Extraordinary bargains are available in this cutting edge genre.

By Amanda Smith

The American aesthetic of street art — also known as urban art — has infiltrated popular culture with full force and in a very short time. Its scrawled letters, enigmatic imagery and propagandistic slogans, reminiscent of what’s commonly referred to as graffiti, decorate clothing, posters and CD covers from around the world.
Contemporary graffiti became prevalent in urban centers in the late 1960s. Young and poor, graffitists “tagged” public property with spray paintings of their street names and other images, appropriating walls and subway cars as their turf at a time when social inequalities did not allow their voices to be heard. In the meantime, traditionally trained artists were migrating to these cities, primarily New York City, from art schools across the country. Many of these young artists commiserated with graffitists’ social outcries while rebelling against the selectivity of the existing art world, which was essentially controlled by dealers in the newly in vogue SoHo. Influenced by the graffitists’ motifs, in defiance of the discriminating gallery spaces, they, too, placed their artworks publicly on sidewalks and in subway corridors, both for the greater exposure and in the belief that the locations would enhance the work.
Many years passed before work by these artists was accepted into the art world that once denied them. Today it is available at auction alongside work by the generation of street artists that followed.
Here are some names you should know and why you should
know them:

The trailblazers
Keith Haring, who began his work with chalk drawings at subway stops, said: “Everything I ever dreamed I could accomplish in art was accomplished the first day I drew in the subways and the people accepted it.” Perhaps the most recognizable street artist of the period, Haring’s playfully rendered figures tackled big issues ranging from drug abuse to AIDS, which took his life at age 31.
Richard Hambleton, a Canadian who came to New York City in the late 1970s, used his work to address urban violence, mimicking crime scene chalk tracings of murder victims and lurking shadows in alleyways. He is prolific and still producing today, represented at galleries and available at auction.
Jenny Holzer turned away from image-based art and adopted text as her foundation, using the abbreviated language of advertising in her philosophical statements. The first woman to represent the United States at a Venice Biennale (considered the Olympics of contemporary art), Holzer’s work is now in the permanent collections of museums worldwide.
Jean-Michel Basquiat teamed with graffitist Al Diaz at the age of 17 using the name “SAMO” to sign their work. He attained the “art star” status he strove for when he collaborated with Andy Warhol before his untimely death at 27. In late 2008, a work from 1981 sold for over $13 million at auction.

The second generation
Banksy, perhaps the most recognizable of contemporary street artists, focuses on stenciled images of popular culture and art history gone askew. Born and raised in Bristol, UK, he now has an international notoriety and is the highest-selling, still-producing street artist at auction after a work on canvas sold for $1.7 million in February 2008.
Shepard Fairey blasted into Los Angeles’ urban art scene in his late teens. His style is reminiscent of Soviet propaganda posters of the early 20th century in design and political overtones. His “Hope” poster of Barack Obama was hung in the US National Portrait Gallery on Inauguration Day.
LAII (Angel Ortiz) LAII joined forces with Keith Haring in the 1980s when he was just 13-years-old, though he is only now obtaining the credit he deserves. Out of those mentioned, his work most closely resembles familiar graffiti, but it is often used to adorn furniture, pottery and other decorative objects, not only canvases.
SWOON pastes her cutouts of figures amidst the decay of urban landscapes, allowing them to slowly corrode with the structures that serve as their support. Currently, she shows her work actively in galleries as well as publicly.

Ripe for the picking
Auctions allow for excellent opportunities to buy in general, but when art is offered from developing movements, such as street art, the opportunity to invest is astounding. Here are some things to consider if you find yourself interested in this aesthetic:
· Research what’s out there. There are many Web sites dedicated to chronicling street art as it expands and evolves.
· Multiples are offered at auction, and at conservative prices. You may not be able to own a Basquiat or a Banksy original, but screenprints or lithographs can be affordable and also appreciate in value.
· Fresh faces are appearing at auction with estimates to match their undiscovered work. Seek out auction houses that offer emerging artists.
· Buy what you feel drawn to. This is rule number one, whether what draws you is unconventional use of materials, political undertones or sheer beauty.
Rago Arts and Auction Center, Lambertville, NJ, offers the work of established and emerging street artists in several sales a year. On April 25, it will host Sollo: Rago 20th Century Modern Auction, and on May 16, the Post-War/Contemporary Fine Art Sale. Exhibitions are open to the public for the week prior to each sale or online at www.ragoarts.com.

Amanda Smith is the fine art cataloguer for Rago Arts and Auction Center.