Street Sketchbook

by Tristan Manco

Published 29 October 2007
Here is an unprecedented look at the sketchbooks of some of the world's leading street and graffiti artists. It showcases an incredible diversity of working methods, innovative approaches and personal fixations, including declarations of love, typographic explorations, alter egos, storyboards, mythological creatures, anatomical studies, architectural drawings and extreme doodling. They may be diverse, but they all exude creativity and originality. Their publication will be seen as a landmark in graffiti publishing, and the book is set to be a world bestseller.

A wave of protest is in the air and on the walls! A new generation of politicized artists, designers and communicators the world over are using stencil art as an accessible yet powerful means of giving voice to their ideas. The Stencil Graffiti Handbook sees Tristan Manco back on the streets. Through an incomparable network of street-art contacts, gained through over two decades of immersion in the scene, Manco has scoured the globe to find the most interesting street artists working today – those operating outside of the mainstream market of ‘Urban Art’ and beneath the radar of everyone but the true cognoscenti.

Exploring the medium’s applications within grassroots activism as well as the contemporary craft scene, Manco brings this thriving artform to light. Showing both process and results, The Stencil Graffiti Handbook dives into street art’s essential elements – place, space, technique and subject – before taking to the streets to see how, where and why stencil graffiti is king. Also featuring studio visits with artists and practical, step-by-step guidance via artist-led projects, with specially commissioned instructional illustrations by the renowned Colombian collective Instituto Bogotano de Corte, The Stencil Graffiti Handbook is an unmissable education and inspiration for anyone with an open mind and a rebellious spirit.