This editorial on the documentation of graffiti and street art through videography and photography was originally published in my street art newsletter, Beyond the Walls, which lands in inboxes on the 1st of every month with reflections and unexpected finds. This excerpt is from the March 1, 2025, edition. Subscribe here to receive future issues.
For many old-school graffiti writers I’ve spoken with, their passion sparked the moment they flipped through Subway Art, the seminal 1984 book by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. Known as ‘the graffiti bible,’ it didn’t just document New York’s vibrant graffiti scene—it broadcasted it to the world. Local trains adorned with daring, colorful lettering styles inspired kids in faraway cities, turning a once-local subculture into a global movement.
Preservation of the Ephemeral
Since those early days, documentation through photography and video has been indispensable in capturing the fleeting nature of graffiti. Films like the legendary Style Wars (1983) not only showcased the bold styles and intricate lettering of New York City’s graffiti writers but also brought the energy, defiance, and cultural significance of the movement into sharper focus. Street art and graffiti exist in a state of impermanence, constantly at risk of removal, weathering, or being covered by the next layer of urban creativity. Photography and video, however, extend their lifespan, transforming ephemeral works into enduring cultural artifacts.
While purists argue that this form of documentation is the only way to bring graffiti and street art into the pristine, static environment of a museum, I’m more intrigued by its narrative potential.
Through photography and video, we can capture not only the final product but also the environment that shaped it, the process of its creation, and the untold stories behind each piece.
Beyond the Walls (ha 😜)
The ability to preserve ephemeral works through photography and video doesn’t just ensure their survival; it opens up new ways to tell the stories behind them. Beyond immortalizing the finished piece, these technologies allow us to capture the grit, effort, and audacity that go into creating street art. Technology lets us move beyond the artwork on a wall, turning the creation process into a compelling narrative. It reveals the unseen: the ‘making-of.’
Admiring a mural is one thing; understanding what it takes to paint a 20-meter-high façade from a cherry picker, nose against the wall, is another. Through video and photography, people can experience the act of creation—the thrill of painting in public spaces and the profound act of reclaiming urban spaces as an artist’s canvas.
From the Streets to the Web
With the rise of the internet and social media, urban art documentation now reaches a global audience instantly, turning creation into a shared experience. The evolution of urban art parallels the world it inhabits, with a significant shift toward digital platforms.
Parisian street artist JR famously called the streets ‘the world’s biggest gallery,’ but today, the web challenges that claim. In a way, the digital realm has become a limitless urban space of its own, where art not only lives but thrives, endlessly shared and reinterpreted.
Today, when an artist creates in public space, they speak to two audiences. The first is the passerby, who encounters the work in its physical context. The second—and increasingly central—is the global audience online, experiencing the piece through meticulously crafted photos, drone footage, or videos shared on social media. For many artists, the digital audience now shapes the intent, scale, and placement of their work. This shift has transformed how urban art is consumed and appreciated, blending the immediacy of the street with the limitless expanse of the digital world.
Through this dual existence, street art transcends its origins as a local, ephemeral act; in fact, it redefines itself as a global and enduring phenomenon.
The Risk of Aesthetic Homogenization
However, in a world dominated by digital platforms, urban art faces the challenge of aesthetic homogenization. On social media, street art is stripped of the physical and cultural environments that define its meaning. A mural on a crumbling wall and a sticker on a lamppost are reduced to equivalent, scrollable images. The architecture, community, and history shaping the work become a flattened backdrop, secondary to its visual impact.
This decontextualization prioritizes bold designs that perform well online, amplifying visibility but weakening connections to their surroundings. Graffiti and street art, at their core, are deeply tied to their physical and social environments—their placement on a specific wall, in a specific neighborhood, carries meaning that transcends the purely visual. When these works are detached from their original contexts, their cultural and political significance can be lost, leaving behind only their surface appeal.
“Instagrammable” Street Art
The rise of social media has shifted priorities for some artists, who now design works to thrive online rather than resonate in the streets. Platforms like Instagram popularize “Instagrammable” art, driving a focus on visually striking designs optimized for digital feeds. Social media’s feedback loops—likes, shares, and comments—further shape artistic choices, pushing artists toward aesthetics that prioritize online impact over physical interaction.
Banksy exemplified this shift: in the early 2000s, he was the first to use the internet to amplify his work, build a global audience, and shape his persona. Without the viral reach of social media, his rise to global recognition might not have been possible.
After Banksy, many other street artists have embraced digital media in wildly creative ways. Take Invader, for example, who turned exploring a city into a real-life video game with his popular “FlashInvader” app, or BLU, whose mesmerizing timelapse videos breathe life into his already dynamic murals (you might remember the one I shared in January 1st’s newsletter).
This topic is yet another rabbit hole, full of fascinating examples, and I’d love to dive deeper into it.
How about we explore it in the next newsletter? 😉
- Read also: “The Martha Cooper Movie by Selina Miles“
- Read also: “Loading: Street Art in the Digital Age“
