A common use is to make chains of paper rings, often from colored
construction paper. It can also be used to create
papier-mâché. In the
fine arts, wheat starch paste is often used in preparation and presentation. A good wheat starch paste has a strength compatible with many paper artifacts, remains reversible over time, is neither too acidic or alkaline, and is white.
Activists and various
subculture proponents often use this adhesive to
flypost propaganda and artwork. It has also commonly been used by commercial bill posters since the nineteenth century. In particular, it was widely used by nineteenth and twentieth century
circus bill posters, who developed a substantial culture around paste manufacture and postering campaigns. In the field of
alcohol and
nightclub advertising, in the 1890s,
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's posters were so popular that instructions were published on how to peel down the pasted posters without damage. Until the 1970s, commercial poster hangers always "cooked" their own paste, but since then many have bought pre-cooked instant pastes. It is applied to the backside of paper then placed on flat surfaces, particularly concrete and metal as it does not adhere well to wood or plastic. Cheap, rough paper such as
newsprint, works well, as it can be briefly dipped in the mixture to saturate the fibres. When
hanging unauthorized billboards or signage, to reduce the danger of being caught, wheatpasters frequently work in teams or
affinity groups. In the United States and Canada, this process is typically called "wheatpasting" or "poster bombing", even when using commercial wallpaper paste instead of traditional wheat paste. In the United Kingdom, commercial wheatpasting is called
flyposting and wheatpasting associated with
urban art is called
paste up. ==See also==