When did Graffiti Become Street Art?Īlthough the history of graffiti and street art – as well as guerrilla and public protest art – can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, the terms ‘street art’ and ‘graffiti’ generally refer to art created since the 1960s. This type of visual art including varieties of modern graffiti, independent art, guerrilla art, post-graffiti and neo-graffiti, some kinds of mural and statuary, and even flash mob performances, guerilla gardening and yarn bombing. There are many different genres and movements that fall under the category of street art.

Hugely influential to the present generation of street artists the importance of Blek’s work should not be underestimated as this quote from Banksy suggests: ‘Every time I think I’ve painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek Le Rat has done it as well.Although street art comes in many different styles and forms, it all (usually) has one thing in common: it is created in public locations and for public visibility. Thought by many to be the father of stencil graffiti as an art form Blek began his unique, complex and intelligent stencil works on the streets of Paris in the 1980’s. Some of Banksy’s prints are selling for more than an Original by Le Rat and these are going up.Ī legendary figure in street art Blek Le Rat (Xavier Prou) was born in Paris in 1951. THAT is the day that Urban Art came of age. This is the start of the prices rising for Blek Le Rat – who is Banksy’s hero (see quote below) At the IMPORTANT Auction at Bonhams 5th Feb 2008 it was assumed by many that the Banksy pictures would fly away while the other artists would struggle yet one estimated at Â£3-5,000- fetched over Â£50,000 by Nick Walker, and BLEK’s made great money too.

If you are thinking you have missed the boat / should have purchased BANKSY when you could have done – TAKE NOTE!

Download blek le rat original