When thinking about street art, one must quickly draw the line between art and damage to property. The image of graffiti on walls in a subway tunnel might come to mind. If it is not in a legal place, then it is damage to property. The street artist must carefully walk this line.

In this book, we have been interested in those who have moved from tagging walls to moving into the business world. Street art is usually in public spaces—i.e. abandoned buildings, street cars, etc. But the artists in this book have made the move to galleries and museums.

These artists have made their impact by placing their art in places that are not illegal and they are gaining impact because of it. Oftentimes, cities will make certain areas available to the artist (under a bridge, on a vent structure downtown, or on the side of a building, for example) and pay them to fill these spaces. This is done so that it does not get covered with graffiti, but is instead covered with well-done street art.

One startling example of the ability to make himself stand out from the rest is Thierry Guetta. He is a bit of a legend and he is an entrepreneur that figured out ways to make money by making art. His story is told in the movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop." He is known in the street art world as Mr. Brainwash.

He was born in Paris, but moved to Los Angeles, where he ran a clothing store. He became really interested in making videos of street artists creating their work. He eventually spent so much time following other artists that he thought he'd give it a try on his own. He had made friends with such famous artists as Banksy and Shepard Fairey. The strange thing about him is that he didn't actually create most of the art, but used a team of graphic designers to make it. He skipped the step of finding his own method and voice for art, relying on a team of trained professionals.

When he did his first gallery show, he used the team of designers to carry out the ideas he had imagined. He also used words of support from Banksy and Shepard Fairey to promote his show. This quickly established him as a top name in the street art world. Mr. Brainwash has made millions of dollars this way, by creating a commercial need for his art.

He has done artwork in connection with Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Street art has made its way out of the street and into many important music projects. Hip hop videos have featured graffiti, going back to the 1980s with movies like "Beat Street," "Breakin'," and "Krush Groove." It continued to show up in music in the 1990s with the Beastie Boys video for the song "Root Down." In the 2000s, we have seen examples of street art in projects such as Jay-Z's book Decoded or work by the band Coldplay, whose latest album in 2011, entitled Mylo Xyloto, featured street art on its cover and in the lyrics of the album.

There is a website that tracks the sightings of street art around the world. It is clear that this is a worldwide movement. It is up to the artist who thinks like an entrepreneur to find their way in this form of art that has circled the globe. It all begins with the first brush of paint!