STYLLE
READ
Story and photos by Rani Birchfield
T
exas native Stylle Read is known
throughout the state for his murals
depicting local history and lore. His pic-
torial histories grace the insides and outsides of
commercial buildings across the South and the
Southwest, but he’s most prolific in Texas.
Read has become one of our documentarians,
illustrating our past and present on oversized
venues.
Painted walls go by many names, the most
common being murals, street art or graffiti.
What’s the difference? Perhaps it’s money and
intent, but Wikipedia (yes, Wikipedia because
it’s simple and clear) defines Street Art as:
“visual art created in public locations, usually
unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of
traditional art venues.”
4
Murals are usually agreements between the
property owner and an artist. Payment is ren-
dered to the artist, and the art itself is oftentimes
licensed and owned. Street art is more demo-
cratic – art for the public not limited to galleries
and unable to be “owned” by just one person,
although murals have the same overall effect in
terms of who can view them. Graffiti is typical-
ly spray art done without permission from the
building owners. The basic difference is permis-
sion – with permission, it’s art; without, it’s van-
dalism. (There are, of course, gray areas – think
Banksy and Shepard Fairey.)
Humankind has been painting on walls for
Cenizo
Third Quarter 2016
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