36. Street Artists: The Complete Guide by Eleaonor Mathieson and Xavier A. Tapies

Editors: Mathieson, Eleanor; Tapies, Xavier A. Photography: Arango, Glenn. (2009). Street Artists: The Complete Guide. London : Graffito Books. ISBN 9780956028419

Summary
Street Art is an informative and comprehensive look into actual people who have created some of the most famous graffiti art around the world. Because graffiti, or "tagging" is considered illegal in most places, the artists go by nicknames like Bansky and Swoon. The book's pages are filled with colorful photographs, interviews and history of the artists and where there work has been seen.

Critical Evaluation
Anyone who has lived in urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, London, and San Francisco can attest to the fact that street art, or "graffiti" can be found around every corner. The photographs taken of the graffiti art are colorful and prove that some of the artists' work is better than pieces by well known artists in museums across the world. The book should be considered a platform for young artists to use because it shows that art comes in all forms. Teenagers inspiring to be graffiti artists do need to realize that it is illegal and that these artists have become known for not only their work but also alluding the police. That being said, the art in the book is beautiful, innovative, and fresh.

Reader's Annotation
Dive into the history of the most well known graffiti artists from around the world.

About the Editors & Photographer
Eleanor Mathieson and Xavier A. Tapies are the authors of Street Art and the War on Terror: How the Best Graffiti Artists said NO to the Iraq War.

Glenn Arango is from Chicago. For the past ten years he has travelled the world photographing street art in the world's urban centers. He is based in San Francisco where he works in the internet industry.

Genre
Nonfiction, Art

Curriculum Ties
Art, Art History

Booktalking Ideas
1) Discuss the differences in graffiti art and more traditional art forms.
2) Would the art form of graffiti be the same if it was legal?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 13+

Challenge Issues
Graffiti, legal issues

Challenge defense ideas
-Become familiar with the book by reading it and examining the photos.
-Refer to different forms of art including graffiti.
-Refer to the collection development policy of the library, see http://sfpl.org/pdf/about/policies/collection-development-plan.pdf

Why Included in Titles Selected
A lot of teenagers at my library are interested in art and graffiti and I've always loved the graffiti I've seen living in both San Francisco and New York City.