Stick Em Up

Spurred on by ground-breaking innovation from a coterie of underground artists world-wide, many of whom are renowned exponents of graffiti, the sticker craze answers a need for instant coverage via a barely conspicious action. Prepared in advance from an array of materials and techniques, including appropriated and altered labels, self-adhesive film, stencils, colour-copies and computer print-outs, these elaborate and distinctive artworks are capable of blanket coverage at street level. From the tiniest, most exquisite, hand-coloured or vinyl examples, to giant wheat-pasted murals and finely-engineered stencils, this book encompasses all forms of instant coverage. Not to be ignored, in terms of the language of graphics, stickers represent a never-before articulated dichotomy, as technology and lo-fi mark making create an instant revolution in communication; these messages are subversive, imaginative, amusing and often-times intriguingly coded. Having circumnavigated the globe and dug into archives, authors have amassed some rare finds, both as originals (unpeeled and pristine) and in-situ photographs. Represented here are highly prized examples from cities renowned for their sticker art, including San Francisco, New York, London, Tokyo and Amsterdam, alongside choice finds from locations off the beaten track, including Stockholm, Antwerp, Manchester, Paris, Reykjavik, Melbourne and Berlin