Art Statement
The cold, concrete walls of the spaces we inhabit have become living canvases. Crying
out to be heard as though they have come alive with every spray of an aerosol can or smoothing
of a sticker or poster, they act as reflections of ourselves and the cities in which we live.
Blotches of color and the curvature of thick black lines speak to us as the poetry of our time and
illustrate the cultural climate and political commentary of our everyday lives. Their messages,
too loud to be ignored, make looking down while walking nearly impossible and instead force us
to lift our eyes and observe our surroundings.
Graffiti and street art are generally described as any form of unsanctioned art that occurs in a
public or privately owned space. Typically the terms are used synonymously, but works belonging
to each term possess qualities that represent differences in style, motivation, and purpose.
Unsanctioned art is exhibited through various mediums—including tags, pieces, sculpture,
stenciling, sticker art, art intervention, flash mobs, yarn bombing, and street installations.
Unconstrained by form, medium, or message, the art form offers creative freedom and while artists
have varied motivations behind what drives their work, graffiti and street art tend to carry strong
subversive messages for activism. Gregory Snyder mentions in his work, Graffiti Lives: Beyond the
Tag in New York's Urban Underground, that “while the reaction [to graffiti] from the public [is]
often positive, the reaction from City Hall [is] not” (24). It was not long before the art form was
constructed into an urban problem in which government officials saw its eradication as a means to
secure the “perception that the politicians were back in control” (25). This would only solve the
problem of appearances, however, and would “take precedence
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over actual structural changes that might reduce the conditions that produce crime” (25). Now
considered illegal vandalism, it is the reclaiming of public spaces for unendorsed art that
continues to exemplify a form of political resistance acting as a major force for change as well
as an act of rebellion in itself (17). Some artists and their works have become highly
commercialized and mainstream, while others—particularly those who use their art to
communicate anti-greed or anti-corporation messages—are still seen as vandals.
The word graffiti, from the Italian graffiare, meaning “to scratch,” has been used to
describe a variety of wall writings including prehistoric cave paintings and a wide variety of
political, sexual, humorous, and self-identifying messages that have been scratched, painted, and
marked on walls throughout history (Castleman xi). Graffiti has been found on carved rocks in
the ancient Egyptian town of Abu Simbel, and has also been discovered in the Italian city of
Pompeii (Bartholome and Snyder). Ancient graffiti messages addressed topics from the
pleasures of food to advice on love and friendship (Bartholome and Snyder). While modern
graffiti is more self-conscious and literate as a means of reflecting on current affairs, research on
ancient graffiti has revealed that it was often raunchy in tone (Bartholome and Snyder).
The earliest stages of what is known in the present day as street art, began in 1960s New
York City with hip hop graffiti. Rebellious youth used spray paint and markers to “tag” their
names on walls and subway cars around the city. According to Devon Brewer’s Hip-Hop Graffiti
Writers' Evaluation of Strategies to Control Illegal Graffiti, "there [are] four major values in hip
hop graffiti: fame, artistic expression, power and rebellion" (188). That being said, it was the act
of tagging, also referred to as “getting up,” that was initially utilized as a means of gaining
reputation, popularity, fame, and respect among fellow graffiti artists, who refer to themselves as
writers. The subculture of graffiti soon “progressed from scribbled signatures done with magic
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markers to elaborate masterpieces done with multiple aerosol colors in the dark of the night,”
(Snyder 24) referred to as “pieces.” These pieces, as described by Leonard Kriegel in "Graffiti:
Tunnel Notes of a New Yorker,” were great artistic expressions “filled with curlicued shapes
and exploding slashes, zigzagging to a visual anarchy that testified to a love of color and line"
(432). As the art form began to develop and evolve, so did “its sense of purpose” (Castleman
19). No longer were writers “content simply to write their names,” but instead, “accompan[ied]
their works with messages” (40) that offered commentary “on current political and social issues”
(43) forcing the passerby to examine and question things (Ferrante).
The art form “flirts in the public eye,” almost as if hiding in plain sight, “revealing all”
while somehow managing not to reveal too much (Macdonald 2). Often times:
We are unaware that the city walls are alive with its social drama. We don’t hear the
intricate commentaries they have to offer us about the lives, relationships and
identities of those who wrote them. And why should we even care? Because…this
drama, these commentaries and the vibrant subculture that lies behind them have a
great deal to tell us about the culture we live in and some of the people who share it
with us. (2)
So, how does street art communicate socially relevant, and often times strongly political, themes
to the public? How has the art form proven to be a catalyst for both political and social change,
and how is this reflected in various cultures? What are the identifiable characteristics of street
art that have led to its acceptance, and, ultimately, the more serious aesthetic appreciation the art
form has experienced?
This paper will explore the history and progressive development of street art by focusing on
its place in society throughout the years. I will investigate primary, secondary, and third level
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critical sources, reviews, analysis, and theories behind the art form. In addition, I will observe the
artwork of well-known street artists Banksy (English), Jean-Michel Basquiat (American), JR
(French), and Shepard Fairey (American) as well as street art and graffiti exhibitions. I will also
examine journals, texts, documentary films and videos, and research studies of the art form by
street art experts, and political and cultural scholars.
For this project, I will focus on the ways in which graffiti and street art have instigated
public action by exploring how the art form has been used in America, Egypt, and Brazil as a
means of empowering the people of these nations. A brief history of unauthorized art will be
addressed paying particular attention to graffiti and the evolution of the art from to include
present-day street art. It is important to note that the last decade of the art form will provide the
primary context for this analysis. American street art will be the main focus, while examples of
the art form in Brazil and Egypt will be used to present comparative references. American
graffiti, as a generic term, will be used to illustrate how the art form has evolved into a
commercial art that is being showcased in museums, in contrast to graffiti that emerges as a
response to major political and social crises and upheavals taking place around the globe as
exhibited in Egypt and Brazil.
It is the premise of this investigation that throughout the years, street art has evolved from
graffiti writing into a social and artistic movement blanketing the walls of cities around the world
in its various forms. The art form continues to communicate messages in the public arena that are
accessible to all, and acts as an instrument for advocacy and an essential element and reflection
of the human existence. It remains a vital instrument of protest to bring about social change for
communities of people who have no voice. While street art has become mainstream and
commercialized in certain instances, the art form offers a visual expression of protest that
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empowers those who cannot be silenced any longer, and however brief—the shift of power is too
great to be ignored.
Reference
Abel, Ernest L. and Barbara E. Buckley. The Handwriting on the Wall: Toward a
Sociology and Psychology of Graffiti. Connecticut: Greenwood, 1977.
“Artists Use Graffiti to Tell Egypt Revolution’s Stories.” Rawya Rageh. Al
Jazeera English, Cairo. 27 Feb. 2012.
Baker, Lindsay. "Banksy: off the Wall - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph
Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. 28 Mar. 2008. Web.
14 Nov. 2011.
.
Banksy, Robin. Bansky: Wall and Piece. London: Random House Group Limited, 2005.
Print.
Bartholome, Lynn, and Philip Snyder. "Is it Philosophy or Pornography? Graffiti at the
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que." The Journal of American Culture 27.1 (2004): 86-98.
Brewer, Devon D. Hip-Hop Graffiti Writers' Evaluation of Strategies to Control
Illegal Graffiti. 1992. Human Organization 2.
Bridge, Gary and Sophie Watson, eds. A Companion to the City, Oxford: Blackwell.
2000. Print.
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