My project who owns this city is a documentary series about Graffiti, Street Art and "Art washing" in the urban context of different cities. In this work I reflect on how these art forms reflect the character, wishes and emotions of a cities inhabitants. Through research I found connection to also the issue of gentrification and how Street Art is occasionally used to mask the housing crisis but also how Graffiti is a form of reclaiming spaces.
"GRAFFITI":
Greek word “graphein” – “to write”
- Mostly considered “vandalism” making it illegal in most parts of a city
- Tagging, stickers, bombing, stencils, throw-ups, blockbuster, wild style
- Mostly done in a short period of time
"STREET ART":
- Often used for commercial purposes within a city, to improve communities
- Spray paint murals
- If connected to a commercial purpose or job considered legal
"ART WASHING"
- artists are being used to create a “positive” art piece to distract from or legitimize negative actions by an individual organization, country or government (especially in reference to gentrification)
Gentrification and Street art:
➔ Parts of cities with immigrants and low-income backgrounds -> infrastructure is neglected by property owners
➔ To make neighborhood more attractive developers contract artists to paint murals (mostly to attract upper class white people) -> higher housing prices / economic changes
Open questions and thoughts:
-Regaining control over authority, hijacking public space
- Expression of emotions, opinions, political statements
- Reclaiming your voice (in relation to for example gentrification): when people are evicted
from their homes a physicality is taken from them and their voices are overheard. By spray
painting they take back their voices in a more anonymous way.
- What does property mean? Who decides how a city should look like? Why is graffiti
overlooked or tolerated on some property and completely avoided on others?
- We mostly keep art within galleries, museums etc., basically closed spaces that are not always accessible to everybody. Graffiti questions this exclusivity and breaks out of this
system by questioning and breaking the rule our society has established
- How far can an artist go before he gets shut down?
- How is the word urban defined nowadays and how did it go from something that describes a
city to something controversial and offensive to often marginalized groups within society?
