Street World: Urban Art and Culture from Five Continents

Street World: Urban Art and Culture from Five Continents was released by Abrams Books on October 1st, 2007.  I recently received a review copy and have to say it’s quite a beautiful book.

From the Book Description:
"From New York and Los Angeles to the Brazilian mega-cities, South African townships, and Mumbai, authors Roger Gastman, Caleb Neelon, and Anthony Smyrski highlight cultural hotspots around the world. Divided into more than 50 topics and illustrated with more than 500 photographs, this book celebrates the street as a stage for the visual creativity of a generation."

About the Authors:
"Roger Gastman is the co-publisher of the magazine Swindle. He lives in Los Angeles. Caleb Neelon travels the world from his base in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the coauthor of Graffiti Brasil. Anthony Smyrski is the founder of Smyrski Creative, the art director for Swindle, a consultant, and an independent book and magazine publisher."

Wall by Revok – South Korea

The two images I have from the book are a bit misleading because they give one the idea that this is a street art book when it’s really a street culture book in the best sense in that it connects multiple whole lifeways.  I didn’t fully grasp that fact until I spent some time roaming through Street World.

Browsing these images from over 95 photographers and artists, including Revok [above] and a still-to-be identified artist [below], that appear to go back at least as far as the 1970s, though the overall timeframe is unclear, I felt I’d dropped into an interconnected terrain more than a series of locales.

Murals by Jeff Zimmermann

There’s an organization by themes and there’s text, though the text only really works when it gets specific rather than general, but the true beauty of this book beyond the individual images is the sense of connection brought about by the viewer’s movement across their juxtapositions.

It really is like dropping into a dream world that is as much about bodies, fashion, housing, transportation and material objects as it is about street art.

One could discuss this as a statement of postmodernity but that’s a signal to wrap up this review.  It’s probably better to simply dive into this reminder that space and time can fold in unexpected ways and enjoy the fact that it’s a truly stoned experience that creates new synaptic connections via imagery rather than chemistry.

[Photos from Street World, Courtesy Abrams]