The sticker has long been a preferred medium for both advertisers as well as (street) artists. In fact, sticker art is without doubt the most common and democratic technique in street art; you would have to try very hard not to encounter any adhesive labels on the streets.
People have always felt the urge to inscribe their names on natural and man-made objects in public space, particularly when visiting special places abroad. This phenomenon indeed dates back all the way to prehistory.
When street art emerged at the turn of the twenty-first century, it was revolutionary in the sense that it concerns art that is not intended to end up in a white cube – typically a place where an admission fee is charged, where you have to keep your distance to the works exhibited, where attendants keep an eye on you and where taking pictures may not be allowed. Instead, it is art meant for anyone to enjoy without restriction.
Art in museums is carefully preserved and, if necessary, restored in order to be kept indefinately. Street art, on the other hand, is finite by its very nature. Ephemerality is in fact one of its defining features. Some street art may be around for years. This holds true particularly for murals (although muralism kind of falls into a category of its own).
