Eleven Spring: A Celebration of Street Art - Tapa dura

"Artists covered the interior walls with their latest, most ambitious efforts, transforming a casual auld-lang-syne get-together into a state-of-the-art statement that ranged from classic tagging to new adventures in papering, printing, varnishing, installation and, in one impressive instance, crayon. There were lines around the block."

—Roberta Smith, The New York Times

In December of 2006, an unlikely group of nearly 100 street artists from all over the world came together to participate in an art show celebrating Eleven Spring Street, long a premiere destination on the international Street Art map. The New York Times wrote, "One of the best shows of the season flamed past just before Christmas: a weekend long display of graffiti created by artists from around the world at, and in honor of, 11 Spring Street." The methodology was mixed media to the max: Wheat paste, paper, spray paint, house paint, markers, metal objects, found objects...the result was chaotic yet undeniably arresting. Marc and Sara Schiller of the Wooster Collective curated the three-day event, calling the show Wooster on Spring. It featured street art superstars like Shepard Fairey and Swoon as well as emergent talents including JR, Prune, and Doze Green.

The result was a potent mix of artists who brought the street inside by re-claiming the walls for themselves, and a tipping point for what has become an international art world phenomenon. The three-day public viewing session was a landmark downtown event that drew crowds in the thousands, with people waiting up to five hours to get inside.

With an Introduction by Shepard Fairey, an Afterword by JR, and an essay from Randy Kennedy of The New York Times, Eleven Spring captures an important moment in Street Art’s history. All the works that were created for the show were subsequently covered up or destroyed by renovation. Eleven Spring allows these vibrant works to live again, ready for a new generation of admirers to enjoy and celebrate.

Shepard Fairey is an internationally renowned American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator, humanitarian, and founder of OBEY Clothing and the OBEY Awareness Program. He lives in Los Angeles.