Street graffiti best ever

Berlin has lived an important process of continual redefinition and change since the Reunification in 1990. Now it has become world-famous because of its international architecture, its performing arts and its cultural diversity. Moreover, Berlin rates as one of the best locations for street art and graffiti.
There is nothing unusual about graffiti covered walls in Berlin. The city has become a blank canvas for graffiti artists far and wide. The roots of graffiti culture can be traced back to West Berlin in the early 1980s, when the American-occupied sector was the reluctant melting pot of anarchist punks, Turkish immigrants and West German draft resisters. Nowadays, Germans accept graffiti in their cities because of the graffiti painted on the Berlin Wall. Once a symbol of division, the preserved parts of the wall now showcase some of the most famous graffiti in the world.
Grafiti may be vandalism, but it is also celebrated as street art and even regarded as an integral component of Berliner Strassenkultur. Some 45 street artists from nine countries are taking part in Germany's biggest-ever urban art exhibition, which has been extended to the end of August because of the huge interest. It is the URBAN AFFAIRS Festival. Located in a post-industrial building, this 900 sq. meter exhibition space is the ideal location for the largest and most comprehensive Urban Art exhibition in Germany to date. It is one of the most interesting showcases of more than 25 international artists in this context. Jochen Kuepper (riot arts) originally from Cologne is one of the initiators and curators of this ambitious project, which tries to contribute as an alternative platform for backjumps or planet process, both bigger but also more established festivals of street art.
Urban Art and Street Art are experiencing increasing global attention from significant collections, publications and institutions in the established art market, as well as an academic reappraisal of the genre within the art historical context. Works by selected street artists continue to break auction records and the fact that URBAN AFFAIRS participants El Tono and Nano 4818 are currently exhibiting at the Tate Modern Museum in London symbolizes the staggering development and widespread notoriety of this anarchic art movement.
Unlike other cities which have demonised its urban artists, street art today is an integral staple of the Berlin cultural scene. The whole city is a canvas. It has so many walls, so many atmospheric buildings. Berlin has become a magnet for artists who produce their art on concrete surfaces. Clubs and bars are also commonly decorated with graffiti. This is such a big contrast from most clubs and bars in the United States. The graffiti makes some travellers leery of venturing in to such establishments. Street art is gaining increasing global attention from the established art market, with work by its top exponents starting to break auction house records.

Take a ride on an overhead commuter train and graffiti accompanies you on both sides for miles and miles of your journey.

Champion graffiti street

It is only recently that graffiti and the street art scene have been viewed as something more than just an underground artistic movement. The image of the lone writer has been transformed from a deviant character to someone who should be showcased and promoted for his or her talents.

With the emergence of street art collectives such as Cable Street, Scrawl Collective and Monorex, a niche has opened in the market for popular graffiti. Almost every night in London, a gallery space or bar is exhibiting the work of an individual graffiti artist. From the world-famous to the new and upcoming, it has never been easier to promote your talents as an artist.
Take Secret Wars, for example, one of the many creations sprung from the London-based company, Monorex. It is a dedicated street art event hosted in Shoreditch, east London, and is designed to showcase the art of approximately 16 artists from around the country, through the medium of a battle. Following in the path of previous battle events such as Jump Off and Throwdown (which are solely about beat boxing, rapping and break dancing), Secret Wars has stretched the concept of street art even further by using the event to broaden interest in graffiti and character art.
Designed like an FA Cup knockout competition, every event sees two artists chucked out of the tournament. The night has had such amazing feedback that almost double the number of artists have requested to be involved in series 2 in late 2007. Even a European tour is in the pipeline. Although numerous attractive prizes are on offer, it is without a doubt the coveted title of Secret Wars champion that spurs the artists on and draws the crowds each month.
Even without events like Secret Wars to boost its popularity, graffiti is making a name for itself with popular brand companies seeking the services of art collectives like Monorex to help promote their latest products. If companies want to target a younger crowd, the successful marketing and branding of a product is key.
Graffiti and everything associated with it, from the music to the fashion, is the new cool. The once vilified vandals now have fan bases the size of a pop star's. People in all four corners of the earth have heard of the likes of Banksy and D*face. Magazines are quick to pick up on the next big thing, and often request interviews with upcoming art collectives or selected artists. Vinyl toy designers celebrate the talent of graffiti and often produce limited-edition toy designs by the next big name in graff.
With graffiti becoming ever more popular, some people believe that its eventual demise is inevitable. However, if the artists stay true to what graffiti is about then it can undoubtedly still prosper on an underground level even when the big brands move on to the next latest craze. Graffiti is really about the art and that's how it will always be appreciated, no matter how popular it gets.

Graffiti Masterclass is a new site dedicated to teaching and promoting the art of graffiti. If you wish to learn graffiti with the professionals you can sign up for our free graffiti lessons or subscribe to watch our online videos