Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art

by Carlo McCormick, Marc & Sara Schiller (Contributor), Ethel Seno (Editor)

The last outlaw of visual Graffiti and unsanctioned art—from local origins to global phenomenon In recent years street art has grown bolder, more ornate, more sophisticated and—in many cases—more acceptable. Yet unsanctioned public art remains the problem child of cultural expression, the last outlaw of visual disciplines. It has also become a global phenomenon of the 21st century.
Made in collaboration with featured artists, Trespass examines the rise and global reach of graffiti and urban art , tracing key figures, events and movements of self-expression in the city’s social space, and the history of urban reclamation, protest, and illicit performance. The first book to present the full historical sweep, global reach and technical developments of the street art movement, Trespass features key works by 150 artists ,and connects four generations of visionary outlaws including Jean Tinguely , Spencer Tunick, Keith Haring, Os Gemeos , Jenny Holzer , Barry McGee , Gordon Matta-Clark, Shepard Fairey, Blu, Billboard Liberation Front , Guerrilla Girls and Banksy , among others. It also includes dozens of previously unpublished photographs of long-lost works and legendary, ephemeral urban artworks.

Also

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Street Art, Graffiti, Art History, Reference

318 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Erik Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't have thought it was possible to explain all of the principal creators and movements within Graffiti coherently but Taschen went and did just that. "Uncomissioned urban art" obviously has some unique characteristics. For one, it's widely available to the general public, and in fact forced upon a much larger audience than one could ever hope to corral into a gallery showing. It is also able to make a clear connection to its subject by being applied directly on it - pot holes, sewer grates, entire building facades, etc...

But it definitely helps to have a guide because not all of it is so obvious - the who, what and why is often impossible to divine from some cartoonish character painted on the side of a building hundreds of yards away. So this book made me much more appreciative of the whole enterprise, and I was already interested in it to begin with.

Good job, Taschen. Go go coffee table knowledge!

[Frederic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a large book, pleasing to the eye and hand, as one expects from Taschen. There's a lot of graffiti presented, mostly form the US and Europe, but not much analysis or -- despite the title -- history. Instead there's a series of eight chapters organizing the work into themes, with each chapter have a short introduction (a few pages); otherwise the text is just captions with basic details. So, a decent coffee-table book (although the matt-finish paper detracts from that a bit), but not much more.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A paragraph at the very most accompanies each work! This sad excuse for literature is completely devoid of the people and the socio-historical issues that gave rise to the few truly transgressive works that happen to be included (exploited) by this silly coffee table ornament.

[LaLa · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.taschen.com/lookinside/057...

[Nikita Efanov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am giving three starts out of five :

- minus one because if you are looking for a history, look somewhere else - the approach taken by the authors is exciting, but it does not give the reader a history. 'Made in collaboration with featured artists, Trespass examines the rise and global reach of graffiti and urban art' - no, it doesn't; I don't know when the rise happened (neither geographically nor timeline);
- another minus one because I didn't want to take English lessons - the authors had zero reason to make the texts that complicated. It's cool the authors know all these words, but they don't make the texts very smart.

The pictures are nice though. If you would like to read the book, do it; just don't expect too much from it.

[Amar Pai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in the middle of reading this book but sometimes you know immediately it's 5 stars. lavish taschen tome on art that really speaks to me. so many stars

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a trip to the art museum in covid times.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good flick through for the art but the commentary is pretentious crap.

[Tallulah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artfully constructed book covering all types of street art from tagging to guerrilla gardening. Trespass not only discusses the history of uncommissioned urban art, but the philosophy.

[Tamar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quality photography and selection of art. Analysis was unnecessarily stuffy. I appreciated the inclusion of performance art.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool.

A great coffee table book that explores the various forms of public/urban art. From graffiti to installations, performance to photograph, Trespass explores the intersection of space, art, and ideas at the boundaries of our polity's 'accepted behaviors.'

The short text accompanying each section is thought provoking, helping to refrain the photos that follow. The pictures themselves are captivating, exploring artists' own work, the work of others, and some seemingly haphazard finds. Some carry explanations. Some are left up to the reader.

Trespass challenges readers to reconsider how they view public art, urban space, and the creative individuals who bring their ideas to life in the view of others.

Kinda makes ya' wanna get out there, and, well, make something!

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art, most of it impossible to satisfactorily photograph.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fascinating book about the history of urban art. Like all Taschen books it was lovely to look at!

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A lot of pictures, but not a lot of clear explanations or delineations. Some of the solid written sections were difficult to follow at times. Just not very cohesive.