Street art: constantly in change in a cities under perpetual transition/development/gentrification. A way of speaking back to memorials and monuments

Street art: constantly in change in a cities under perpetual transition/development/gentrification. A way of speaking back to memorials and monuments that represent the hegemonic narrative.

Visual (formal) analysis: Scale, composition, pictural space, form, line, color, light, tone, texture, pattern

Tag: most basic, name written in stylized form, single line with a single color, (spray paint, sharpie)

 Burner:  Takes over the whole wall and basically everything near it pales in comparison

One-liner: does not pick up the paint brush in between writing

 Throwie: Bubble letters (curvy) that may or may not be filled in with a second color. Quick execution. Larger than a tag, difficult to execute well

John Lennon: Discusses conflict graffiti and explains how graffiti emerges in “conflict zones” often to convey political messages, social commentary, or personal experience related to conflicts. John focuses on 3 things: 1. The production of graffiti, 2. The work itself and 3. The past life/ how the piece transforms

 Mural: Large wall, sometimes commissioned, almost always sanctioned.

 Wildstyle: Highly stylized tag, sometimes large, multi-colored, and three-dimensional. Letterform is quite distorted. Often not legible to those who are not insiders

Character: A person or being in a story, narrative, or work of art, often embodying specific traits or qualities.

Mural: A large artwork painted or applied directly onto a wall or surface, often in public spaces, to convey a message or enhance its surroundings.

Broken Window Theory – Theory that suggests that broken windows or graffiti can lead to more crime. Assumption that targeting lower-level crimes like graffiti would stop violent crimes.

Creative Placemaking – leverages the power of the arts, culture, and creativity to serve a community’s interests while driving broader change, growth, and transformation

Critiques of Creative placemaking- Causes gentrification, endangers artists devalues art, and puts tremendous pressure on real estate prices.

Corn Bread 1960-70's – One of the first street artists in America who operated out of Philadelphia.

Conflict Graffiti – Refers to graffiti created in areas of conflict, often as a form of resistance or expression against state repression or occupation

Week four: (Murals and Creative Placemaking)

*Ancestors of street art – Ancient Romans 

*Modern Graffiti – originated in NY and Phili

-            Keith Haring:

o   Very big in pop culture

o   Purpose? He wants ordinary people to see and understand art, Accessible art

o   Motivation? "Art for the people, all for the price of a subway token", Signature look of his art, but always different, Seems like an obsession

-              The Bowery Wall (aka The Houston Bowery Wall)

Building currently owned by Goldman Properties
• Lower East Side of Manhattan, corner of Houston Street andBowery
• Popular graffiti spot in 1980s
• Keith Haring painted a large mural on this spot in 1982
• Acquired by Goldman Properties in 1984

• Initially used for advertisements, but often vandalized
2008: curator Jeffrey Deitch invited to commission murals for the wall
- Became viewed as a significant site in the NYC art world

Why would it be advantageous for an artist to paint on this wall?
- their art would be more accessible to ordinary people. The artists can build a name and reputation for themselves without having to pay for a gallery.

What would be the motivation for the property owner?

-              Draw attention to the property, support community engagement, money

2013: Jerry Wolkoff decided to demolish and create residential property

5 POINTZ =

Vara (1990) granted visual artists in the USA protection of artistic works and the reputation of artists – called “Integrity”

·      Gives moral rights to their work and disallows modifications that are harmful to the artists reputation

Artistic works under VARA are defined as “painting, drawing, print, or sculpture existing in a single copy or in a limited edition or limited edition photographic images “produced for exhibition proposes only.”

“Creative placemaking is generally understood as the use of arts and culture by diverse partners to strategically shape the physical and social character of a place in order to spur economic development, promote enduring social change and improve the physical environment.”

Examples:

Curated murals
Legal graffiti spaces
Street art festivals
Street art tours

Week five (BLM):

BLM: founded in 2013 after the death of Treyvon Martin in 2012

·      Founders: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi

·      Key Individuals: George Floyd, Philando Castille

Black Lives Matter Street Murals

·      These murals are monumental, text based, and demand recognition based on their location on a public street

·      Mark black belongingness

·      Purposely disrupt space

·      Create networks that connect cities/countries

·      Form of resistance

o   Minneapolis, St. Petersburg, Detroit, Montgomery, Philadelphia, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, etc

Mending Walls-

·      30 artists from different cultural backgrounds come together to create 16 different murals in Richmond, Virginia. A goal of this project was to bring in different artisits with different backgrounds and stories who may not have crossed paths if this project didn't happen. This allowed them to have fundamental conversations about their different beliefs and how they express them through art, which also allows the community to heal through looking at their art and connecting to the different pieces.

·      They brought together the community to have difficult conversations about the complex past of Richmond and involve individual citizens in creating pieces that reflect not only values but their voices as well.

Terms/Vocabulary-

Street Murals – A type of mural painted on the street usually done legally in order to bring attention to BLM

Week Six (Native Street Art):

Visibillity - The Native Americans wanted to make hidden or ignored history visible

Claiming Space – Native artists reclaimed space through murals and public art (the bus) to inspire change and bring recognition to their cultures

Art as a form of protest – Art meant to move emotions and encourage conversation to address social issues within a population

Skid Row – Claiming a space, bringing in community support, this is a place to do art, and much of it addresses history, drug, and housing issues within the community.

Alcatraz - Natives claimed back their land that was abandoned by the government, and they used a lot of red wording and imagery to symbolize blood and boldness.

Key points:

·      Pre-colonial Native American people used art on walls to record tribal history and to represent culture and history

·      European colonizers imposed ideas about private property that clashed with Native American ideas about communal space

·      The social problems/destruction caused by colonialism is largely unacknowledged in the general population

·      Continued misunderstanding/mistreatment/oppression makes it difficult for Native Americans to preserve/embrace cultural identity

·      Art in shared spaces can play a unique role in expressing social problems and embracing cultural identity

·      Graffiti as a “form of resistance to historical trauma and cultural repression”

·      Art as a “forum to discuss contemporary Indigenous social problems

What are the key concepts and issues we’ve discussed, and what are the most relevant points and questions for discussion?

Creative Placemaking: the practice of blending arts, culture, and community engagement into development projects to enhance the character of a place, drive economic growth, and improve social connections, while reflecting the local culture through collaboration between artists, organizations, and residents.

Gentrification: Graffiti and murals can both reflect and contribute to gentrification. Graffiti is often seen as a sign of a dangerous neighborhood, while murals can be used to attract new, often wealthier residents.

Conflict Graffiti:  a form of street art used to express political, social, or ideological dissent, often emerging in areas of unrest or tension, as a way for marginalized or oppressed groups to voice resistance, protest, or commentary on ongoing conflicts.

Meaning of Public area

Cornbread and Taki 183: “creators” of the graffiti that we see today. Taki 183 was a currier that would throw up his tag around New York. Cornbread was based in Philly and used his graffiti to escape gang violence

What images have we discussed that seem particularly relevant and why?

Tag- The most basic form of writing—usually a name written in a stylized form, using a single line and with a single color. Spray paint, sharpie, white-out, etc. are most common

THROWIE/THROW-UP: Bubble letters (curvy) that may or may not be filled in with a second color. Quick execution. Larger than a tag, difficult to execute well

PIECE: Graffiti that is large, complex, and more intricate; requiring a great deal of skill and time.

BURNER: Takes over the whole wall and basically everything near it pales in comparison

WILDSTYLE: Highly stylized tag, sometimes large, multi-colored, and three-dimensional.

Letterform is quite distorted. Often not legible to those who are not insiders.

Freight Train Graffiti: Emerged in response to the end of subway graffiti in the 1980s. Allowed for writers to carry their messages across the country. Led to networking among graffiti artists.

CHARACTER:

MURAL: Large wall, sometimes commissioned, almost always sanctioned