Art in the streets

Art in the Streets was published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and organized by museum director and former New York gallerist Deitch. The catalogue offers a potpourri of sources, perspectives, and images that collude with the art form as much as explain it. Included are a chronology that traces the street art movement from 1941, and biographies of 60 or so artists/key players. The volume isn't comprehensive or overly didactic. Lingo isn't defined, and reproductions aren't clearly cited. Instead of classic catalogue entries, artist "portfolios" punctuate essays. What this volume lacks in clarity, it makes up for in richness of content. Interviews with street artists, critics, and cultural personalities offer firsthand narratives, and scholarly essays provide art historical context. Curators pay homage to often-overlooked manifestations of street art such as cholo and hobo graffiti. The catalogue is international in scope but heavily partial to the US, especially considering the global boom of contemporary street art. For a more encyclopedic approach to the movement, consult Roger Gastman's The History of American Graffiti (2010). Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. A. H. Simmons National Gallery of Art