Practice as Presence – Presence as Practice: Building a Framework for Collective Understanding of Contemporary Graffiti-Making Practices M.Sławińska Masters by Research 2017 Practice as Presence – Presence as Practice: Building a Framework for Collective Understanding of Contemporary Graffiti-Making Practices Marta Sławińska Thesis submitted for the candidacy of a Masters by Research Institute of Technology Sligo Academic Supervisors: Ann Geaney, Louis McManus, David Roberts Submitted to the Institute of Technology Sligo June 2016 I certify that the material which I submit for assessment leading to the award of Masters by Research is entirely my own work and has not been taken from others, save the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of the study. Acknowledgments Completion of this project was possible thanks to support and trust of my academic supervisors, Ann Geaney, Louis McManus and David Roberts. Their expertise, advice and direction helped me to keep focused and motivated. Their constructive critique pushed me to achieve better results and their patience allowed me to experiment with my approach and gave me the time necessary to complete this project. I cannot thank them enough for their generosity! The work of other researchers, whose studies are referenced throughout this thesis, laid the foundations for my enquiry and helped in making sense of this complex and often confusing global phenomenon. I must also express my gratitude to all the graffitists who agreed to answer my questions, either in person or through email interviews. The ability to access information from remote locations was also crucial in this project, and therefore I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the many individuals who document graffiti and share their images, videos and interviews online, without their efforts the scope of this study would have been greatly limited. I am much obliged to all staff at the Institute of Technology Sligo Research Office and Library for their continuous kind assistance and guidance in administrative, technical and practical aspects of the research process. I also extend my thanks to my family and friends, who supported me throughout this process, especially to Patrick Leydon who not only provided continuous encouragement but also helped with taking photographs, preparing diagrams and proofreading. Thank You! i Abstract Author: Marta Sławińska Title: Practice as Presence – Presence as Practice: Building a Framework for Collective Understanding of Contemporary Graffiti-Making Practices In times when graffiti is recognised as a global phenomenon rooted in urban public spaces it is important that authorities, researchers, audiences and graffitists themselves understand collectively the mechanisms that drive graffiti-making practices and the role such practices play. The term graffiti and the newer term Street Art are vague and are not used consistently, even amongst researchers from the same disciplines. Similarly, there is a lack of shared understanding of what the function of graffiti-making is and subsequently a confusion of how to deal with it. This dissertation focuses on building a framework within which the plethora of contemporary graffiti-making practices can be understood collectively. It adopts grounded theory as a research strategy, relates graffiti-making practices to the concept of presence and situates them in the context of urban environments, which are seen as spaces of mediation. Therefore, Heideggerian and Gibsonian understandings of presence and Asef Bayat’s theory of non-movements, which place emphasis on action as a response to social and physical contexts, constituted the core theoretical framework. Data collection was carried out through review of textual sources, interviews, observations and collection of visual data in the physical urban environment, online and in printed material. For practical reasons it was limited to three parts of the world, however the effort was made to include socially, economically, and culturally distinct parts of the world and covered Western Countries, Arabic Countries and Latin America. Graffiti was examined in relation to the context in which it was created. Positions of different actors involved in graffiti- making were identified in relation to their environment (user/moderator roles), providing insights into relationships between these actors. The findings show that graffiti is practised by individuals and groups representing very diverse social and cultural backgrounds, however they tend to be in some way marginalised in the context of their environments. It was determined that there is no shared ideology representing all types of graffiti-making practices, however they respond to the context of environment. As such they are place and time specific, and with progressive globalisation display high levels of hybridisation. It is proposed to consider graffiti not as an end in itself but rather as a tool adopted by a variety of individuals and social groups, who collectively constitute a passive network of graffiti- makers, to establish and mediate their presence in response to contemporary urban environments. Keywords: graffiti, street art, understanding, presence mediation, non-movement ii Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................... i Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii Contents ....................................................................................................................... iii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Clarification of Terms ..................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research Rationale ......................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Question, Aims and Objectives ....................................................................... 5 1.5 Research Strategy and Theoretical Framework ............................................................. 7 1.6 Outcomes of the Study ................................................................................................... 9 1.7 Originality and Value ...................................................................................................... 9 2. Methodology ........................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Choice of Appropriate Methodological Approach ........................................................ 10 2.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 13 2.2.1 Literature as Data ................................................................................................................ 15 2.2.2 Interviews and Conversations ............................................................................................. 17 2.2.3 Visual Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 18 2.2.4 Observations........................................................................................................................ 19 2.3 Data Contextualisation ................................................................................................. 20 2.4 Data Analysis................................................................................................................. 22 2.4.1 Coding and Categorising ...................................................................................................... 22 2.4.2 Memo-writing ...................................................................................................................... 26 2.4.3 Contrasting Empirical Data with Pre-existing Theories ....................................................... 26 2.4.4 Theoretical Sampling ........................................................................................................... 27 2.4.5 Writing Drafts ...................................................................................................................... 28 2.5 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 29 3. Understanding Graffiti ............................................................................................ 30 3.1 Historical Perspective ................................................................................................... 30 3.2 Defining Graffiti ............................................................................................................ 39 3.3 Fragmented Understandings of Graffiti ....................................................................... 43 4. Graffiti-Making Revisited: Users, Tools, Environments .......................................... 47 4.1 Practice as Presence – Presence as Practice ................................................................ 49 4.1.1 Presence and Space ............................................................................................................. 49 4.1.2 Graffiti-Making Practices as