Commissioned Works

Commissioned street art in Berlin is often times viewed as a “sell-out” form of art, and is less respected by many graffiti artists. Many commissioned works, though still sometimes technically illegal, are produced by artists with financial backings from companies or corporations reaping the benefits of the artists’ works.

The Eye
Photo by Emily Locke

In fact, many famous graffiti artists like Blu, Swoon, and Roa use some agencies’ “financial support to leave their mark legally now with iconic large-scale murals” (Preece 127).

Girl
Photo by Emily Locke

As a result of the backing of companies, a lot of these murals still adorn the streets of Berlin because “city officials and other graffiti artists leave these commissioned works alone for the most part” (Preece 127).

She Sees
Photo by Emily Locke

Different companies and organizations have begun using street art as a means of advertisement, taking the current trends and using them to their advantage.

Continuation
Photo by Emily Locke

These companies now even pair with street artists, using their knowledge of the culture and current language and trends, mixed with the company’s financial backing, to create successful promotions that appeal to the younger generations (Maric).

Berlin

Weather

The Subway
Photos by Emily Locke

There is, however, still a clear difference between companies and most street artists. Street artists wish to affect a “particular public space by seizing its small part,” and the goal most of the time is not financial gain, but instead and “urge to create meaning which symbolizes his or her ideology and sense of aesthetics” (Maric). Companies, on the other hand, wish to use those spaces to benefit financially.