Street art is a form of artwork that is displayed in a community on its surrounding buildings, streets, and other publicly viewed surfaces.
Many instances come in the form of guerrilla art, which is composed to make a public statement about the society that the artist lives within. The work has moved from the beginnings of graffiti and vandalism to new modes where artists work to bring messages, or just simple beauty, to an audience.
Some artists use "smart vandalism" as a way to raise awareness of social and political issues.
Others simply see urban space as an untapped format for personal artwork, while others may appreciate the challenges and risks that are associated with installing illicit artwork in public placesA common motive is that creating art in a format which utilizes public space allows artists who may otherwise feel disenfranchised to reach a much broader audience than other styles or galleries would allow.
"Permission" by Banksy
"Crime od Minds" by Alice Pasquini
"Big Raccoon" by B0rdallo II
"Rise above Cop" by Shepard Fairey
Whereas traditional graffiti artists have primarily used spray paint to produce their work, "street art" encompasses many other media, such as LED art, mosaic tiling, murals, stencil art, sticker art, "Lock On" sculptures, street installations, wheatpasting, woodblocking, yarn bombing, and rock balancing.
New media forms such as projection onto large city buildings are an increasingly popular tool for street artists—and the availability of cheap hardware and software allows street artists to become more competitive with corporate advertisements. Much like open source software, artists are able to create art for the public realm from their personal computers, similarly creating things for free which compete with companies making things for profit.
Some observers use the term "independent public art" to describe a type of street art, which can also include work in remote places that may not be visited by an audience, and may also be short-lived. An ephemeral instance of colored smoke in the forest, or a precarious rock balance are examples.