The Irish Response to the Street Art Phenomenon: Aesthetics, Activitism & Advertising

Hannah Creevey
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2018
BA

Subject: Street art, Graffiti and Mixed Media
Country: Ireland
Period: 20th and 21st Century

10,000 words

This dissertation examines the Irish response to the graffiti and street art phenomenon of the twentieth century, with a particular focus on contemporary examples, From its roots in the late twentieth-century as a subversive and illegal practice with little or no artistic intent, street art has gradually evolved into an accepted artform, attracting the attention of prestigious galleries and museums as well as collectors and art market investors. Through commercialisation and reception into the gallery space, street art now encompasses a wider range of artwork outside the illegal parameters. This includes collaborations with small businesses or corporations to create advertisement campaigns, endorsing street art as a marketable object. Examples of the work of contemporary Irish artists such as ADW, James Earley, Maser, Subset and Joe Caslin will be discussed.

Irish Georgian Society

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The Irish Response to the Street Art Phenomenon: Aesthetics, Activitism & Advertising