Process

One reason that street art continues to strive and survive in public spaces is highly attributed to the range of exploration found within the many processes, both old and new. Street art is not strictly limited to just two-dimensional works, since sculptural possibilities have been recognized. There is also an apparent cross-over between flat and dimensional work, displayed in various pieces. This is shown in the street artist Vhils' work, as he deliberately works with his materials in both ways, being careful not to limit himself. Check out an example of one of his many processed in the following video.



Here's a section of an interview taken from fatcap.com (FC), with the artist:

FC: You work with many types of supports and materials, what tools do you use?

Vhils: I’ve been experimenting with many media which don’t fit in your regular art tool kit. Because I aim at creating contrasts between the different layers that compose things, I like experimenting with tools which can remove layers and create the contrasts that help me in questioning the reality of our urban life. I enjoy working with randomness, and this randomness can be found beneath the layers of any material, whether it’s a wall or a massive overlaying of advertising posters. You can cut away at the layers to create your image but you don’t have full control over all the aspects of that creation, as you don’t know what images and patterns lie beneath them. This is a key concept in my work. The processes I follow also reflect the very ephemeral essence of life contained in the materials I use. Materials change with time and my pieces change along with them; the tools I use often catalyse this change and I’m interested in making this a part of the piece itself. So there is nothing static about them, it’s an ongoing process with nature. In order to do so I resort to several types of processes and tools which might provide interesting results: painting and cutting up old billboard posters, screen-printing with acid and bleach, using etching acid or bleach on wood and other materials I pick up in the street like pieces of walls from derelict buildings and so on. I use hammers, chisels and pneumatic drills to sculpt walls. All these techniques and tools revolve around a very similar work process: the removal of the layers that form the materials or objects and exposing the resulting contrasts as images.

Read the whole interview here if you please:
http://www.fatcap.com/article/vhils-interview.html

Too add, here's an example of inventive sculptural street art by Joshua Allen Harris that really takes advantage of the site specific spaces to give the work "life." It is highly interactive and really catches the viewer's eye due to the unexpected nature of the work.



However, the more traditional and mainstream approach to street art has been mostly composed of thin paper (bond) being pasted to surfaces outside. The street artist named Gaia borrows from traditional methods to create his work. In the video below, he uses a linoleum carving and ink wash to produce his image. He then shows the process of wheat pasting the piece on a brick building.