Graffiti. Street art. Tagging. Whatever you call it, the genre's grown from what some see as a property nuisance to the province of the art world (see Banksy). Who is behind the spray-painted murals across Chicago, the sometimes gravity-defyingly tagged buildings? You'd be surprised.
"You can be a criminal or very straight-laced. One who's willing not to conform," says Amuse, who has been a graffiti artist for more than 15 years. "I pay taxes; I do a whole bunch of by-the-book things."
"Most people in my life don't know I do this," says Greve, who has over 20 years under his belt creating street art. "Maybe that's part of the allure for me. My mom still has no clue and I'm 36 years old."
Though street art has grown up and is widely recognized through the art world, it's still a daily struggle. "It's almost a purist genre within a genre. Street art has become more acceptable," says Greve. "It's still misunderstood. You still can't buy spray paint in Chicago."
"I've had more cops than not say 'What the F are you doing? You're white and you're around 47th and whatever,' which is surprising," said Amuse. "I use that to my advantage. It is probably the only social scene that has a demographic ranging from the lowest of the low to extremely wealthy, blue chip artists, and can still be under one label and get away with it. Art dealers are still paying for it. It doesn't matter your social standing. It matters what you do."
"Most of my work now is commission," said Greve. "I think I'm allowed most of those because of actions when I was a teenager."
Now an advertising director, Greve says there's a different rush from winning new commissions from major brands, as well as a different set of rules. "Everybody wants graffiti, but don't know what they want," he said.
Today, the work is not just an expression, but a competition.
"We have purposes to why we do it, and even if we don't have a purpose, we're doing it," said Amuse. "It's fun and creative. People are intrigued by an unframed picture. It's infused in adverting, it's in everyone's faces. It's not meant to have an understanding. We all push ourselves to what we see as our purpose for it."
"It's like an extreme sport." said Greve. "Why not just take a photo and not worry about ending up in the county jail? It's a competition and a challenge just to stay relevant in 2015."