Stencil Graffiti (Street Graphics / Street Art) [Paperback]

Tristan Manco (Author)

Book Description

Series: Street Graphics / Street Art | Publication Date: April 2002

In Stencil Graffiti, the first book to examine comprehensively this design phenomenon, Tristan Manco traces the history of stencil art and provides an exciting and thorough overview of the medium. His introduction traces the history of the form, from cave paintings, Chinese silks and Egyptian pyramids to Art Nouveau pochoirs and the Pop art forerunners of stencil art, and then proceeds to a specific history of Stencil Graffiti, tracing its genesis in the Italian fascist propaganda of the 1940s and Basque and Mexican political protests of the 1970s, and examining Stencil Style (typography, functional stencilling, street signage, advertising, decoration). The core of the book is the state of Stencil Graffiti today, from Pop Art to individual street artists' work plus spreads arranged by theme/subject.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

By now a familiar sight on city streets, Stencil Graffiti gets a tribute in this book showcasing the work of the most prominent and important stencil artists working today. Author and U.K.-based graphic artist Tristan Manco gives a brief history of the form (whose origins he traces to the political street stencils of Fascist Italy and other Southern European and Latin American movements), then spotlights artists like Thomas Baumgertel, whose signature bananas decorate surfaces all over Cologne; Miss-Tic, creator of sultry female figures ubiquitous in Paris; British parodist Bansky, who got his start in "the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s" and other, mostly European talents.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Tristan Manco is a partner in a Bristol-based design company, and is extremely well-known and active in the international graffiti community.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500283427
• ISBN-13: 978-0500283424
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Handsome book; not too deep, February 23, 2003

By 

W. Revis (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stencil Graffiti (Street Graphics / Street Art) (Paperback)

For someone who is simply interested in seeing full color photos of stencil graffiti then Manco's book would be a great purchase. Manco profiles key artist from around the world as well as touching lightly on stencil and graffiti history (Information which is readily available else where both online and in print.) As an aside, the book does speak briefly on the philosophy of graffiti in the urban landscape.

Sadly the book is little more than a nice looking coffee table book. Artist looking for a guidebook or text that speaks more about the technical aspects of stencil graffiti should look elsewhere. As it is the book is an interesting (though not too informative) slide show of street art.

Still, it's a good purchase for fans of the art form or those who are interested in street pop art.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Book lacks depth, August 16, 2003

By 

AIR33.ORG (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stencil Graffiti (Street Graphics / Street Art) (Paperback)

This book is being reviewed quite heavily these days and after reviewing it myself, I can only conclude that this is because of the Publishers' credentials in publishing books on street art. I found that this book fell short on my expectations, even though much of the material was interesting. While it was enlightening to read the brief articles on the history of stencil graffiti, and how stenciling started back to 22,000 in cave paintings, the book quickly lost steam. Many of the artists featured here are well known, however there are many photos featuring industrial uses of stencils which neither are graffiti art, stencil graffiti or art in any type of form. This really detracted form what I assumed the book was featuring. Most of the interesting features were on European artists such as the "bananensprayer" in Cologne, Germany, or Bansky who mixed political satire with his various works. Although many stencil artists are features from all over Europe, and the United States as well as a whole page spread of works from Morocco, I really missed the interviews which should have accompanied these images. While I would not purchase the book for my personal collection, many of the photos showcased the dizzying array of effects which were possible to achieve with something as simple as a stencil.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars for the love of graffiti, October 20, 2008

By 

Albert schweitzer (florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stencil Graffiti (Street Graphics / Street Art) (Paperback)

This book is so inspiring, and filled with amazing stories, and artists showing all forms of the art of graffiti. It is informative on the use of stencils and other mediums artists used to get the effects they did for their work. It is a great book to have if you LOVE graffiti.. :)