Street Craft

A beautiful book. In the landscape of street art, graffiti paved the way for guerrilla gardening and yarnbombing. Kuittinen thoughtfully explores this evolution, offering a catalog of highly ephemeral art that has popped up worldwide in potholes, on lampposts and, yes, on the sides of abandoned buildings. A beautiful book. With detailed photos and personal statements from artists around the globe, even familiar projects . . . are seen anew in this refreshing, comprehensive look at radical craft practice. Through illustrations of their colorful, sculptural work, accompanied by artist statements and descriptions of their practice, Kuittinen suggests that these artists are expanding the definition of street art. From yarn bombing to applique, gardening to stenciled light projections, origami to cross-stitch, miniatures, and book sculpting, Kuittinen takes us far beyond street art in its most widely understood form (graffiti tags). . . . A solid primer on the subject for both burgeoning artists and fans. A gorgeous new hardcover. Twenty-eight artists in all are engagingly represented here. A solid, informative overview of the global scene. Lets each artist tell his or her own story among the stunning, often inspirational images of what they've wrought. Street Craft gets our highest recommendation. These artists . . . represent a worthy phenomenon, and Kuittinen smartly gives most of the collection's space over to images and artist statements, providing a number of insights into their practices. In many jurisdictions, street craft is considered vandalism. Kuittinen's gallery of volunteer art might inspire a more generous appraisal.