Street art commissions are the specialty of our graffiti company at Graffiti USA. Before we get into the mural services that we provide, let’s define what “street art” is. Street art is artwork that we prepare in a studio setting and then apply in public view. Often times, the street art is installed illegally without permission. However, there is a distinct difference between graffiti and street art.
Graffiti is often focused on lettering styles and created with spray paint. This craft is usually passed on through generations and not formally taught in art education. However, street art includes other mediums such as wheat paste, stencils, brush, etc. Street art commissions may include traditional art techniques. Therefore, you can see that taking street art out of the street environment may result in a tradition mural.
As you can see, it is important that we clarify what graffiti and street art is before we work with you on a commission mural project. Therefore, we can make sure that we have a successful street art commission.
Wheat Paste – Street Art Commissions
One of our favorite street art commissions are wheat paste collages. Wheat pasting allows us to create a lot of detail in a short amount of time using printed posters. In addition, this technique comes from artists working with a limited time frame while pasting illegally in the streets. Furthermore, we can incorporate some wheat paste into painted murals as well. As a result, this creates a lot of layers and texture to give the street art aesthetic
Street Art Wheat Paste
Stencil Art
While some graffiti artists look down upon using stencils, we understand that clients like the street art aesthetic. However, we can use stencils to create clean designs or purposely show some overspray. As a result, it makes it look like the stencils were painted in a rush just like in the streets. For instance, the medium of spray paint works great with stencils on rougher surfaces.
Yarn & Environmentally Friendly Art
Some of our artists also create street art commissions using materials that are non-permanent and sustainable. For example, some of our artists uses yarn to create images in public spaces. These same artists are able to utilize the same methods to create amazing installations that are permanent and temporary for events.
London Kaye – Street Artist
Conceptual Art in the Streets
Street art also involves working with the immediate environment in creative ways. Some of our favorite street art commissions involve transforming public objects into artwork that resembles the existing shape. In addition, we are a fan of using existing trees and plants to incorporate into murals as part of the image.
Tom Bob – Street Artist
Interior Mural Artists & Live Street Art for Events
As you can see, we are the experts when it comes to street art commissions. We provide installations of street art for interior spaces. For instance, we provide street art for corporate offices, small businesses and even luxury residences. In addition, we create street art for temporary events and activations. For example, events includes trade shows, conventions, music festivals and corporate events.
Street Art & Team Building Workshops
Street art paint workshops are a unique service that we offer as well. Instead of a commission mural, we host team building street art workshops. During these workshops, we educate corporate teams on how to use spray paint and stencils to create a large scale street art piece. Furthermore, our street artist hosts can give a talk about the history of the art form.
Finally, our street art commission company provides a one stop shop for fabrication and build outs. Our fabrication teams in New York & Los Angeles can help with custom dimensional creations for your event.
Not only do we have street artists but our roots are actually graffiti artists for hire. Many of our professional graffiti artists have spent years mastering complicated letter forms. To the public, it may look like illegible scrawls but there is a deep history in the craft of tagging. In addition, simple tags have evolved to become full color intricate wild style pieces.
The Distinction between a Graffiti Artist and a Street Artist
One of our peers recently wrote an amazing article that differentiated the graffiti culture. The excerpts below are paraphrased from an interview that was published.
There seems to be some conflict between the street art and graffiti communities. A lot of graffiti artists feel that they don’t get the main street attention from the art world. For example, Banksy has become a household name but not many people know about a graffiti artist like Revs. In my opinion, I feel that the public connects closely with imagery and not as much with something they cannot read.
The constant wars between street artists and graffiti artists have been around for some time. The graffiti writers often cringes when they are referred to as a street artist. The average person can be easily confused by the terms. For instance, there has been such a huge surge in large mural work in the past few years. As a result, most of this work is called ‘Street Art’ mural events so I can understand the confusion.
Martha Cooper in front of a Banksy & OsGemeos piece.
Large Scale Murals
Most graffiti artists don’t see large scale muralism as Street Art or Graffiti. It might sound strange as the artwork is literally art on the street. However, street art is a defined movement the same way that graffiti is. For those of us that got into writing as youths, we were responding to very particular energies and circumstances and bound by a distinct experience.
As a result, there was a major difference between how my peers and I experienced the world through painting to how those that did Street Art did. Furthermore, the majority of graffiti artists didn’t have a formal art education, but a lot of the early Street Artists did.
Another difference between the art forms was the tendency towards public friendly images – faces, figurative work and also repetitive iconography. Graffiti writers tended to explore that more through lettering. Similarly, they created the sense of character and dynamics in how the letters were bent and contorted. In addition, characters and background were just considered adornment, secondary and totally disposable. As a result, this meant that generally the public always hated what Writers did.
Meanwhile, the public was more accepting of wheat paste and stenciled images that they could easily relate to. Furthermore, a lot of Street Art was prepared somewhere else and applied whereas everything Writers did was created on the spot with much more risk involved.
Barry McGee Graffiti Commission on Houston St.
Post-Graffiti Movement
Through conversations with people who come more from the Street Art background, we are able to learn a lot. For instance, it usually boiled down to the amount of pressure they’ve had to endure for their art. The graffiti experience is associated with an immense amount of pressure, paranoia, risk, violence, heartbreak and loss. As a result, the triumphs are short lived and the sacrifice is deeper than any sane person would ever willingly endure.
There’s a lot of honor in graffiti, but also a lot of broken people. What makes you successful in this scene often doesn’t translate into what will make you succeed in the art world or even society in general. Unfortunately, there’s no cross credit. The dues we pay in the graffiti scene grant you no recognition elsewhere. We give respect only within our world of the graffiti subculture. However, we don’t event guarantee that respect within our peers.
Some have categorized a new movement called ‘Post-Graffiti.’ This movement consists of graffiti artists moving beyond lettering. In addition, when we label graffiti artists as street artists it really bothers them. This term does not genuinely reflects the full scope of what is going on. For instance, it has bunched everyone in under a label that already belongs to a specific movement. However, it’s not entirely respectful to anyone, Street Artists or people who have taken another road all together to arrive at working outdoors.
Steve Powers Mural in Philly
Street Art in the Galleries
Many artists who became famous from their illegal artwork in the streets have now moved into the fine art world. Today, you will see artwork from famous street artists like Keith Haring, Banksy and Shepard Fairey selling for millions of dollars at auction houses.
It’s been interesting to see artists who have not gone through formal art education accepted into the art world through galleries. Some of the biggest names in contemporary art today have their roots in graffiti and street art. For example, Barry McGee, OsGemeos, Jose Parla and Retna are just a few graffiti artists who have found success in fine art. However, we hope that it doesn’t inspire the next generation to get into graffiti to sell art in galleries.
Revs Sculpture in NYC
Our Approach for Interior Mural Art
By nature, graffiti is a rebellious form of art. As a result, it is a bit controversial to have street art commissions. I think that similar to the galleries, what people are looking for is the association to this new art form. Chances are that people wouldn’t want graffiti or street artists to show up and paint whatever they want illegally at their business.
A curated and refined approach to street art commissions is what Graffiti USA does best. When it comes to interior mural painting, we protect the space thoroughly. As a result, we leave the space exactly as we found it after the mural. We also try to use environmentally friendly spray paints safe for indoor conditions.
As a consultant, we ask the right questions. For example, we try to find out the true goal of the street art. Secondly, we make sure that we are involving all the true decision makers. Thirdly, we define what is a successful graffiti commission in the clients’ eyes. It’s often hard to associate numbers with the success of something so subjective. Finally, we build a plan to deliver beyond expectations!
Videos of Street Art Commissions
There’s no way to tell what method we create large scale murals with by looking at the finished product. Therefore, documentation and video has become such an important element in telling the story of graffiti and street art. For instance, Martha Cooper is one of the most famous graffiti photographers that started documenting the art on the trains. Today, there are many videographers such as Chop’Em Down Films and Selina Miles that focus on the graffiti and street art culture.
Some of the production levels on graffiti videos are next level. Watching artists create work with spray paint is refreshing and unique. The act of graffiti itself is really about the act and dance of doing it in the streets. It’s often hard to convey when looking at the final product. Therefore, the street art videos assist in telling the story.
Our street art company provides documentation services of the murals we paint. We can do photography, video and even take over social media accounts. As a result, our full service offerings make Graffiti USA a one stop shop for your street art commission needs.
Klughaus x Seb Gorey – Xi’an Famous Foods Flushing, NY from Klughaus on Vimeo.
Mural Company Testimonials
We have worked with hundreds of satisfied clients in the past. We believe that an honest customer review is very important these days. As a street art consultant, it’s not only our job to be the solution but we need to also ask the right questions. As a result, we delivery successful projects with positive results.
These days, it’s not hard to find a street artist directly for a commission. However, our company provides a lot more value than connecting you with an artist. We strive to set the proper goals of a successful street art commission and measure the success. This ensures that you get a return on your investment and continue to work with us in the future.
Heathers School Bus Activation
Here’s a client testimonial from Civic Entertainment Group: ““I want to say thank you for the phenomenal work your team did to completely transform our Heathers bus. It looked AMAZING and the client couldn’t get over how closely your artwork resembled the rendering (…and looked even better in person.) We had a huge turnout throughout the convention, with lines wrapped around the bus! Your responsiveness and attention to detail throughout the project made for a smooth production period, despite the hasty 2 week lead time we had. I’ve been singing Graffiti USA‘s praises in our office and will be sure to recommend you for future projects of this nature.”
New Balance Truck Activation
In addition, here’s another testimonial from one our favorite clients at New Balance: “Victor and the Graffiti USA team were amazing to work with, and will always be our go-to artist of choice for any project. We have hosted Graffiti USA as a live on-site artist activation at several events. The passion, creativity, and authenticity of their art shine through their work. Victor is incredible to work with and has helped us change the consumers’ opinion of our brand.”
New Balance Graffiti Truck
In conclusion, we offer all kinds of unique street art commissions. If you would like to hire us for a street art commission, e-mail us at art@graffiti-artist.net or call 646-801-6024
