Review: Untitled II – The Beautiful Renaissance

Review: Untitled II – The Beautiful Renaissance

By Arden de Raaij

Yes, I am ashamed. It must be like a year ago I received the amazing book ‘Untitled II – The Beautiful renaissance’ after reviewing  part 1 (Untitled – Street art in the counter culture) . I wanted to do a huge review on the book, uncovering all the details and explaining why it’s the most amazing and witty street art book for sale up to date. In fact, I wanted to do such a huge review that it still didn’t happened. So yes, that’s what I’m ashamed.

Instead of the 4 pages review I fantasized about, I’ll give you something short and powerful about this masterpiece.

When I reviewed the last book, I told you Untitled was in a league of its own. The second part definitely confirms this.

The hard cover version of the book is just beautiful. It has a paper sleeve with the same image as on the soft cover version. This paper will definitely wear off in time, but that is no problem at all! Because underneath lays a pristine white cover with the title and subtitle written in gold. So imagine, long after all the art work displayed in this book is gone, long after this blog is gone, you will pull out this book from the shelves and have the perfect memory of what is happening right now.

And you might ask yourself if something is actually happening in the world of street art right now, but the book is not called ‘the beautiful renaissance’ for nothing now, is it? Just flicking through the pages you will realize that this might be a golden age for street art. The book covers amazing images from Banksy, Swoon, Michael de Feo, Blu, Erica Il Caine, JR, ‘a galaxy of the stars’, Dolk, Pobel and many others.

Besides the great images and amazing lay-out, the book has some clever text in there as well. Unlike the previous part this time it is not limited to a few witty lines. Now don’t think full pages, but the small stories in there have something substantial. Some of these are just funny, others give some real food for thought as well. The text is a huge part of what sets this book apart from other street art books. I could tell you and give quotes all day long but that wouldn’t bring across how smart it really is, you just have to find that out yourselves.

So, to sum this all up: If you are about to spend your money on a book about street art, don’t doubt for a second. Untitled II is worth every cent (and if you can spare something extra, go for the hardcover!). So it’s 10/10, A+, the best of the best or whatever you want to call it.

Go get it at untitledstreetart.co.uk or the better bookstore near you. Better yet, fill in the code ‘fiver’ at your purchase and get 5 quid (that’s pound) off the price. Enjoy.