Chapter II Context

Chapter II Context

Street art

Robert A. white states that 'Every subculture should be provided with the means to project its identity into the public forum' (Hoover S., Lundby K., 1997) As this is related to the concerns of contributers equipped with stencil graffiti, the technique breaches the limitation of display places of artworks between streets and academic locales such as galleries or museums. The messages appreciated by fanciful and ambitious manifestations. 'Street art exploits public spaces in the same way as graffiti, tags or writing, but its messages and pictures are far more specific.' Described by Sevn. (Zimmermann, 2005) The information is sent forth speedily and widely through a direct way of communication with the audiences, which allows immediate public appreciation of the aura of art works taking place in our surroundings.

The aura of art is an atmosphere and resonance which is built whenever audiences unscramble artworks, the connection between artworks and viewers. It usually takes place in academic artistic areas. However, as a photographer, David Robinson, challenges (1990 p. 5) et al. 'Why people can gaze reverently at paintings in museums but completely ignore the unsanctioned stimulus of their environment once they step outside.' A renaissance of phenomenon through street art responses that '…artists from all over the world who display their innovative works of art on the streets, using them as a gigantic museum.' (Bou, 2005)

An explanation of the idea called a public gallery that is a renowned phenomenon in contemporaneity. (Robinson, 1990 p. 5) According to Roland Barthes, 'Art exists from the moment in which the viewer has the Signifier for an object.' (Lea, 1996 p. 73) Therefore, the method of graffiti provides visual language into public space. 'Street art turns big-city streets into open-air art exhibitions, producing significant socio-culture impact and making for more universal communication.' (Bou, 2005 pp. 7,9) The prominence of popularity had formed graffito as an epithet as street art. Those messages of graffiti are communicated directly into public through a sui generis style, as the same as the statement made by the urban artist, Dave Kinsey in the book Stencil Graffiti. (Manco T., 2002 p. 6)

‘The idea of using the urban landscape as a canvas remains constant.
If you want to get your point across there’s only one-way to do it: get
your message to where the public can see it. Poster, sticker, stencil
and cover the streets, signs, walls and whatever else is out there.’

In consequence, graffiti evoke challenges to the position of artists in a community, and the relationship between environment and public. More or less, the limitation of artistic works are created by artists had been broken. The abstract evidence is proved by the meaning within activities which is almost identical to Pop art, same as Roland Barthes recounted in Pop Art. Evoluzione di una generazione in 1980. '… the play upon the meaning, and Its abolition and reappearance is nothing but a "question of place".' (Lea, 1996 p. 73) The activity of vandalizing environment is far more important than graffiti itself, principally because the notion of being a graffito activists encourages a value that going out and creating culture than fallowing the culture.

Not only influenced by Pop art, graffiti is also a composite phenomenon that inspired by Dadaism circa 1918. (Kirk V. and Adam G., 1990) 'Dada was a public art- if not always for the people, at least against the art-for-art's-sake position that made art in the late nineteenth century the cultural frosting on middle-class triumph.' indicated by Lucy R. (Lippard, 1971) an interactive motive between Dadaism and graffiti is shown by a significant example, that is the photomechanical reproduction Rectified Readymade created by Marcel Duchamp. A piece of mustached and goateed Mona Lisa 3 was penciled in 1919, along with five letters added below the image, L.H.O.O.Q, which is a witty abbreviation pronounced like 'Elle a chaud au cul' in French, or roughly translating as 'she's got a hot ass'. The merger between simple mark and writing was taken into graffiti, it had be described that 'Duchamp's little defacement identifies graffiti-writing as a reactive rather than creative activity.' (Kirk V. and Adam G., 1990 pp. 77-79)

'The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.' (Banksy, 2005 p. 51) The ironical concept of a series mimic official city council notices This wall is a designated area4 are painted on several areas in San Francisco and London. After the first graffito appeared on the wall, then graffiti spread over it like a rash within days. Although the result probably not follows the original idea, but it represents a phenomenon supplied with graffiti that is a contribution provided through the cooperative manitestations. In other words, it is a spontaneous activity that images are constituted organically by different artists and practitioners, the experiences can be explain as the phenomenology of Obey Campaign as 'the process of letting things manifest themselves.' described by Heidegger. (Shepard, 2002)

'The reproducible is the easier of two to distinguish from graffiti as it consists of stencils and poster art that can be reproduced infinitely.' like the explanation of Alex MacNaughton. (2006) Reproducibility is the mainly reason that stencil graffito is more easily be accepted by commercial market than others, also because of its visibility, less mysterious and communicating to wider audiences. Stencil graffiti is a term that exposes a renaissance of graffiti movement, since it can be displayed in either street or gallery for the work, such as the stencil graffito of the monkey with slogan that Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge 5, which is both painted and displayed either as an exhibition at Glasgow Arches in 2001, (Manco, 2002) or around district line in London in 2002. (Banksy, 2005)

From street to gallery

A definition of the trend of graffiti that 'Post-graffiti and neo-graffiti are more recent phrases used to describe street art and a graffiti scene in flux between established ideas and new directions.' by Manco T. (2004 p. 7) Following the process, graffiti movement finds its way into shop window or exhibition, it is possible that stencil graffiti probably become accommodated into the lives of radical chic. 'Just like all art forms, the art on the streets has begun to evolve.' Indicated by Justin Kees in 2006. (Hundertmark, 2006)

It seems that street art has been treated as a fashionable trend more than a real art form, because since public are frequently received the image of graffiti had be displayed in galleries, the more changing it has been through. However, 'Everything has its price, and in this case the upshot is that when ephemeral and secret doings see the light, and become icons of time, they are polluted on being sucked into the system.' criticized by Social observer and cultural activist, Joaquin Ruiz Millet in 2003. (Joaquin, 2003)

The evolution of Post-graffiti movement has led to artists and practitioners in the field of graphic design using it as elements to create works. 'One big down side to the popularity is the fact that it is being used it sell products that have little, or nothing to do with the art.' (Hundertmark, 2006) The misuse of reproducibility and computer technology causes stencil graffiti takes its leave of streets, and be entailed in small businesses such as fashion industry or magazine ad design. Although some may concern that there is a largo application for stencil graffiti, which is used in commercial world. However, 'painting away from the street environments is not graffiti, because it is distanced from the underground and closer to accepted art.' (Bou, 2005)

Due to the placement changing influences the aura of graffiti, 'When street art makes it into the gallery (or into a book), to some extent, the work becomes domesticated and loses its teeth.' which commented by Burns. (2005) According to the comment by stencil graffiti artist Blek. 'When this art is taken away from the street, somehow it dies.' In other words, as long as stencil graffito starts to leave streets, it loses its meaning. (Manco, 2002)