This book showcases the work of the originators, the innovators, and the new generation who, as UK artist Nylon puts it, are "breathing life into derelict spaces." Stencil graffiti is beginning to filter off the street too, as artists are inspired to use stencils on canvas, clothing, and metal. Tristan Manco has chosen over 400 of the most visually exuberant, subtle, and creative examples of the genre from cities all over the world. With subject matter ranging from the political to the poetic, from the funky to the frankly curious, stencil graffiti is graphic innovation on an international scale. Inspirational in form and content, this book is an essential record for everyone with an interest in design or in contemporary urban culture. 405 illustrations, 400 in color.

Customer Reviews:

you get what you pay for.......2007-08-28

it's a cheap book, and it's got cheap information. nothing much to it. i would probably spend a bit more and buy a book that's more in depth with the culture and such of graffiti art. but if you must, like me buy this book to be a part of your growing art book collection, then by all means, no one is stopping you.

I like it!.......2007-05-01

I like this book. It's a thin book. It's not too much stuff in the book but I think it's a nice book to have in your collection just to have something different. Since I'm not too much into stencil graffiti, this book is just right to have it in my collection. I like it. It has great work of art in it.

There is one book that tops it.......2006-08-26

Its a great book, but Stencil Pirates is better.

Book lacks depth.......2003-08-17

This book is being reviewed quite heavily these days and after reviewing it myself, I can only conclude that this is because of the Publishers' credentials in publishing books on street art. I found that this book fell short on my expectations, even though much of the material was interesting. While it was enlightening to read the brief articles on the history of stencil graffiti, and how stenciling started back to 22,000 in cave paintings, the book quickly lost steam. Many of the artists featured here are well known, however there are many photos featuring industrial uses of stencils which neither are graffiti art, stencil graffiti or art in any type of form. This really detracted form what I assumed the book was featuring. Most of the interesting features were on European artists such as the "bananensprayer" in Cologne, Germany, or Bansky who mixed political satire with his various works. Although many stencil artists are features from all over Europe, and the United States as well as a whole page spread of works from Morocco, I really missed the interviews which should have accompanied these images. While I would not purchase the book for my personal collection, many of the photos showcased the dizzying array of effects which were possible to achieve with something as simple as a stencil.

Handsome book; not too deep.......2003-02-24

For someone who is simply interested in seeing full color photos of stencil graffiti then Manco's book would be a great purchase. Manco profiles key artist from around the world as well as touching lightly on stencil and graffiti history (Information which is readily available else where both online and in print.) As an aside, the book does speak briefly on the philosophy of graffiti in the urban landscape.

Sadly the book is little more than a nice looking coffee table book. Artist looking for a guidebook or text that speaks more about the technical aspects of stencil graffiti should look elsewhere. As it is the book is an interesting (though not too informative) slide show of street art.

Book Description

Stencil Pirates is the first comprehensive book dedicated to stencil street art. Included are artist profiles, an in-depth history of stencil graffiti, its political context, and how stencils fit into the larger pantheon of street expression. Also here are a detailed “how-to” manual with designing, cutting, and painting tips from the artists, as well as 20 perforated cardstock stencil templates for readers who can’t wait to hit the streets.

Customer Reviews:

Street Art and Graffiti are Political.......2006-01-10

In the flood of recent books about graffiti - this is one of the only books to seriously take on the 'function' of illegal public markings in society. There must be 50+ well-distributed books about graffiti that manage to suck out most of the political implications of graffiti in exchange for ego boosting. Additionally, the descriptions and history of graffiti in the global south make it quite unique and equitable.

From page 36 " At their best and most cryptic, stencils are signs that are both hollow yet simultaneously pregnant with meaning. They are signs without signifiers, images or statements with no clear or fixed meaning..."

MacPhee infuses the graffiti research process with the semeotic and anthropoligical tools that are necessary for interpreting urban space. I highly recommend this book

Best Graphic Art Book of 2004.......2005-06-20

From my New York Press review of Stencil Pirates, 11/04 (vol. 17, issue 45):

A FEW YEARS AGO, while walking down a sparsely traveled block in my old Brooklyn neighborhood, I came across three-foot-tall, carefully rendered cursive on an otherwise blank red wall: "Cap'n Jazz" in silver spray-paint. I did a triple take. Who'd bother to apply the name of a little-known early-90s punk band from Chicago to a Brooklyn wall in 2001, and why? I didn't much care; those shimmering letters brought on a surge of memories from my years in DC punk; it was as if a long-lost friend or secret admirer had left me a note. Though "Cap'n Jazz" swiftly vanished under a fresh coat of paint, those same memories slip into mind every time I'm there, three years later-that block, to me, transformed.

The power of street art, namely stencils, to shape public space, and the ways in which it does so, is the subject of Chicago artist Josh MacPhee's Stencil Pirates, a handsome publication that both documents and casts a critical eye upon a thriving art form. Early on, MacPhee quotes artist Russell Howze: "Traditional art is usually a static experience... Most traditional art is found in galleries, chosen by someone else and viewed by a select group of people... Even when thousands of people see larger exhibits, traditional art's exposure is still limited by the price of admission at the door."

Stencils, however, to the joy of some and consternation of others, are the great equalizer: With the help of basic, affordable materials, the same work of art can reappear throughout a city, cities or countries, meeting with a broad audience and reception. Some stencils remain for months or years on a sidewalk or wall, insinuating themselves into a neighborhood's character and landscape. What prompts residents or city workers to paint over some and not others can be as intriguing as the work itself. (What causes some stencils to fade before others, on the other hand, is a simple matter of paint quality, which MacPhee discusses in the practical, informative "How-To File" section.)

MacPhee parses out Stencil Pirates according to several dozen themes. In "It's Official," he explores the influence of industrial stencils; in "Argentina," the revival of the stencil as a tool of communication and political expression after the country's 2001 economic collapse. Intentionally succinct in narrative and commentary, MacPhee devotes page after page of Pirates-quite a few of them full-color spreads-to more than 1000 images. Plenty of the work in Pirates, if noteworthy in message or placement, is rudimentary, skill-wise.

But just as much of it is gorgeous, sometimes awe-inspiring in its intricacy. "Are We Free Yet," a collaboration by JSO4 and Sevenist, is a painstakingly executed multicolor mural of telephone wires, tiny birds, two bright kites and a placid, curly head on a floral pillowcase. Upon the sleeper's torso, this text: "Only in my dreams is my memory restored, so I sleep all the time so I don't forget how 2 live." In an example of "stenciling as civic duty," artists Scout and Stain created moving color portraits of neighborhood children on abandoned buildings and boarded-over windows throughout decaying downtown Albany, as, according to Scout, "an offering to the people who live there."

One section presents snapshots of stenciled poetry-reproductions of well-known verse as well as stenciling as self-publishing. And all over, from Argentina to San Francisco, stencils have a vibrant history as public service announcement, whether it's "Dyke March 1996, Market & Castro, Saturday June 29, 7 p.m.," or markings from the 1989 Anti-Nuke Port Stencil Project, which organized a team of stencilers to create anti-nuke images that included their exact mileage from a proposed nuke-equipped Staten Island Navy base. Pirates shows that even a single word or phrase can adorn a wall, lovely, depending on factors such as placement or use of typography.

For MacPhee, all of this is "liberatory." Decrying the highly regulated state of public space in America as a forum where homogenous, calculated corporate messaging rules, MacPhee says that "encouraging people to think off the conveyor belt of work, shop, eat, sleep, work, shop, eat is downright revolutionary." Indeed, the book overflows with stencils that shout their message as loud as the paint allows. Other images are subtler, even cryptic. Anton van Dalen, who worked mostly in the 70s and 80s, shot for the subliminal, aiming for his stencils "to operate as traffic signs, you absorb the meaning before you even know it."

Of course, not every stencil artist is inhaling toxic fumes for the sake of art, political beliefs or to convey any particular message. Shepard Fairey has used his Andre the Giant stencil to launch an industry of "Obey"-branded clothing and posters; he also designed Radiohead's noxious "Hail to the Thief" stencil campaign. MacPhee explains corporate forays into stenciling as an attempt to garner street cred for their products-and of course, to move product. Even when corporate patrons have been revealed, the ensuing hubbub "is better exposure for their advertising than money could possibly buy."

MacPhee doesn't delve far into the history of stenciling; his focus is on modern-day work. He does, however, outline its past-from Egypt and China and Greece to the Soviet Union and Nicaragua, South Africa, Mexico. Over thousands of years, the basic technique of applying paint over a design cut out of a solid material has endured. The word "stencil" has its roots in the French estenceler, "to decorate with bright colors," which in turn comes from the Latin scintilla-"spark."

the most comprehensive stencil book to date!.......2005-02-04

highly recommended! this book is beyond your pretty picture book. the author's essays give an excellent overview of stencil graffiti, and his list of bibliography and end notes provide the best starting point ive found for further research.

it's missing one star simply because i find tristan manco's "stencil graffiti" more interesting in terms of the art work selection.

these 2 books are essential for stencil graffiti lovers!

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Stencil art....
graffiti is our voice
melbourne's as great as you've heard
Fantastic Visual Record of Melbourne's Street Art
Melbourne's stencil goodness!

Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne
Jake Smallman , and Carl Nyman
Manufacturer: Mark Batty Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0976224534

Customer Reviews:

Stencil art.... .......2007-02-06

SO i picked up this book to compliment my ever growing coffe table collection and I have to say... its alright. Now this one is strictly from Austrauila. there are other artist who have visited the country... but mainly home town heroes. You can't really go wrong with a stencil art book, but this one has nice pictures and a good, over-all look to the book. Just pick it up... you'll like it.

And by the INFAMY DVD, awesome graff video.

graffiti is our voice.......2006-04-26

Very good book, very good text copy. Reevo from [...] has already wrote a full review down below, I just want to add to his words, that if there would be a time, when you won't find any street art around you, no "voices" of the people, it's probably a good time to reread Orwell's 1984.

melbourne's as great as you've heard.......2006-02-21

and this book does a pretty good job of covering the city's heavy-hitters, as well as documenting plenty of smaller and anonymous works. if you've followed stencil art in the past few years at all, you'll recognize some pieces, as well as some artists' names (meggs, meek, and sixten to name a few).
there are bios and interviews, and the artwork is divided up into themed sections. all of the photos are color, too, which is a nice bonus many other books on this subject seem to be lacking.
at nearly 160 pages, and being hardcover, it's well worth the money.

Fantastic Visual Record of Melbourne's Street Art.......2006-02-18

What has happened to turn Melbourne into a stencilled graffiti capital? When did this happen and who is responsible? Furthermore, why stencils? Isn't the use of stencils a bit of a cheat? Stencil Graffiti Capital answers all these questions and more with a visual celebration for several artists and the themes which dominate their work. Interviews with the likes of Civilian, Dlux, and Ha-Ha illustrate how and why these artists live in, moved to, or visit Melbourne to practice their street art. Full-page and double-spread visual treatments within the book illustrate the artists' basic themes, which focus on politics, symbols, love/sex and war/death.

According to the authors, Jake Smallman and Carl Nyman, the new trend toward stencilled work in Melbourne began in 1999 when graffiti artist Psalm tickled Melbourne's walls with "intricately detailed, vibrantly colored and visually arresting" work. His work was followed by Ha Ha's roughly cut, one-layer stencils which usually were painted in black. Syn and Dlux moved their graffiti skills to Melbourne from Adelaide in 2002, and they brought with them an influence which bonded the disparate talents already in residence.

Commercialism of street art, especially stencilled work, is contentious and Stencil Graffiti Capital addresses these issues. The use of stencils instead of free-form spraying, in my opinion, is no worse than the fact that Norman Rockwell used slides projected onto his canvases to help render his realistic paintings. His practice - once discovered by the art world - evolved into a debate over the difference between commercial work and fine art during the mid-twentieth century; however, this debate fizzled once technology altered how artists rendered their work...it's difficult for a fine artist to criticize commercial work when he uses computers to render his digital images.

The debates over legality/commercialism of stencilled street art might fizzle or continue to build, which is one of the interesting aspects to this movement. The other highlight includes the fact that these stencilled works aren't amateurish. Not surprisingly, the majority of street artists included in this book have graphic design or fine art backgrounds, an aspect that lends sophistication to the work. This background also supplies an understanding to the transition from the street to galleries. If this debate boils down to the fact that the "medium is the message," then street art is, perhaps, a marketing ploy for what is considered a new art form.

The fact that the street artists sign their work, that they are willing to be photographed in the process of building their work, that there is a Web site devoted to the who, what, when, where, how, and why of stencilled street art all lend credence to the fact that Melbourne's streets have become visual marketing for these artists. While this fact might leave a bitter taste in the mouth of some artists and officials, the mere idea that a metropolis could be influenced by street artists to the point that illegal activities are basically overlooked - at least for the moment - seems to be the real revolution.

While Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne could be seen as part and parcel of this trend in commercialization of graffiti art and artists, the book is needed to explain this trend and Melbourne's part in an artistic evolution. Additionally, the book becomes a visual record of a trend which waxes and wanes with politics and artistic whims. The writing is succinct, clear, and sticks to the facts. The writers and editors forged categories for the artwork, an idea that refuses to glorify any one artist and which offers the reader a banquet of styles and canvases used by the artists. The only missing information in this book is the actual dimensions of the artwork, although the photographs at times reveal the size in proportion to buildings and individuals.

This book will appeal not only to artists, art lovers, and political guerrillas; it could add a significant contribution to any anthropologist's or historian's bookshelf as it addresses issues about the intent, talent, time, and politics which continue to influence every aspect of what is often considered illegal public property defacement.

Melbourne's stencil goodness!.......2006-02-08

I've been a little obsessed with Melbourne's street art scene for quite a while; actually, since the day I discovered Melbourne Mark's (that's how I think of him!) State Of Flux; a great site dedicated to the art in and around Melbourne (in case you hadn't guessed that already!). From then on I've been glued to that site and always enjoyed seeing all the new art as it was documented. I'm waffling...when I saw a while back that Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne, by Jake Smallman & Carl Nyman, and published by Mark Batty, was coming out in the UK I was pretty excited and it's been well worth the wait.

Just like the other Mark Batty books I own, Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne is quality from the start. It's nicely bound and instantly demands your attention from the second you lift over the front cover. Before you even get to the actual stencil documentation you're pounced on by a couple of incredible night-time photography of city streets and their painters. These are not in-your-face trophy photos of writers and painter posing next to their pieces but beautifully artistic long-exposure shots where the city is the star and the writer is part of the environment. It's a great way to make you realise that this book isn't just about the art but more to do with how the art and Melbourne interact with one another. The introduction follows and tells us more about Melbourne's unique stencil history.

Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne is packed with themed chapters and artist profiles as well as being interspersed with the same high standard photography. That's not to say that the other photography in the book isn't worth mentioning though; it is. While many of the photos are documentary style (just showing the actual piece of art) there's a whole lot more that are just oozing class. Actually, it has some of the best street art photos I've seen. I digress.

So, back to the themes...roughly half of the chapters are theme based. The themes include faces, politics, war, robots, music, horror (a great couple of pages), guns and lots more. One of the most impressive themed chapters concerns itself with public galleries; lanes where, although illegal, artists are constantly putting up new pieces. By the look of the photos these streets are not just painted with the odd stencil here and there but quite densely populated with work, making them truly like gallery spaces. Many of the pieces are single layered hits but there are also some multi-layered beauties. A great collection.
Of the many artists that have there own chapters I have to mention Meggs. His art makes perhaps the best chapter in the book with his cute, skyward looking, kids with devils horns. Fantastic imagery. He also has some cracking pieces that depict people throwing up some kind of crazy paisley pattern...nuts. Vexta also gets a mention here for not only having a great collection of pieces on show but also for having the second best photo in the book; an action shot of her hanging half way down a wall, in mountain climbing kit, painting the amazing police piece. Sixten's chapter is also great, especially his work in progress, and his finalised Call It Popart One More Time And I'll... piece. Sync also needs a mention as his screaming pieces had a real impact on me when I saw a couple of his pieces in NYC last year. Banksy also gets an honorary mention for hitting the place during a detour visit in 2003. Apparently he made such an impact with the pure quantity of pieces that he deserved the chapter that's dedicated to him. Last mention has to go to Rone, who gets the title for greatest photo in the book! It's a four-layer stencil of a guy high up in the air, maybe four of five metres high. It's perfectly placed and traverses different types of textures across the wall. Just like all the great street art photos that have been taken, this one becomes complete with some personal interaction. This time it's with the addition of someone throwing a skate deck in the air and making it look like the character in the stencil has been caught mid-trick. Fantastico! It's a shame not to mention all the other great artists included in the book but I've probably already said too much...this is the kind of thing you should discover yourself.

I can't really claim to know much about Melbourne but Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne gives me the impression of it having a rich, and dense, tapestry of street art...perhaps more so than anywhere else I can think of (I'm willing to be put right on this one but that's the impression I get from the book). I remember writing that Melbourne looks like a colourful place to live. Seeing this book has made my image of Melbourne much more intensely saturated with colour and dynamic imagery, I just hope I can get over there to visit some day. Like all great books, Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne has made me want to know more about both Melbourne and it's rich streetart scene. I'll definitely be going back over all the photos at State Of Flux now that I have some solid reference material...I need to see more from these artists.

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Cut It Out
Banksy
Manufacturer: Weapons of Mass Distraction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0954496000
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Product Description

The third incendiary collection of stencils and graffiti from Banksy (after Banging Your Head Against a Brick wall and Existencilism), presented and bound in a handy pocket sized high quality format. Full color, and including some of most famous/notorious works to date, including exhibiting his work at the Tate Gallery in London. Quite superb.

Venceremos: Stencils, Street Art, Australia

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Work, consume, be silent, die!

Venceremos: Stencils, Street Art, Australia
Felix and Susi Zajitschek
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1419650556
Release Date: 2007-04-23

Book Description

Pictures of stencils in public space, mainly from Sydney, some from Hobart, photographed in 2004 and 2005.

Customer Reviews:

Work, consume, be silent, die!.......2006-11-16

Great book about street art culture in Australia (especially Sydney and Hobart), and definitely a must-have if you're into that stuff.

Although it's not that thick (it has about 40 pages), there is much more to explore than 40 works of art. The book is packed with more than 100 stencils, which are sometimes enhanced with notes by the authors, and all is completed by a short introduction and some words at the end (the text is both in English and German).

Work, consume, be silent, die - I'll take this nice motto taken from a Sydney stencil for myself and will exactly do that (well, I actually do already...)

"Venceremos" - highly recommended!

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1000 Stencils Argentinian Graffiti

Manufacturer: La Marca Editora
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

This follow-up to the popular collection of street art, Hasta la Victoria, Stencil, collects 1000 newly catalogued stencil/graffiti artworks from Argentina into one chunky, 6 x 6-inch, 240-page, gift-worthy volume. Punky and fresh, it catalogues the cheeky, streetwise exhibition that drew 1.5 million viewers in Argentina and which comes to the United States this season for an exhibition at New York City's esteemed non-profit, The Drawing Center. Put together by Guido Indij, born in Buenos Aires in 1967, it follows Hasta la Victoria, Stencil, Peron Willing!, Left-wing Political Graphics, and Speechless: a Dictionary of Argentine Gestures. Rock on.

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See What The Boys In The Back Room Will Have

Schablone Berlin
Caroline Koebel , and Kyle Schlesinger
Manufacturer: Chax Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 092590452X

Customer Reviews:

See What The Boys In The Back Room Will Have.......2005-12-29

One of my favorite books I've read this year is Schablone Berlin, which for some odd reason Amazon is storing under the title Berlin Schablone; I hope people continue to seek it out and find it, a fantastic candybox of images and speculation. It's very user friendly and you hardly have to know a thing about Germany or the German language to understand it. Caroline Koebel and Kyle Schlesinger are admirable guides, pointing out a set of signs which we might never even have noticed in the busy citiscape of modern Berlin. Maybe you have to be there and be intimate with the city before you notice its "Schablone," i.e. the stencils that graffiti artists and other activists have plastered over aevery conceivable publicx surface, whether it be the curbs beneath the fire hydrants, or the diagonal juts of the fire escapes. You don't even notice them at first, and then, like every other living thing, they become inescapable.

The photographs themselves are lovely: lucid, clear-eyed, deliberately rendered and printed in small, postcard sized images. (Well, large posrcards.) And the variety of stencilling is staggering. Every conceivable artist is involked, from the gabby, petalled overpainting of Raymond Pettibon to the UFA pristinity of Cocteau: if he (or she) can be reduced to a few lines and shadows, then a stencil can be made and reproduced, within a few seconds, on the streets of any city. Why does Berlin have so many? Our guides have a theory or two to explain it. In turn the stencils force us to look again at the public buildings and structures they decorate or detourn: the sad magentas and river blues of Berlin are themselves totally hallucinatory. You could be nowhere else, Kudos to Tucson's Chax Press for bringing us this strange;y bewitching treat.

Vite fait, bien fait: Pochoirs = stencil art

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Vite fait, bien fait: Pochoirs = stencil art
Nicolas Deville
Manufacturer: Editions Alternatives
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 2862270504

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Urban poetry: A photographic essay
Laura Russell
Manufacturer: Simply Books, Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0006S6BZO

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