Stencil graffiti, serigraffiti or pochoir Seems to appear on a wider scale in Paris, mid-80's, and soon thereafter in Berlin and New York. It is usually executed by academic trained artists, albeit this is an illegal art form.
The ìstencilî could be either negative or positive, and it is commonly cut out in cardboard, plastic or metal to leave a pattern, a text or a picture on the wall, sometimes repeated and varied; it is set tight up on the wall and held steadily while spray painted.
Well known stencil artist are Blek le Rat in France, Die Bananen Sprayer in Germany and John Fekner in USA, but there are hundreds of others major or minor stencil artists too.
Lit.: Huber, Joerg: Serigraffitis. Hazan, Paris 1986. and Robinson, David: SoHo Walls. T&H, N.Y. 1990.
Source: The International Dictionary of Aerosol Art