Alan Ket's 'Urban Art Legends' Profiles 38 Graffiti and Street Art Pioneers

Alan Ket, known as KET, a New York graffiti writer, curator, and advocate, authored 'Urban Art Legends,' a survey of 38 artists who transformed graffiti and street art into a global cultural force. Published by Loom Art in Great Britain in 2015, the book opens with an introduction framing graffiti as part of 'this other art world'—a parallel recognition system outside conventional institutions. It then presents compact profiles with color reproductions, biographical sketches, and commentary on career milestones, stylistic evolutions, crew affiliations, and crossovers into galleries, museums, and commercial collaborations. The roster spans generations and geographies, from early New York train writers to European stencil pioneers and later street artists intersecting with design, fashion, and fine art. Emphasis is on influence and trajectory rather than celebrity, highlighting dual identities of artists moving between street and studio, illegality and institutional acceptance. The structure is accessible for newcomers. Text is by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, with photos by Diana Paun. The book is part of the Books In The MCL series featured on Brooklyn Street Art.