Review: Stencil Graffit

Stencil Graffiti - Tristan manco

Im gonna review lotsa graff books so i can cross blog them on some other sites

Probably one of the first books on the subject i got 2002 - thus Ive used the older cover which I still prefer. Since then manco has released many more books - many of which are fine but i find my self less interested in the big names who are so well documented  today. But to be fair Ill try and treat this as one of the first post 90s books which broke ground - but i will mention current shifts.

This is a dense little book packed with pictures and light on unecacary text. The introductory text and history are fine. Thankfully there is no waxing lyrically about the artworks meaning in captions which fail so often. There is an excellent range of content from around the world showing its context in exotic urban areas. I like that everything is more raw and pre-banksy-is-god-era rather than the refined cash cow and mainstream comodity that is this artform today (although by 2001 he was clearly a leader - shep was the no1 heard of street artist for most). Some works are arranged also by subject and there are the world leaders in the feild and some others ive not heard from since.

Since this book came out in the hey-day of stenciling now it is just one of the better known forms of street art to the public. One that has become increasingly reviled to traditional graff and even other street artforms. While the form is mostly methodology and effort compared to more improvised or intuitive technique - it is still a form that can let anyone have a say with clarity that other types dont bother with. While all street art has grown more sophisticated - many stencilers in love with the photoshop cut out filter have gone onto make some pretty cold looking work - while haha and his 60 layer works without computer have a beautiful softness and go beyond most stencil artists in scope.

I do love stencils and i derive a fair amount of my income from them. The wholesale aproval of stencils, there use in schools, council art programs and very legitimacy are what has helped them drop off the radar as cutting edge-cool. There are a new generation making stencils now and i hope they surprise me. At the end of the day the best reason to stencil is to have fun.

A benchmark of stencil art at its peak - r.i.p. those good old days.