TRISTAN MANCO Me aa)aH ar Pe City streets shout with billboards, fly posters and corporate advertising. They almost invite a subversive response .. and increasingly they are getting one. Many of today’s sraffiti artists have taken to the stencil and spray-can, and are using the street as a giant creative forum for their Se ee ed See Rn ke ees Meer A ed innovators and the new generation who, as UK artist oR a ee Stencil graffiti is beginning to filter off the street, too, as OS Rn eu en ce CO DS Roa Se eg Conia e naar CeO ecu a ar cities all over the world. With subject matter ranging from Cen eR asm aC ‘curious, stencil graffiti is graphic innovation on an inter national scale. Inspirational in form and content, Stencil Set aca Mee’ in contemporary design — and anyone who wants a finger Ce eee ce ee eee ee keel Cee ee eae esFRGP HERE: ear SSRN hl USE SOME] $ You Gan cat mono eee Drnuscue S mis P.ace DStenRTeDTRISTAN MANCO STENCIL GRAF RET I © Thames e HudsonINCOMING 7 + stencil style history of stenil art» history of stencil g ON THE STREET 16 MAKE YOUR MARK 34 Diek + némo & jordm bananenspray con the edge ‘obey campaign + codes + the toa ONw> OFF THE STREET = banksy + bonehead + nano4814 « gerardo yeniz « bernie reid & paris OFF THE STREET 88 Sasaity & an wright» logan hicks» sul pawar «nick walker ecaate: bettig - shepard fairey + chris trancisIN A WORLD SATURATE WITH HIGH-PRICED CORPORATE IMAGERY, BEYOND JUST HAVING. A CHARMING ESTHETIC, THE STENCIL A CHEAP AND EFFECTIVE WAY FOR AN ARTIST OR ACTIVIS PUT THEIR WORK IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC AND LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD Shepard Fairey STREET STENCILS ARE BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BOOBY-TRAPS OF INFORMATION LYING IN WAIT; AESTHETIC GIFTS LEFT BEHIND AS URBAN FOLK ART, SIMULTANEOUSLY REVEALING AND CONCEALING THEIR R I$ ABOUT THE MOST HONEST WAY YOU BE AN ARTIST, IT TAKES NO JONEY TO DO IT, YOU DON'T EED AN EDUCATION TO UNDERSTAND IT AND THERE'S NO ADMISSION Banksy MY DRIVE IS THE NEED TO SEE ART ON BLANK SPACES, BREATHE LIFE INTO DERE SITES. IT OFTEN MAKES PEOPLE 4INK TV DUT LIZING NOULON'T ERE C BEAUTIFUL FIG N LSE IS OUT THERE HAT INTERESTS ME IS THAT A STENCIL IS ‘OPEN’: ON PERSON WILL SEE ONE THING, ANOTHER SOMETHING ELSE THE MORE PEOP DIFFERENT THINGS IN M POCHOIRS, THE MORE | “WININCOMING Steat art fs both an expression of our cuture and a counterculture in ite ‘Communication’ nas become 3 medem mantra: the city teats shout with bilboads, fly posters and corporate advertising, all wing for four attention. Thay almost invite @ subversive response. As high-tech ‘cammunications have increased, a low-tech reaction has been the recent ‘explosion in street at. The stestis a unique and powerul platform; a fontine on which artists can express themselves, transmitting thelr personal visions directly to the puble atthe same level as official messages. No other artform interacts in tis way with our daily Hes, using our urban space as its surac. In parallel withthe accelerated communications of modem techno: logy images and ideas are spreading lke viruses over walls across the word, Those walls are experimental, uncensored and collaborative spaces, and the simple and effective beauty of stencil graffiti offers ‘reat scope fr exoreston, from protest art to poetry. There is a global ew wave of artists who are discovering and expanding te possibilities ofthe medium. This new work is strong in both form and ideas, using ‘humour ard irony to convey important and thought provoking messages about today's society. Steet arts ae hybridizing, too. Inspired by street works, artists are increasingly using stencils on canvas, metal, Tshirts, textiles, paper and in the eigital realm. Designers ofall kinds, fine artists and graft atts are expanding horizons with mixed media applications, Often mut- icin, today’s stencil graffiti artists are using stencils with ty poster, stickers, collage and feehand painting, using spray- and other ppt eft tight Peter Gai sgtae, So Pais, acaud, ptt ot Non paints, in eversmating and creative ways. Showcased here ave over 400, fexamples of contemporary stanciies works, their novation and vitality achieved with new materials, methods and approaches. Many of these photographs are time capsules of city walls, a great umber of which have since been knocked down or the images on them been destroyed. Each ciy’s street architecture has its own colour ‘and fooling, anc each wal o's a unique story. Sttings and situations ve 2 flavour of location, and there is aways 8 beauty inthe ghastly ‘qualiy ofthe stonciled image against the tts and tedures ofa town's decaying wal ‘The alm of the book Is to take @ worldwide look at stencil art, its histor, its applications in commercial ar, ts relationships to street signage, the urban environment and other forms of gafit. ‘The beck is dedicated tothe pioneers and tothe new movement of ‘toeet and graphic artists who are pushing the form with new styles and techniques, both on and off the strats. HISTORY OF STENCIL ART A stanclis essentially 2 template which can be painted through with a paintbrush of soray-oaint. It is thought to be one of the east art techniques and its origins go back to cave paintings produced around £22,000 years 890. Alongside snouettes anthropomorphic figures, hand slihovettes were produced by blowing paint around a hand placed on a surface to create an invert imprint. This simple idea proved very capable throughout history and across the globe nr, Pr Had acl Leder Obey Sa ty Sheps Fey abd Radha uc. Meese, Cari: Han of ati rio tt tongs Zaptn: Smeaton; ee Raton Paty Pat Nile, Pa Var, Btn PouAvot to ih Buster Ketn by Blok, Ps Choque (The Sut by Nano4B14, Ben, Landon, Obey Giant by Spat Foe Har Ko Leather and papyrus templates were used o decorate the inner walls ‘of the Egyptian pyramids. The Chinese ct stencs rom paper o decorate sik with Buda igures and ornamental devices. The meth travelled from Asia to Europe and was used as a decorative technique tm the ‘medieval period through to the 1990s on church wall, for, futur, textiles and walpaper. During the Art Nouveau and the Art Deco pried, the technique of chair (the French word for hand.colouing by means of stancis) was ‘veloped in France for limited-edition pints and posters. The pochoir method was an extremely costly and laborious pccess in which a design was bull up with metal strc, each coloured by hand using gouache pat, creating the illusion of watercolour or paintings. In the 1930s the more sophisticated stall process of screen printing was developed as a means of massroducing artwork. Screen printing uses silkscreen which allows ink to go through mesh; blocked areas are resisted. Chemical and photomechanical processes enabled atts to create more complex designs than was possible with ordinary cut ‘out stone ed fARDANGER® = pa: By the late 1950s and ‘60s, Americ Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol had developed new screen-rnting techniques and visal ideas that had a reat impact on art and design. Warhol, in parila, was a Pop aft pioneer: his work use the fat, vivid colours of product packaging to make iconographic images inspired by commercial art and popular culture. Rauschenberg also usee massecia imagery, as well as found and personal photography, but his work was ‘more expressive and hand-made than pure Pop. In his sreen-prit work he experimented with liferent textural surfaces, adding hand-painted areas and colagetke overlays to create new fusions. Even if they id not use actual stencil templates, both Warhol and Rauschenberg, with their hybrid of techniques and Pop imagery, ate forerunners of today’s stencil atts, artists ike Robert Stenciling is stil used as an interior decoration method and, more functionally a & graphic method for printing and signage, trom packaging to traffic natces. Approprating tis technique, gafit artists aso use stencils to communicate thelr ideas in free and ephemeral form of atistic expression,HISTORY OF STENCIL GRAFFITI ‘The orgs of stencil raft ae often associated with the Latin counties ‘of Southern Europe and South Amica. During the Secone Word War, alan fascists used stencils to paint images of Il Duce as prepeganda ‘he Basques and the Mexicans used the same technique in protests ‘during the 1970s. From these roots, stencil graft developed into a tue artform. In Pais, in the cary 1980s, the strong traditions of protest art ‘combined with an Art Deco decorative tradition and many athe factors to produce something completely new. One ofits originators and innova tors was Biek le Rat, who came across the pochair method while studying at the Ecole des Beaux As, famed for is role inthe 1968 Pars stikes. The Atelier Populaire was formed thereby the faculy and students ofthe ltnogratic dapartment to produce the fst poster ofthe revolution Blok flt himself connected to this legacy but his inspiration came wien he and a fiend, Gérard, were working at an adventure playground for youngsters. The playground was just behind a supermarkt, from which aerosol cans were beng iberated” and used to decorate the cabin were the pair were string ther goar. Having been bitten by the bug, Blek and Gérard decided to get themselves some cans. Their first attempts at spray-can art were crue, So Bek, wh remembered seeing, the image of Mussolini on walls in aly during his childhood, suagested stenciling. They chose the name ‘Ble’ as 2 reference toa cartoon book [At the time Paris was like a blank canvas. From 1982 onwards the ‘4v0 became bolder and bolder in their sorties, and on New Year's Eve they hit that shrine ofthe art ite, the Pompidou Cente, witha plague of as, tanks and figures. At the end of 1983 the partners separated and Blek took the pseudonym for himsel, Ble’s enthusiasm for the art form soon ignited a wiole movement. During summer 1984 other stencils began to appear in Pars. The fst were signed ‘Marie Route’ and “Surface Active’, Blek describes this evelopment: it was a new kind of language and a dialogue developed between us. This is now one ofthe main reasons that | workin urban space. | had a presence for thousands of people who I dict know and ‘ould never meet, and yet | had a firm feling of exstng and speaking to them out o the ancrymity and isolation of urban suroundings. Blok and Jerme Mesnager, another Parisian pioneer of street ar, ‘went on to spread the idea, travling across Europe and to New York Bek painted works onthe Leo Castell Gallery and other strategic pins, and Mesnager pastored them everywhere. ‘Asa moverent,stenciling and other forms of set artwork took of In Now Yorkin the early 1980 ~ a result ofthe boom in galery art an, in part, the anival ofthe art school new wave and purik. The modern concept of grat was conceived in New York andthe trm is sit most strongly identified with ‘hip-hop’ or New York style’ graft. The fist tags! (usually names or nicknames) appeared around the city in the late 19606. By the "70s these had become bigger, tung ito ‘pieces’, short for ‘masterpieces’. They then began to include more pica ements, as. well as increasing innovations in typography and style. The movement con became Intemational and its styles and forms continue to develop ‘and mutate. Today itis the dominant form of gait and 0 has aperope ated the term. Graft, however, is a vast subject with is oun references, languages and forms. n this book | desrive grafted stencils as ‘stencil raft? but not everyone wauld agee with this definition. Graft at, as ania, nas always existed alongside other alstic endeavours, the diference being that i is a mode of sabexpression using methods that are seen as Criminal, or outside the conventional art wor, rather than specifically sanctioned or commissioned at Graft (graft), meaning drawings or serbolings ona flat surface land deriving from the Italian seafio (serach), wih a nod tothe Greek arapten (Yo wit), orginally retertes to those maths found on ancient omen architecture. The tem is now associated with the twentieth century urban environment, ere it covers anything from simple matks to complex and colourful compositions. This broad defiton includes all styles fom tags to political raft, and all methods from spray-cans, paint-breshes and marker pens to stickers an stencils Within all gafiti activism there tend to be both destructive and creative forces, Some gafit is overricingly about delacement — window: scratching, tagging and throwups (usually rapidly executed bubble letters oF simple pieces using few colours). These are specifically aimed at etting the most coverage posible. Although some defend this activity as ‘an issu of fee expression o claiming of public spac, most people would condemn its destuciveness, With the more creative forms, such as arf! pieces and stencil graft, there tends to be more respect for2 5 VE naygh now,” put one day Sc we’ llbe in chargé; SK & dea DustRIS ALGER TANTON TUNIS HARLEM SACPAP | | Wwe Seube Gue ese otkng people, schoo etlren~ of run-down areas, AC the present time, ster! graft is enjoying 2 resurgence. White Stencils are ma of P pontaneaus tagged aratit some of tre frome Mesnager messages o A stent wal nave and Nemo, ae sil ingly tary @ location in mind for both aesthetic reasons and for an audience ‘made it theirown Stencil art has spread far across the globe finding new know is aspect and ha foothoids in South America, Eastem Europe and Aca tis the immedi- surface, Some choo is art which keeps it fresh; its ability to communicate ged and peeling pant. The audience in this case wi freely and with good humout, that makes it an antite to mas stumbled upon, the piece vil fel ike @hiden treasure. Other steclis and corperat ition, for exam Though st they tnd to nave a cf stiet art. Placement is eruca forthe ati dificult forthe public to access. Howeves, it i not al able to communicate symboicaly, politically and artistically to an compare ‘graft’ and ‘stencil graft’: they are very diferent, although2 ‘Stencil gafiti is not an exclusive realm. Some gait writers use it ‘imply as an element a feature ora detail - in their pieces: Bazin S20 Paulo uses it along with colage and fee painting. For ether artists, lke Nano tom Vig, its just one method in an experimental repertoire of raph techniques. Sometimes graft writers have alter egos as stencil esignrs. Nylon, for example ~ a wellrespected UK graffiti writer — makes stencils under the names of ‘Sucre’ and ‘Shar’ Diferent techniques ar simply tools for citferent kinds of work | eter to people making stencils as stenliss, but this das not mean that these people necessarily afliate themselves with any particular ‘movement. Graft atists and stencil ati artists coast and influence each other, and asthe pieces and messages ofboth genes develop and expand beyond recognizable bounales, much af today’s work is best described in more general terms a ‘set art STENCIL STYLE The ataction fr al stencil arts ols and new, onthe steet and of is that, as well as being @ great method of communication, steniling also has an enduing aesthetic appeal ‘Stencil sive is graphically asociated with the sort of functional type long found on packaging, andi thereby also assecated with authentic 'y, natural materials and an authontatwe message. nthe twentieth century this utitrian lettering process influenced typelace fashion, with professional ypographers imitating the veracular tye. Tea Chest, a font designed in 1996 by Stephenson Blake, was an early example. in the Bauhaus school, Joset Albers doveloped the Kombinationsschnit alphabet ~ a ulltarian set of tyelaces, consisting of ten basic permuts tions of the ctce and the rectangle, which were by design ideal for stenciling. Today's UK type designers Switty and Mitch continue this, twaciton, taking stencil type a practical inspiration, and creating hybrid fonts of reo, future and non-latin forms with rough stencil edges. Functional stencils are a good inraduction to steel graf, They both share the same urban space and have similar visual properties. Unlike stencil gafi, however, funciona stencis are seen as legitimate communication, not 3s damage to propery. Looking at the ussge and ‘2estetic ofthis work is therefore a good point of comparison between raft works,Orpate: Hoo Dam, Nels Aten a ‘As public signage, stencis are wel-suite tothe physical properties ofthe city and the man-made structures of stone, metal and wood. Stent signage san art form in ise, ith its own graphic language and conven. tions of colour, form, design and typography It is aso speci to @ city's ‘own architectural, cultural and cesign history. Steet names and direction ‘ins are vital components of 2 location, Public lettering is not just @ ‘question of large type but is a relationship of lettering to buings oF Immediate suroundings. Signs need tobe read but, for any sign system, an aesthetic integration with the environment also has tobe considered ‘Stoncils are often used a5 low-tech practical meth of signage for temporary sites lke roadworks of more permanent sites when economy and materials dictate them to be the easiest method. These stencis need to be clear and instructive simple, sometimes sin arrows peintng cut directions; messages in ors. Consistency is aso important. So the [New York taxi numbering system see p. 12 for instance, is consistent in the postioning ard sizeof ype and rumberng. a Decrae tonl, Porto Rad, Londo, Rad sig, Mao, Words got noticed because they eonvey information. Words inform, record, forbid ad direct us. When used for ial notices, stencil text the spacing, th aesthetic ofthe laters and numbers ~ tends to have a rece, military authority that blends with street architecture. Slit conventions, however, also make up a language referenced ‘and plundered in other forms of stencil at. Utitarian syle has been appropriated by British artist Banksy in his messages parccying official city council notices. These messages have included “Beware Tispdooe in ‘Operation’ and This Wall isa Designated Graff Area (see p. 77), the later £0 convincingly rendered that newly whitewashed London walls have, within days, become covered in graft Stencils have 2 long association with rebelion and punk, The pune movement used stencils because they file the general D.LY pilsophy and wore 2 reference to utlitarian and mitary style, which pun poropriated to subvert symbols of authority, The movement also Hrted, in a subversive way, with images and ideas of fascism and communism 3LETRA € mall Tot RE cit . ‘ ert iF a B AD,‘anarchy became the punk philosophy. This rebel spin accounts for stent _actvsm incites wih stong counterculture suchas Bein and Barton, Protest stencis tend to be rough and urgent, with typically bold red lettering and strong iconic imagery, such asthe raised fist. The reductive iconography necessitated by the stenciling process means that atsts ‘generally try fo get their message across wit one simple image, ts ine ‘and construction carefully considered ‘The other important stylistic feature of stenciled artists immediacy, ‘whichis part of the general compositional verlaering that occurs with ‘graf. As San Diego artist Shepard Fairy pus i, the image is integral ‘e¢ withthe texture ofthe street Designers and artis nal fields use stencils for her various assoc ‘ations and for their textural and design qualities. OFf-stost artists also take inspiration from the patchwork surlaces and random compositions of the urban environment by layering processes oftheir own wih paint and ‘ther materia or with reprocessing techniques such as digital manpular ion, Fine ansts the Jean-Michel Basquiat ané Jean Dubutet, for example, were directly inspired by the textures and symbols of see art. Others, however, agree wit ‘When this artis taken away from the streets, somehow it ies. In recent years stencils have bacome the de rigueur medium for promotional campaigns In terms of fashionably they may aleady have passed their sellty date as they become more ubiquitous. While graft has been used on the clothing and accessories of today’s most desirable fashion houses, including Louis Witton and Luella Bartley, stenis in Daicular have been used to promote everthing from club nights, bands Boks comment ‘and record labels to websites and even multinational companies, Corporate advertisers see stencts as an inexpensive and alternative way of spreading information, while having an element of sirect cry. t is debatable whether, by adopting street tactics, brands become in any ‘way more credible but this method can target particular groups very ctfectively fone hits the right locations. Particular hotspots ae in skate parks and near nightclubs. There is, for example, a particular style of ‘commercial steril to be found on the steets of New York ts sprayed ‘on the pavement. The advantage ofthis aporoach is that it does nat vanealize private property an, with the huge amount of pavement tat, it has a very short lespan. Promoters and advertisers often employ stencil arts to undertake the covert campaigns ~ which i ironic as they are offen the most disparaging towards corporate stencils encroaching ‘nto thee creative teretory. Manchostr-based designer and promotor Barney Barnes produced a campaign for hs ub night ‘Doodlebug which began on pavernents, with dotted lines leading to an image ofan explosion. Days later these ines started creeping up wall leading to the venue's name. Bristo-based experimental electronics act Stole & Hopkinson use stencils to poke fun at global banding by turing their initials S&H into logos that look ike those of powerul corporations, anc nto te dolar sign (see above In the end, whatever the message or mativation all stencils become par of our environment. As they become absorbed into the city walls and 23s we discover them, they become part of our experience; they become, utlmatety, part of us 16Wheres hip-hop gafit evolved from the written ete, the majority of stonci raft is essentially iconographic or pitowraphie. The physical limitations of tenis mean that simpler shapes ae more definitive, fewer ares Dood and the eng result is more efectve, This reductive process in terms of image focuses the artist to the essence ofan idea, In this way Single cone representations best sult the medium, ‘Stencists have aporoprated the idea rom Dada and Pop that images of popular cuture or commonplace objects can be art, A cultural phenom ‘enon othe late 1950s and 60s, Pop art ejected the suoremacy of thigh at and the pretensions of the avant-garde. Its iconography was aimed at nanowing the distance between art and le by celebrating the mass Broduced objects ofthe time. Pop at is sometimes seen as impersonal ~ presenting images without praise or condemnation ~or 88 soa enti. Warhol's repetitions, for example, can be viewed as 2 commentary on mass-production ‘Today's slenciled Pop ati usally rater quitky and humorous, and does not necessarily stem from the same motivations as the original Popstars’ work. Stencils take Pop out ofthe gallery and into the wari Uahere the art plays with its suroundings. The surprise element comes eps os gat felon ace My Men, Brighton from finding an image of, fr example, 2 cow ora toaster or any number ‘of obscure items on a wal, and trom the fact that these Images nave ben produced in the pubic arena, where most messages tend to be corporate oF functional, There are many visual twists in these appropeia tions and a subversion in even the most innacent images. On the whole, though, the selection shown here isa light‘earted celebration of icon: imagen, The other reason for artists choosing ions is the affity that they share with their subject it isthe passion for the icon that inspires them to share it wth the word. This is Pop at fom the heart, inspired by, say, 2 favourite animal or vegetable. Everyone is passionate about something, For many artists, this is the fist kind of stencil they tryout Ht may be the fone and only stenll they make, Or they may simply do it for the enjoyment of creation, Tis collection, showing inuences rom cul fms Iie Blade Runner, enigmatic heres like Selvador Dali and syle-conscous totems ike record ‘decks, i an insight into bat heroes and obsessions The stencils range ‘rom very slick, steamlined, multi-coloured designs to crude, simple ideas with an ant-ashion charm,AiME VOUS we - SEX OHJECTSCULT HEROES3 SCREEN STARS _— ETEdin|, a [| i 7 “if AN a |Tout candidat yous 0 SSS SS uf mS «YOUR MARK are as many approaches to ffnciling as thore are _Stanclat poses many questions. Who was the creator? hen did the image appear? What isthe concept behind i? human imagiation. Sterel makers produce art that is It makas us reappralse our suroundings. It tuns the sect exoressionistc, impressionist, situation, urea, satir- into a gallery bu unlike in a gallery, there is an engagement le. IS a medium that the antst ‘make withthe environment, whichis the canvas as wel a the ently individual, What comes behing the art as well asthe unique expression, deaughts- captiat through are the ideas artwork. The strength of it i its abiliy to people - of guard ~ as part of their day-o-cay manship and syle. Diterent at Inspirations, and an artwork can be interpreted in mutiple Graffiti also @ uniquely ciminaized artform an ways by its audience. Some stencil ideas work emetionally, in some ways this also gives it an ede: the audience fel some conceptually and some work equally on both levels. part of something which s both personal and subversive respond to diferent experinceBLEK istration ofthe ancient master engraver ‘combination of ides sialon as Blek exper mented and pioneered t 1980s. 0 by Emest Pignon, But Ble art form inthe early images and the nost furtive of38 BLEK Blek placed these figures on steet corners to create an element of surprise forthe viewer. On turning a comer, the public woud be foled In thinking there was a eal person there Bek’s works are ste specie. He draws inspiration from the locations he paints in; in Moroco, for example, he painted silhouettes ofstret traders, anc in Paris mythological or elsseal figures with some local _2ssocaton or representation ofthe neighbourhood. ‘They presented me to the wer In the way that one person inteduces another | have always had the feng of leaving something of myself behind onthe walls of every city I've been able to visi. ‘My intention was simply to speak out trough imagery, to address the collective with @ commentary on love and hate, life and death, Its kindof therapy for me. | highlight the fine things in ite by covering the walls with images that delight in distracting passers-by trom thet awn concer. Despite the police's undamhand campaign to clamp down on raft, | continue to strike in dat srets because fr me it's vital part ofthe evolution of at. The scope for pub pal ‘more reticted as urban space is compartment Increasing meaning rom its relationship to the surcunding architecture and socal environment ‘nd yet, despite the reduction in scale, the sutace of any wall — whether stone, plaster, coment; dented, sratched, crack, fisuced cartes graft that transcends dimensions in all ofits minute deta In this for it i ike 3 painting hanging in unique and extraorsinary environment; and perhaps the gliies of the twenty-first centary il engul city dwalers, situated on the routes that they use for their dally business, and they wil shun the temples to art reserved for the purpose. lings becomes more and ized, and graft derivesNEMO AND JERGME NESHAGERCOURGET i eetTi? x fe sas i Wie 8 4) MISS Missle’ stencils have become legendary in Paris, She fist begen making stenciled street art there inthe early 1980s, Her stencils are poems, and sometimes Slogans, whose wordplay works on many levels ‘Belle cu Rebelle'~ “Beautitul or Rebel’; & Ma Zone'~ Amazon ot To My Zone’. Sometimes Miss-Tc asks questions: ‘Les ac ont translate perectly into raul ons un prix” Do free acts havea price?” The English as they alle to nuances inthe French language. Howeves, ther spit dos come across at the simplest level of translation ang in the clegance ofthe stencil. Whatever the message, they are alvays recogni able, Alou MissTie's work is not intentionally political but rather personal and confessional, the the peo Miss-Tie's imagery atten takes the frm of styized el portraits but in are often underying feminist themes in 2000 she created a Pais- wide campaign of senciad versions of famous Paintings like Courbe’s Sleep. Although she now exhibits regulaty i alles, she ban canvas by night. toues to workNYLON he pained around 2000 stencils in Brighton, including @ series of porta of friends calls “Suere Models. He also experimented with sets of sten diferent compost at could be used in the most acclaimed being a set of clock pats, mainly cogs. ‘my ilyLS RUN FOR KOVALIFE AND BIRTH #ABBE . & ‘ ” goon Sey AND EVIL Deehas ,ON THE ENGESKATES |€ 1008 : anoil a3 J ee 7 FAs SicwnSOCCERPROTEST The motivation for stent makers i often a stong bali or message; for Some itis a desite to make a statement of potest. Stencils are an effective medium for political graffiti, being easily reproduced and of a Powerful graphic simplicity. They are an immediate commentary on cument issues with the message iterally and symbolically on the streets, There are accounts of stenis put to poitieal use as propaganda uring the Second Weld War in Nal, and in postwar Germary they were Used in an attempt to reunite rfugoe familes. The technique was Probably adopted from the military usage ofthe time During the political and social protest movements ofthe 1960s there 182s a proliferation of poster propaganda and poster at, Sereen printing ‘meant that mass prit-runs were possible, and with art movements such Pop, Op, Flaws and Psychedelialourshing, this was apetod of erat experimentation as well as social strugue. The 1960s poster art that ‘veloped out of protest movements such 36 the 1968 Pais student revolt influenced the imagery later found in politcal and issue-baseo stencils, The Sitatonst slogans ofthe ay "68 ots ~ statements such 88 Under the paving stones, the beach!’ — were git freehand onthe walls of Paris. This combination ef social conscience and mischievous ‘Commentary hasbeen a bluearnt for many steels today toe ito gh Fs, isa a Goad Chan Gane with your hy MRE cbr: Caste, Bocca: Lose you has! by Sper Brghon Ata by te eon 60 From around 1970 stencils were used in confcts around the word Including Mesico, Nicaragua, Northem Wreland, South Arica and the Basque region, and they continue tobe used now asa cheaper and more permanent alternative to posters. Artists’ approaches vary from blunt and brutal to subtle and enigmatic. Protest attends to make heavy use of symbols, Images lke the waving flag, the gun an the clenched fist are used in many permutations, a8 symbo's of empowerment and military force. These images have their oot in historical war paintings and erly ‘wentieth-century revolutionary art ~ a5 inthe work ofthe poiczes Mexican muralists and the Russian revolutionary poster arts “Another theme in protest stenciling isthe lense use of portrait, Figureneads, especialy inthe twentieth century, have come to embody & ‘cause ofa national identity. Party leaders ae portvayad as noble heroes through the dissemination of posters and other propaganda. If you ‘compare, for example. the most fameus portraits of Lani, Stalin, Chairman Mao and Che Guevara, they are all depicted as visionaries, their eyes looking to the distance. These icons are used either to represent their own particular revolutionary ideas or their style is spproprated fr new herees and new stages. As canbe seen inthe grfiti campaign to fee American prisoner ‘Mumia Abu-Jamal the walls ofthe wold are, in efet, a free press, esed to express solidarity for causes and issues both local and global.PROTEST 500 JAURE , ZNTESATTN |'& k ' 3 AA PROTEST = oya 7 ae a M | ae il | ) i B — mt) i = La A fat | |TERS twi” pt les mma detecitn: parlentdes gens =F qui Heder od om ici Bo bie orDECUME Cos SALNENRPER/SHE, i * Wenn. TN xTED ; rite FOO GRAFIT" 1 "AREA I OF agama ZO, 2,NANO4H14 he says. all day 36 an tet and a an individual, Seeing stoetife trom on top of four wheels gives you another point of view of the city ~ you see it a5 Something creative an | think that makes you want to be part fit to be in everybody's daily He, watching ther from the walls,GERARDO YEPIZ SAT RN eA on — = rt 7 — aaa = = r—¥ am AMMRERNIE REIN ANI PRRISi a) uFF THE STREET i r ¢ re Ad : ra singer teins er ll cisely yea f (ss re \SWIFTY AND TAN WR compute he toughness of his hand-cut an stencils, bl stepping awa ‘and unpedictabiiy, or UK ilustator fn Weight, sorbate, hevieg pro dustry. His portralt of dub os breadboard. One of Wrights ta IGHT wth wood ity has aso. ontnues tou ing. Hs d sprayed lt ed toa tavourtesurtace material — a Rorschach blot syle symme 1 works wel th stent utiLOGAN HICKS Logan Hicks started using stencis after @ move to California, Having let behind an entire screenprinting shop for the sunny skis of San Diego, and therefoxe without his usual means of producing art. Hicks tumed instead to the cut stenc! and a can of spray-paint to mimic the screen-printing process. Hicks enjoys the challenge that the limitations of spray. paint stones offer, The lack of minute detail, mites colour palette arc bury line quality all add tothe overall feat of his work, Hicks is @ founding member of the fine ats press Workhorse Printing, which cartes out print work for clients such as Bim, Shepard Fairey, Dave Kinsey and ther contemporary artists,SUNIL PRWAR 1 slated painting at an early age. My work was inspired by the mesic rom sound systems and pirate radio stations, Even now musics integral to what 1a start my places by creating patterns using car sprays and emulsions to provide brillant colour, spraying on old bits of thogaphic metal plates, which I rescue from printers. They might til have abstract its of imagery on them, | create stencils ether on my computer or by using found ebjects. also print tet in reverse then photocopy images in black and while, and transfer ther onto metal using pant stripper. take stils 2s the process Lakes place and sean the stils into the computer. Using them as ayers, ean construct and deconstruct te finishes piece within, 2 graphics programme, ot | can tun the process. into animation, The viewer can watch as the painting eves. This also enables me to add music to the pieces, which gives an extra dimension tothe work {seo nd aed medion heap i)FA iu r E sf ' pox g ay, a a “Clockwise fre top left: Space Apa, Star Child; The More Shot; Nozzle (stencils on card :NICK WALKER Nick Walker's work has moved on since the days wien he sprayed walls at 4 am, to coincide with the shit ehangas ofthe Bristol police, These days he creates dream-like Pieces on camas, futwistc cliscapes and Portas in a combination of freehand painting and complex stenciling He has worked in the record, advertising and film industies, his credits including slooves for Ron Siz, images for Snapple ang soft forthe fms Judge Oredd and Stanley Kubvicl’s Eyes Wide Shut “W'S definitely labour of love,” says Woalke. ‘Some of my more inicate stencils take days to cut one Porta er epMITCHCis Bettig is 2 graduate of Institute College of Art and Amsterdam, Baltimore, Priladelphia and San Diego. He several US museums, a process of opening his ow Diego. His work can be seen on streets fom Alaska to leeland ut they are leo great in that ete is a larger window for quick and easy ample, noe, texture andNBEY ai VT. or HVA GA PRSSE! aia caee | ie = ’ i Aa) S| wee ae RBS mie ess RS SAE i - Xe, Is ae wry. ¥ s snts § RANCIS 7 “if Ee ; (7 ¢ a NY ity Ur 4 \s Hl v4 cr rNTZ STEFF PLAE the aesthetic of stenciling cise but wreckabe in his time between personal and commercial work, with recent slo exhib tions at Are ia Manchester and Bob in New York, and. design commissions for JapaneseQUTEDING FURTHER READING Cano, Genis, & Anxel Rabufal, Barcelona ‘Murs, Aurtament ée Barcelona, 1991 Chalfant, Henry, & James Prigoff, Spraycan Art, Thames & Hudson, 1987 Coote, Mata, & Harry Chalfent, Subway Art, Thames & Hudson, 1986 Huber Joerg, Paris Gaff, Thames & Hudson, 1986 Kian, Jock, Words and Busines The Art and Practice of Pubic Lettering, ‘rchitectural Press, 1980 Metz rou, Sybille, & Bernhard van Tree, Pochoi Die Kunst des Schablenen-Grait Schwarzhot & Schwarzkapt, 2000 Robinson, Davi, Soho Walls Beyond Graft, Thames & Hudson, 1990 Left: The Naughties, NewYork This page and opposite: Wal, Brito!fe _ WEBSITES : 2 Art Cries. htoslrwngraiti ong Jules Bockus: www. cooperedulartiubatind ambysh.htm Bale: wulostart.br enenenaprayer: www:banerenspreyerde ‘Banksy: worn banksy.co.Ok -Pbrcelona: wnew.tcnerafitcom *ristonner Bete: www. ASSad.chrh * Blekle Rat /bleKerat feet) Brighton: wav grafit.offvigton Bristol: wid itl gratfitcom CCC. Cuttural Cryotanasts Collective: wiv taliback leben, edutssue3) sallerycce.htm ave Shep: wiv iht.com ” t¢ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “Thanks toa the unknon artis. ‘Thanks taal the atts and photegratiers who ~ contributed worldwide “Tanks to everyone who conriouted but due to space dd nt get included ‘Nts: Amaud, Bai, Banksy, Barney Barnes, Le Bateleur, Thomas Baume, Chris Bet, Blek le Rat, Boneh Franco Brambila, Ady Biown, CCC, Chou, Gita, Clone, Domingue Decobeca aka Nice At, D.TM, Crew, Fab ~ Four, Shepard Fatey, Pablo asco, is Franeis,Jaspar Goodhal, Hao, Logan Hicks, David Hopkinson, Bob Kathman, Dave Kinsey Last, Loony, Laura Mas, Jérdme Mesnager, est Shepard fatoy wwwvcobeypiant com “ohn Fn: wa. ohoeni i edu~febrex! Frans: vac onthe ee lode fn Tiere Gees: mint conyesmursmas Log His: or werhorsvisuls.com Dave Kinsey: wrahinseisulcom ston Manco: ivoOstencialit.com and ‘wong com Sint Pawar: wovamstingsat.com * ste Platz: eal steers. com Poitcal Graphics: wen-pltclzahis. og Beri Reid: wy creatveinion 20k S&H: wrwessennaite.couk Eis Stain: waewinthesean dom _Suty: stye0 g Mis-Te, Miss, Mich, Murr, Nano4814, Nemo, Nico, Nyon, Oris, Par 3, Pacis, Sunt Pawar, Steff Plctz, Foch, Po, Beni Rei, Jt Row, Sniper, Giacomo Spazio, Chis Stain, + Alex Stat Andy Siot, STR, Swity, TAT, Teastes, Seth Tobccman, Yommo, Wack, Nick Walker, Dan Wt, lan Wight, Kn, Gerardo Yipi200, Zon ‘cal thanks for thei imvalatle knowledge, hospitality and cofibutions to the cause: UK: Wil Boras, Marc Bessant, Stephen Earl, Nylon, Eptrahim Webber ‘ Pts: Blk le Rat, Alevandte Céals, Thitry Getay, Sybille Metz Pru, Olver Schil “ay Sl tds 0k Uo ses: wine -emnde nt Nek We: rans couk an Wh wh buyn/ dant ‘Wot tenes wo leaning ed ei wor acarench cote Batcelora: Gens Cano, tsbel Chavatia Grau, Francesc Punsola lard, Jan Spivey ian: Franco Brambil, Gacome Spavio USA: Shenard Faiey, Logan Hicks, Dave Kinsey, Dave McEMaine, Mary Peace, Poler Walsh, Peter Zahorece ‘anslations: Simon Seath ‘rganizatons: PYMICA, Graphotsm Magazin, Creative UnionPICTURE CREDITS Right: Under raiway bridge, 8Tistan Manco is a graphic artist, working in the music and television industries, and isa director of Tijuana Pe eo ea eso Se ee ae ec cd documenting walls worldwide and has been a practising stencilist. Cee acs ST Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant Nee a aay Seu Henry Chalfant and James Prigoft Reet a cod Cano De OM Dees met Re seca) RUBE eta aca Pee ea) forthcoming titles, please send your name and address to Bre trad PCy London WC1V 70x De ee ey