Berlin Street Art

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/07/13/the-heritage-of-berlin-street-art-and-graffiti-scene/]

I came across this interesting article on street art in Berlin that gives brief analysis on a few well know street artists in the area but also briefly mentions the history of Berlin's street art in connection with the Berlin wall.
One of the artists, Alias, I thought demonstrates well what we discussed about street art as a subculture based on it's giving a voice to the voiceless as well as on the need to both feel treated unfairly by and stay anonymous to the dominant however this street artist does not use graffiti as his medium and instead employs stencils in the style on banksy and produces a constant stream of art for the purpose of keeping his art, although not himself, in the public eye.

"The picture of a hooded teenager with a blank face communicates a need to give outsiders a voice. The irony is that the one person humane enough to give them that voice, a street artist, has to remain anonymous. That, Alias suggests, is his reward for daring to question society."


To counter this conception of street art as a method of attacking the dominant culture there is an artist referred to XOOOX who personally claims that his works of art have nothing to do with criticism of capitalism, as they often are interpreted to, but are simply at outpouring of his love for fashion. His stencils are created from his fashion magazines and he too produces a constant stream of art to remain in the public eye.

Overall, XOOOOX’s images show an artist with a genuine appreciation of conventional beauty. In a scene that likes to subvert conventions, this must make XOOOOX the most unconventional artist working on Berlin’s streets today.

In comparing these two street artists from the same city who both produce art on a massive scale(with a new work practically every day) what category do you think we would have placed them in in our discussion?


-Katherine