Street Art London By Frank Steam156 Malt Book Review
Street Art London by Frank ‘Steam 156’ Malt
Published by Dokument Press, ISBN 978_9185639588, 272 pages, medium format (18 x 21cm), full colour.
Frank ‘Steam 156’ Malt is best known for his decades of work documenting spray can graffiti. Inevitably this has brought him into contact with the street art movement so that hot on the heels of his 100 UK Graffiti Artists book comes this comprehensive round up of the last few years of street art in London. Unlike earlier books from other authors on the same subject Frank has taken the time to source direct quotes from the artists involved and have their work correctly attributed. These insights provide essential context to how the artist views London. For instance we get to learn that Roa’s massive hedgehog on a side of a building in Shoreditch is actually a metaphor for springtime and rebirth harking back to his childhood memories. All of which means this book gives a depth to the subject that hasn’t really been seen before in such a comprehensive volume. Between this book and New Street Art by Claude Crommelin there isn’t much that has happened on the streets of London in recent times that hasn’t made it into print. Both are recommended as being the best books on the capitals street art to date.
Street Art London _ Frank ‘Steam 156’ Malt