Related to Hip-Hop

About

Hip-hop took shape at block parties in the Bronx in the early 1970s, and visual art was part of it from the start. The culture is often described through four elements, DJing, rapping, breakdancing and graffiti, and the painted subway cars of New York were its most public face. Henry Chalfant photographed whole trains as they passed, published Subway Art (1984) with Martha Cooper and co-produced the documentary Style Wars (1983).

Graphic design gave the music its look. Cey Adams shaped logos and record sleeves for Def Jam artists in the 1980s, and Janette Beckman's portraits of early crews recorded the tracksuits, jewellery and poses that fans copied. Jean-Michel Basquiat produced the single Beat Bop (1983) and drew its cover. Later painters have taken up hip-hop's confidence and self-invention, as in Kehinde Wiley's portraits of young men in streetwear set against ornate patterned grounds.