What is street art? According to Wikipedia, Street art is any “art” developed in public spaces — that is, “in the streets” — though the term usually refers to art of an illicit nature (as opposed to, for instance, government or community art initiatives). The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, though it is often used to distinguish modern public-space artwork from traditional graffiti and the overtones of gang territoriality and vandalism associated with it.
As far as this subculture goes, Wooster Collective is the definitive place for your work to reside online. The website is the handiwork of New Yorkers Marc and Sara Schiller, documentarians of street art from all over the world. The kids took some time out of their busy day to answer a few questions for Pingmag.
Written by Ian Lynam
Marc and Sara, in a few words: what is the Wooster Collective?
The Wooster Collective is a group of artists and art lovers who work on various projects and events which document and celebrate ephemeral art. The central aspect of the Wooster project is the website which, each day, showcases new street art from around the world.
How many artists are you currently gaterhing on the Wooster site?
We launched it in 2003 in New York City and over the last four years that site has profiled over 2000 emerging artists from every country in the world.
What has sparked the idea to start documenting street art in the first place?
We moved in an area of downtown New York, Soho, that we discovered was exploding in the amount of street art that was being placed on the streets. The creativity that we found was extremely inspiring. But because the art was illegal, often it only lasted a few days, or even hours. We felt that the street art movement needed to be documented in some way. We wanted to show what we were seeing each day to our friends. Because of this we launched the Wooster website. Our first artist on the site was Adam Neate.
Adam Neate
Adam Neate
Are there any memorable pieces that come to mind from that time?
Our favorite posts on the site have been by David Choe. He’s an amazing artist and has a wicked sense of humor. His “Day In The Life” is our favorite thing ever published on the site.
What kind of people actually come to Wooster Collective? What is your main feedback from viewers?
The reaction has been amazing. People from all walks of life come to the site every day. It’s not just other street artist of graffiti artists who enjoy the site. It has appealed to everyone, which is nice. Over 100,000 people visit it every day. We have been amazed how popular it has become - all because of word of mouth. We don’t actively publicize it at all.
I think we really created a community, but we also created a place where people can see what is happening in cities all over the world. We gave people a vehicle to reach a wider audience- to get noticed for their good work.
I noticed your “how to” section, which can almost be seen as a “street art tutorial”! Logan Hicks’ stencil cutting demo is insane!! I had no idea that he cut those totally by hand! Who do you ask about creating those “how tos”?
We just emailed our friends. We like them all and Logan’s is good! The network of artists is about 1,000.
Logan Hicks cutting his stencils forever
Logan painting the layers
another part of the section showing you ‘How to…’ trace a big stencil, or….
‘How to…’ make your own color bomb
We know from the emails that we receive that people come back to the site not only to get inspired, but also to learn new things. Almost every day someone emails us asking how to do various things that they see on the site but don’t know how to do… It ranges from how to make a sticker, how to create wheat paste…how to hit a high spot… etc
So, in follow-up to our past series including “A Day In The Life”, “Give ‘Em Props” and “My Workspace”, we thought it would be cool to reach out to a group of our favorite people around the world and start a new series of posts on the Wooster site called “Wooster’s How To….”.
Who are your current favorite street artists then?
Armsrock, Swoon, Banksy, Blu, Mark Jenkins….. so many.
Banksy - Anytime
Banksy - Pulling the plug
Banksy - West Bank, Palestine 2005, drawings on the over 450 meter security barrier separating the occupied territories from Israel
Banksy - West Bank, Palestine 2005, drawings on the over 450 meter security barrier separating the occupied territories from Israel
editor’s note: in case you are fascinated by Banksy’s bravery, there is also some more info about him on Wikipedia
Do you have to exercise much quality control in terms of what goes up?
Yes. The site is our minds’ eye. We don’t let anyone post to the website other than us. We select things that inspire us, or things that we want to share with our friends because it is clever or funny or thought-provoking .
Mark Jenkins
Do you use discretion in terms of what you cover?
Sure. We don’t want to put up anything that can lead to revealing the artist’s identity or personal information. We protect the anonymity of the artists.
Any other projects that are in the works that’ll be associated with WC?
We’re planning on a new book featuring the art of Armsrock from Bremen, Germany.
Armsrock
Armsrock
There always seem to be some issues about what is considered graffiti and what is definitely street art… How do you actually define the difference?
Graffiti really only uses spray cans to apply art directly to the walls. There are strict rules to graffiti. Street art is open to using other materials like paper, stencils, metal, etc. as well.
Yeah, I got lost in your 3D category. Amazing varitey of stuff there!
JohnnyJohnson’s Berlin Face
Banksy’s killer phone booth
Mark Jenkins new tape project… “Embeds”
crate art in Melbourne
seen on the streets of toronto
seen on the streets of Taipei, Taiwan
But do you think that street art has reached a critical mass in terms of how it is viewed by popular culture?
Not yet, but soon. It is peaking now…
How do you see it peaking?
Like anything, once an underground movement goes “mainstream” as street art has, the vibrancy starts to drop off.
Do you worry that street art will lose relevancy through mass exposure?
Yes, and no. It will lose some of it’s power, but people will constantly be hitting the streets doing new things. It will morph into something new. And this is exciting.
Thanks a lot for the interview and also for archiving those fleeting art works for all of us!
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None found
i go to wooster collective every day to see what is new. and it is always awesome.
Posted by: ftrc on August 8th, 2006 at 12:37 am
i love street art so much. good images are priceless.
noise on!
Posted by: aw3qc on August 8th, 2006 at 11:07 am
hey i see “milk crate man” on the way to school… haha awesome!
Posted by: =pat on August 8th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
I simply love the way wooster COLLLECT the street arts and put up for everyone, so what I am not walking the same road :)
Few days back I wrote an aticle on street art, specially in context to India (Indian cinema)
http://www.paavani.in/blog/?p=54
Posted by: Paavani on August 8th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
Great article! More! More!
Posted by: Raffi on August 8th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
[...] A couple other articles I found today seem particularly worth sharing. Wal-Mart appears to be more than doubling the amount of gas stations that supply E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). And then uh, Females and Males are really different, in the brain. Though, I don’t think anyone’s really going to argue that. Then uh, New Beck Album, produced my Nigel Goodrich, he’s a great producer. And then Uh, my new favorite online magazine just wrote a story about my favorite (maybe the only good) street (reovlutionary) art blog: The Wooster Collective. [...]
Posted by: the difference in length or the circumference of my world as a child, in high school, and now, are so sizable, it’s relevant. at Definitive Reference on August 10th, 2006 at 4:14 am
very interesting! Have a look at my website for streetart in Berlin/Germany 2003 and at my flickr-set for newer stuff.
Posted by: Julia on August 11th, 2006 at 4:54 am
There are also a lot of active Flickr groups that collect street art in the same way. The Bristol pool (where Banksy comes from) is particularly good (and something I contribute to on a weekly basis, if not daily).
Posted by: Natali on August 11th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
[...] Mark and Sara Schiller share their thoughts about Street Art and running the Wooster Collective. via PingMag [...]
Posted by: mike nothum dot com » Web Slingin’ - August 23rd, 2006 on August 24th, 2006 at 1:43 am
that’s system error….
http://www.systemerrorstyle.com
Posted by: sea on October 16th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
To Whom It May Concern.
thank you sincerely,
jordae
Posted by: jordae on October 24th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
The Shill of Marc Schiller or
A little background info on the Wooster Collective
Marc Schiller, Wooster Collective’s co-founder, is the CEO for an advertising corporation. His company, ElectricArtists, works with other corporations including Warner Bros., Microsoft, and CNN.
http://www.electricartists.com/corporate/clients/
The following is a description copied and pasted directly from the ElectricArtists website:
”
Overview
ElectricArtists is an innovative marketing services company that
develops and implements unique “community based” marketing campaigns.
Led by a team of seasoned marketing executives, ElectricArtists
fosters and nurtures relationships with a client’s most influential
audience by providing the tastemakers with brand information that
triggers consumers talking to each other and spreading the word. Since
1997 ElectricArtists has seen 100% growth in PROFITS EACH YEAR while
serving a diverse list of blue chip clients in the global media and
entertainment sectors including Ralston-Purina, Levis, Sony Pictures,
and BMG Entertainment. ElectricArtists success has been given
extensive media coverage with features in Forbes, Time, Billboard,
Variety, ABC’s World News Tonight, and others. The company has
expanded FROM its New York base with offices in Japan and England,
thus enabling ElectricArtists to develop and deliver GLOBAL MARKETING
campaigns.
”
Strategic Philosophy
By targeting the “ideal customers” and providing exciting brand
messages, from behind-the-scenes news to downloadable samples,
ElectricArtists converts fans into loyalists and ultimately, into
advocates. Meanwhile, clients gain valuable market research insight
and honest consumer feedback. EA manages the trust and credibility of
your brand so that your message is heard and believed above the
clutter. Yet, the success of our strategies has everything to do with
you. ElectricArtists considers our efforts part of the bigger
marketing picture-if the other marketing pistons are firing, our
efforts will be considerably more effective.
(www.electricartists.com/corporate/about/)
“Too much “space” in our urban cities is sold to advertisers and large
corporations. Street artists are trying to reclaim a bit of their
space, even if it means doing it without the approval of the people
who control that space.”
Marc Schiller, co-founder of Wooster Collective
(http://training.sessions.edu/resources/interviews/interviews/marc_schiller.asp)
I mean it is just kind of incredible that so many graffiti artists and street artists
have gathered together to get on board with this man. On the one hand it makes loads of commercial sense to align yrself with Wooster, but how can it be considered in the vain of graffiti, or street art or anything but a marketing strategy?
Unless we think of the street artist as a
self-interested paranoiac who wants to be seen (but not seen) plastering the streets
with their wares. Who naively enters the market disgruntled by the value of production only to turn around and produce themselves. A somnambulist is a person who is too
awake in the morning to put on a McDonald’s hat, but too asleep by the afternoon to stop flipping
burgers.
Street and graffiti artists you are smart enough to feel disturbed
and want to change the commercialism of yr city, but you have
becomes beauticians in a competition with capital. If you do well you will be paid with the whip of laughter with murder on a garbage heap. Selling a look.
This is the recipe to extract profit.
Collectors, museums and street art vendors make money off playing the
art market with you. Of course a good collector will do their best to promote
their artist(s). Selling their look to prestigious corporations and collectors, exposing their work on a global level with a website will get the largest return value for the collector. A huge show.
If you bought into Marc Schiller’s New York Times article, or the 7 step premiss, you have been sold more than just a paper.
The underground is important, you are important. This, look around, is the life blood of capital; where
the collector’s money places bets; markers in a horse race, be new, and above the pace, you will pay off — if not in the short term, in the longer term investment.
Magazines, books, T-shirts, stickers, curated gallery shows, over the Internet, in museums, or
through private purchase, the art needs to be bought and the artist sold. But everywhere it
is the same and the pockets bulge.
Posted by: Glas on December 16th, 2006 at 4:10 am
i like the illusions do u think i cud have them send them 2 06liawil if u do i’ll pay u. till then cya!!!!!!
Posted by: edd on April 19th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
yeah! i think this is best !
i lov street art in BKK.
see ya nice day ,, aRMS BKK/TH
Posted by: aRM5 on May 6th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
always loveeee BANKSY!!
witty & brilliant!
Posted by: Naomi on February 4th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
system error …t shirt against the system!!!
we are system error
http://www.systemerrorstyle.com
Posted by: weare on November 13th, 2008 at 9:42 am
http://zalez.over-blog.com/
A french stencil artist…
Enjoy.
Posted by: pif on February 12th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
[...] fonte: pingmag.jp [...]
Posted by: compêndio street art « ser-urbano on November 4th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
[...] The new issue of Rap-Up just hit newsstands. It has been added to the publication design section. New shirts for Sanrio posted in the Apparel section, as well. New identity pieces posted for Bodhi Vela Cole and Le Pigeon. New article for Ping Mag up here. New shirts for KISS posted, as well as shirts for The Cult in the apparel section. Recently finished redesigning Rap-Up’s new website. Just finished up a website for amazing Portland/LA fine artist Anna Fidler. Her work is a mind-blowing adventure into the realms of form and craft. It must be seen in person to be believed. Also, new article for Ping Mag up here. [...]
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