Culture: The Commercialization Of Street Art

(Drivebycuriosity) - On the streets of New York City you can find a lot of street art. Especially in Southern Manhattan (East Village, Soho, Lower East Side) many walls are covered by murals, graffiti and other incarnations of this elusive art form.

Those images are controversial, of course. Some despise street art and call it vandalism and in some places those unauthorized displays are outlawed. But New York City seems to love it. And many shop owners - and other companies - use street art as part of their marketing.

They commission street artists to paint murals and other images on their walls or they mimic street art in their advertisements. Thus street artists have an additional way to finance their living which boost the whole scene and makes New York City more attractive.

Here a collection of pictures I took recently in Lower Manhattan. Enjoy.