Visual space in street art and graffiti - Essay Example

The Growth of Street Art and Graffiti in Visual Space: Cultural Arts in the Making al Affiliation The Growth of Street Art and Graffiti in Visual Space: Cultural Arts in the Making Art has been extensively growing in the global context of visual space. The expansion of arts in terms of its different forms, styles, and even on artists can be observed clearly. Street art and graffiti are often tied with each other (Irvine, 2012, p. 235) and are just the few of arts’ popular forms. The popularity of the two may have influenced a lot for the growth of arts in visual culture. With such, this paper is made to present and analyze the growth of the two and how both directed the concept of occupying visual space. Street art and graffiti may not sound new to a lot of people. Specifically, street art is considered as an art movement in a global and modern perspective. It started as “an underground, anarchic, in-your-face appropriation of public visual surface” (Irvine, 2012, p. 235). Therefore, the main medium for street art and graffiti are city walls and other public walls and areas where one can create, install, or draw artworks, may these be visual or installed through sculptures. There are different beginnings of the movement; others consider that it had begun in 2010 while others also state that the movement began on January 2011 at Cairo. Nonetheless, whether or not when and where it all started the common notions for street art and graffiti is that it is an “underground culture” (Abaza, 2013, p. 125). It is a significant “turning point” which is similar to the emergence of the Pop art (Irvine, 2012, p. 236). However, the importance of street art and graffiti goes beyond the message as it also presents the importance to the medium it uses. Moreover, the visual spaces that graffiti or other street art occupies are considered as a having “symbolic values” (Irvine, 2012, p. 238). The values of these visual spaces go beyond the necessity for a place or space to display. It is a representation of the challenge by the society itself, represented by the artists, against monopoly of the business world and the government itself (Irvine, 2012, p. 237). Another important aspect of street and graffiti art is the art itself. According to Dickenson, New York city was one of the cities where graffiti art first emerged. These visual artworks were made in as a representation of the “race, class, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion etc.” of the artist or group of artists (Dickenson, 2008, p. 27). During this time, the public visual space used for the graffiti in New York was considered as nuances to business establishments. Nonetheless, by the time that New York experienced financial crisis, the poor became poorer. To voice out their sentiments about the social gap, artists went beyond using public walls and utilized the spaces in public transits or subways. In this way, graffiti became “message-oriented” (Dickenson, 2008. p. 31) as it was able to reach a wider audience and allowed others to join in sending a message. More importantly, it became a collective process that encourages creativity wherein artists, or anyone can add, alter, or reestablish the message of the art they see on the streets and the different mobile media. Aside from this, considering that art is a revolutionary process that does not keep still and idle, art medium also evolved with it. In particular, in Brazil, portable forms of graffiti were made, which is known as the lambe-lambes. The most common themes of theses mobile medium and artworks are anchored on the drawings made by children or with “pop culture icons merged with religious ones” (Melo, 2010, p. 10). Another public space used for graffiti in Brazil was the billboards and signage for advertisements and real-estate. These public spaces became visual spaces as most of these were considered were installed illegally in Sao Paulo. With this on hand, the artivist, or the activist artist, utilized these spaces as their canvasses for “urban interventions” (Melo, 2010, p. 13). With these contexts of graffiti or visual art in general, being part of the public sphere, or using public spaces as visual canvass is more than what meets the eyes. In Brazil, graffiti became a medium to renounce homelessness in the country. On the other hand, in New York, graffiti became a medium to call for attention for important social matters. On the other hand, graffiti was not the only artworks displayed and used public spaces. In Quebec, visual public spaces also became a home for sculptures. The artist, such as Roger Langevin, during the linguistic struggle in Quebec, sculpted a representation of his national hero, which is titled as “Debout.” With this on hand, the concept of public art in Quebec became more than just a public topic or debate. The public installations are considered as medium that delivers “eternal truths, yet it participates in narratives limited by circumstances, time, and place” (Gerin, 2006, p. 329). In particular, public art, or street art and graffiti, illustrates the idea and use of spaces which then supplements that notion that cultural codes are essential in the society where these are displayed publicly (Gerin, 2006). Therefore, one can say that, more than just a social or collective movement, public art, street art, or graffiti, also defines the cultural code of a society. It resembles or represents the notion of collectiveness, cultural change, adaptation, and numerous forms of social text and subtext that form a society as it is. Conclusively, street and graffiti artworks existed with the purest intentions of delivering messages for the public interest. They both are forms of art that are significantly used to relay deep and meaningful realizations, opinions, and voices which are commonly expressed by an array of individuals. The growth of public art, or street and graffiti art, over the years, only proves that change is inevitable. Changes, in terms of style, approach, medium, have been occurring, however, the goal of these artworks remain the same; to deliver a message of hope, the need for change, and to breakdown social classes and barriers. The public spaces as medium allow these messages to reach an extensive audience. Therefore, the emergence of this movement is a radical shift to the notion that art is only for the wealthy. References Abaza, M. (2013). Walls, segregating downtown Cairo and the Mohammed Mahmud street graffiti. Theory, Culture, & Society, 30(1), 122-139. Dickenson, M. (2008). The making of space, race, and place: New York City’s war on graffiti, 1970 – the present. Critique of Anthropology, 28(1), 27-45. Gerin, A. (2006). Maitres Chez Nous Public Art and Linguistic Identity in Quebec. In G. Sherbert, A. Gerin, & S. Petty. (Eds.). Essays on Canadian culture. Canada: Wilfred Laurier University Press. Irvine, M. (2012). The work on the street: Street art and visual culture. In B. Sandywell & I. Heywood. (Eds.). The hand book of visual culture (235-278). Bedford Square, London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. Melo, C. (2010). Performing sem-teto: The transversal tactics of artivismo and the squatters’ movement. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 19(1), 1-21. Read More