"Conrad is an aggregator of street art," said veteran Philly street artist Joe Boruchow. "He's the Huffington Post of Philly street art."
Benner is not simply a documentarian. Artists often invite him along as they work so he can photograph their process. And he does his own brand of art - glitter-bombing - by covering regular street objects with glitter.
Street art is loosely defined and generally encapsulates any art shown in a public space. But it's not limited to tagging, which often showcases the artist's name and little else.
Street art as defined by Benner could be graphics, such as the work of famed British street artist Banksy or the stark black-and- white paper cutouts of Boruchow. Or street art can manifest itself in more substantial ways, like the large origami crane Benner recently photographed hanging near Christ Church in Old City, or through the work of Ishknits, a Philly-based, self-described "yarnbomber" who creates yarn-based sculptures, like the pink sweater the Rocky statue sported last spring.
"If you have an idea and you are empowered enough to do it and you post it all over the city, maybe a few will get taken down," said Benner about the artists he follows. "But you build this respect and you build this audience. You just create the art. You don't have to think 'Will this gallery owner like it?' You just do what you want to do."
Benner, born and raised in Fishtown, now makes his living as a social-media manager at a local ad agency that discovered him through his blog work at city blogs like Philebrity and Philthy. (In the interest of full disclosure, Benner freelances for Phrequency, a sister site of Philly.com.)
