Thank You Thursdays: Street Artists

I was recently reminded of my love for street art by a serendipitous meeting with a young, feminist photographer, Lauren Besser. Check out her work; it’s inspiring.
Street art is so exciting because it abandons one of the most elite, racist, sexist spheres still in existence (“the art world”) for a more liberatory, inclusive horizon: the streets. It operates on the assumption that no one can tell you if you are an artist, no one can anoint you worthy of display or reverence, no one can give you the legitimizing stamp of approval. Except you, of course. You just need some darkness and a little paint.
This counterculture movement is often cast as a masculine endeavor, but there are female street artists covertly covering our concrete jungles with their own unique stickers, stencils, posters, and sculpture. See this piece by the most famous female street artist, Swoon:

And this one by imminent disaster:

And more after the jump. Thanks to Lauren for all of the magical pics.

miss van, a pioneer in French graffiti:

kundalini of Chicago: