The emergence of illegal arts predates ancient Rome, where ancient graffiti can still be found. There is something very human in the unfiltered common art, which is meant to shock and grab your attention. Examples of this have, throughout history, been used as a means of not only artistic expression but political as well, often at the expense of the artist’s life. Today, Illegal arts, in most countries, doesn’t not carry a death sentence, yet it cannot be understated that people utilizing pre-existing properties for either art or exposure, can still incur steep penalties.
Shepard Fairey is a legitimate artist, in so much that his work appears in galleries, in the halls of the rich and may be studied in art textbooks. His earliest street art, entitled Andre the Giant has a Posse, was a 1989 sticker campaign, which spread through the streets of Providence, Rhode Island, became a nationwide hit and gave birth to not only his larger print works, featuring a continuance of theme, but his Obey clothing line, which has been best seller ever since. Though Fairey has a thriving product line, Fairey himself does not shy away from political activism. Shortly after Fairey’s sticker campaign took off, he published his manifesto outlining his personal beliefs, in Fairey’s own words: “The OBEY sticker campaign can be explained as an experiment in Phenomenology. Heidegger describes Phenomenology as “the process of letting things manifest themselves.” Phenomenology attempts to enable people to see clearly something that is right before their eyes but obscured; things that are so taken for granted that they are muted by abstract observation.”
Like Fairey, Banksy has been sliding through the shadows of city streets for over twenty years. Banksy’s works have pushed the status quo, appearing in war torn countries, such as Israel, along the border with Gaza. He has highlighted the political and socio-economic issues, which the media continues to sweep under the rug. Bankys’s Oscar winning film Exit Through the Gift Shop is in itself, which heavily features Shepard Fairey, a damning exposition of the culture industry. The film follows Thierry Guetta and his journey to becoming a temporary phenomenon on the Los Angeles art scene, with the assistance of Fairey and Banksy, as well as several other lesser known, but no less talented international street artists. Banksy builds Guetta out of thin air and without real talent and the fickle art going public eat him up.
Should Banksy or Shepard Fairey be caught, red handed, they would face fines and perhaps some simple jail time. More than likely, should either be nabbed, their works in progress would be descended upon by the art community and either stolen, as evidenced in the 2012 documentary, How to Sell a Banksy, or petitioned for preservation as the city of New York has been doing since Banksy’s 2013 visit. This is not the case around the world. Iran is a country in the midst of turmoil, it has been since the United States decided to influence the political landscape in favor of international oil production. Today, the country is in a state of flux between traditional values and the modern world. Street Artist Black Hand is considered Iran’s Banksy. A prolific and politically motivated artist who takes to the walls of Tehran with an unflinching view of their modern society. Should Black Hand be apprehended, he would face imprisonment for dissention in a harsh penal system.
Ultimately, Graffiti is not only an art form, whose ascetic is designed to steal and hold your attention in the midst of overwhelming stimuli, it is a statement, a necessary tradition. Wherever people and ideas clash, the voice of the anonymous must be heard.
Banksy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHJBdDSTbLw
Shepard Fairey:
http://store.obeygiant.com/collections/prints/products/paradise-turns-signed-offset-poster
I Support Street Art:
http://www.isupportstreetart.com
How to Sell a Banksy:
http://www.howtosellabanksy.com
Black Hand
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mutiny-of-colours-a-documentary-about-street-art#/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/street-art-iran_us_5671f2e0e4b0dfd4bcc09524
Department of Fabrication 
