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Never mind what's hanging on the walls of the Prado or Met. How about that sticker on a lamppost in Stockholm, wall mural in Cape Town, or luminescent graffiti in San Francisco? For a real dose of global artistic zeitgeist, the funky designs adorning public and private property on metropolitan streets could be as illuminating as a visit to the MOMA. At least, that's the theory behind the Galerie De Meerse's -- Hoofddorp's (Amsterdam) "Art in..." series, an annual project exploring subcultural artistic expression. From Tehran to Jerusalem, Sao Paulo to Lima, New York City to Salt Lake City, attempts to keep artistic malcontents coloring within the lines loses out to the world-as-canvas ethic. So check it out; for some, art in Paris doesn't just mean the Louvre anymore.

Once you get past the dire warning about cursing and the slightly confusing navigation (scroll down and click on the big white arrows), you'll find some spray-painted gems in this collection of city snapshots. Using tagged expanses of brick, cement, glass, metal, and plywood as subjects, the contributors to this photo "Gallery of Grime" have tracked down moments of beauty and desperation in the often hidden landscape of urban street expression. You won't see any portraits of those who left their messages -- or the "spotters" who noticed their work -- but it's just as compelling to watch the walls speak for themselves. In settings as diverse as Tel Aviv, Sydney, Reykjavik, London, and New York, the statements captured in these images range from political to literary -- but always with a powerful undercurrent of the humanity standing just outside the frame.

This exceedingly hip portfolio of New York street art features dozens of graffiti murals, aerosol stencils, wheat-paste posters, tile mosaics, and magic marker sketches. All of this stuff is currently on display on the streets of the Big Apple, but you're free to browse from your aeron chair by neighborhood or artist. Be sure to check out the work of our favorite artists and then discover your own. Bast delivers a cut-up, Warhol vibe, while Harlem's De La Vega offers a cheery, aphoristic mix of Haring and Basquiat. Space Invader leaves familiar-looking aliens crafted from kitchen tiles, and the Aerosol Kingz mash up the Matrix with old school subway tags. For sheer beauty and mystery, though, check out Swoon.