Art: Street Art vs. Traditional Art

In my mind art is art, no matter the medium, genre, or status quo.  Thats not to say that within those specifications there aren’t distinct differences in the styles and presetation of said art.  I just think one does not hold a higher value than the other, but that doesn’t also say that I don’t have me personal favorites either.  To most critics & fans of specific types there is a distinct difference.  I won’t go into too many sub genres of visiual art, because they are flipping infinite.  Although I might have to mention a few in this article to make my point, but I’m not getting that deep in all of that(lol).
In the last 20 or 30 years the opinion of what makes an artist get taken seriously as an artist has changed, there are still those “purist” who don’t take some genres serious.  Its really absurd that in the era where an artist basically has rotting hotdogs on display in a gallery (which is actually pretty dope social commentary), but street art is still struggling to be taken serious.  Specifically in area of “bombing (quick throw up tags usually a signature or a sticker).”  There’s defenitely an abundance of what you might consider a neusance, but there’s also some brilliant style out there.  Part of the value of this medium lies in the chosen spot and the risk involved.  If there’s one thing that should be respected over just the pure talent is the effort put into it.  Not to downplay the efforts of more tradional artists, but these artists have heart.
The biggest and most obvious difference I can see in the two styles is location.  Street art is usually…  Well everywhere.  Whereas traditional art has it’s designated areas, but don’t worry street art is gaining momentum and value in art galleries in a big way and have been for years.  Very few traditional artists are able to market themselves as well as street artists either.  Street artists have an adaptability that seems to occur naturally.  Now I know this seems like I’m favoring one over the other….  Ok so I relate to the street artist more but the point of this article isn’t my identification with one sub-class vs another.  It’s to bridge the gap in an attempt to put them in the same class as contemporaries rather than two seperate groups. From Andy Warhol or Basquiat to Justin Bua or Ron English art is everpresent.  Art is art to be appreciated, studied, and experienced in every form and genre.

– SoCity