From Graffiti to the Street Art Movement: Negotiating Art Worlds, Urban Spaces
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From Graffiti to the Street Art Movement: Negotiating Art Worlds, Urban Spaces, and Visual Culture, c. 1970 - 2008 Anna Waclawek A Thesis in The Department of Art History Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada November 2008 © Anna Waclawek, 2008 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63383-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63383-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Nnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT From Graffiti to the Street Art Movement: Negotiating Art Worlds, Urban Spaces, and Visual Culture, c. 1970 - 2008 Anna Waclawek, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2009 This thesis provides an analysis of the New York Style letter-based, signature graffiti subcultures as well as the contemporary international street art, or post-graffiti movement. The primary intention is to explore the function and meaning of graffiti traditions as they exist in the context of cities, art worlds, and urban visual culture. During the 1970s, the letter-based signature graffiti style exploded as a movement on New York City subway trains. By the mid-1980s graffiti subcultures were developing in numerous urban centres throughout the world. In my assessment of traditional graffiti writing from the 1970s to the 1990s, I focus on key issues that sustain this cultural form, including motivation, identity, criminality, gallery exhibitions, subcultures, and style. By reviewing the graffiti's genealogy, its formal composition, and its evolution into a complex art form practiced in cities around the world, I emphasize its function, namely as a tool for identity negotiation and visual subversion. By accessing graffiti's problematic history both as a sub and a pop culture, unpacking its difficult relationship with galleries and legality, and countering its incessant association with hip-hop, I insist upon graffiti's role as a long-standing and culturally relevant pictorial tradition. While signature-based graffiti subcultures continue to thrive today, the second part of my thesis, shifts focus onto international street art practices. I evaluate urban painting's role as a public art, scrutinize the work of some artists as both performative iii and at times site-specific, and address the contemporary debates regarding post-graffiti exhibitions and the movement's livelihood on the Internet. Through this analysis, I describe post-graffiti practices as thoroughly connected to graffiti writing, yet ideologically and visually separate. Because of the prevalent use of figuration, legibility, and frequent socio-political relevance of street art, these art practices are constituents of the urban landscape that artfully communicate with both the citizens and the material structure of a city. The overwhelming pervasiveness of these coexisting art genres confirms that urban painting is a quintessential art movement of the twenty-first century. My project explores how signature graffiti and street art contribute to the experience of the urban environment and to the history of art. iv AKNOWLEDGEMENT To my supervisor, Dr. Johanne Sloan, I extend my deepest gratitude for your extraordinary intellectual curiosity, generous direction, and tireless encouragement. This dissertation is a direct result of our numerous and lengthy discussions -1 thank you sincerely for your wisdom, original ideas, and intuitive inquiry. Dr. Cynthia Hammond, thank you for your exceptional support and sophisticated scholarship. Dr. Annie Gerin, thank you for your intellectual generosity and profound insights. Dr. Beverley Best and Dr. Kevin Dowler, your rich observations and suggestions have greatly impacted this project. To Dr. Catherine MacKenzie, thank you for your outstanding encouragement, moral support, and for being incredibly giving of your time. Finally, many thanks to the faculty and staff of the Department of Art History at Concordia University, especially Dr. Loren Lerner, Prof. Sandra Paikowsky, JoAnne Anselmi, Brenda Dionne, and Denis Longchamps. This thesis would not have been possible without the financial support from Concordia University's Department of Art History, The Concordia Graduate Fellowship, and The Fonds Quebecois de la Recherche sur la Societe et la Culture. Moreover, I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to my friends and colleagues, especially Anja Bock, K. Gandhar Chakravarty, Danielle Evans, Sharon Murray, Nuria Carton de Grammont, and Rachel Lauzon, whose support - editiorial, intellectual, or otherwise - has resulted in the timely conclusion of this dissertation. Lastly, thanks to all graffiti writers and street artists, especially those whose works and words figure in this project. For your time and input, ROADSWORTH, VEXTA, SWOON, and PEZ, I reserve a special place of gratitude. v DEDICATION To my wonderful family: Piotr Waclawek, Grazyna Waclawek, Justyna Waclawek-Lawlor, and K. Gandhar Chakravarty. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures x Preface xv Chapter 1 Introduction: From Graffiti to Post-Graffiti 1 1.1 Signature Graffiti Writing and Urban Painting 1 1.2 An Interdisciplinary Methodology 10 1.3 Graffiti Writers and Street Artists 23 PART I - THE GRAFFITI MOVEMENT Chapter 2: The Foundation of the New York Style 35 2.1 The Place, Practice, and Promise of Hip-Hop 38 The South Bronx 40 Disc jockeying, Emceeing, Break-dancing, Graffiti Writing 45 The Promise of Hip-Hop 55 2.2 Kings Get Up with Style 58 Formal, Material, and Technical Aspects 60 Graffiti's Genealogy 71 Kings and Toys 88 2.3 From Subway Graffiti to Spraycan Art 97 Subway Graffiti 99 Anti-Graffiti Campaigns 104 Spraycan Art 114 vii Chapter 3: The Evolution of Graffiti Art 122 3.1 Graffiti and the Art World 124 Early Forays into Gallery Spaces 124 Case Study: The Post-Graffiti Exhibition 136 Basquiat and Hating 147 3.2 From Subculture to Pop Culture 159 Illegality and Youth 160 Gender Issues 168 Writing and Pop Culture 173 3.3 Global Networks 186 Wild Style and Style Wars 187 New York Style Worldwide 197 The Internet and Freight Trains 204 PART II - THE POST-GRAFFITI MOVEMENT Chapter 4: Street Art and the City 212 4.1 Art in the City 215 Public vs. Street Art 217 Performing Identity 230 4.2 Site and Space 250 City Space 252 Site-Specificity 269 4.3 Public Culture 283 Urban Visual Culture 284 Galleries and the Internet 291 Chapter 5: Urban Painting Today 304 Figures 312 Bibliography ..348 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Examples of tags. Barcelona, Spain. Photo taken by the author, 2008 312 Figure 2. Example of throw-ups. Montreal, Canada. Photo taken by the author, 2007 313 Figure 3. Example of a piece. Montreal, Canada. Photo taken by the author, 2007 313 Figure 4. Example of LEE's work, c. 1981, available from: http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_86/east 1. gif 314 Figure 5. Example of LADY PINK's work, c. 1980, available from: http://www.pinksmith.com/Site%203/SUBWAYS%20+%20FREIGHTS.html 314 Figure 6. Example of BLADE's work, c. 1975, available from: http://www.teako 170.com/blade75 .ipg 315 Figure 7. Example of DAZE's work, 1979, available from: http://www.atl49st.com/images/daze3.ipg ..315 Figure 8. Example of CRASH'S work, 1983, available from: http://z.about.com/d/arthistorv/l/0/J/F/brookmuse graffiti_02.jpg 316 Figure 9. Example of NOC 167's work, 1984, available from: http://www.graffiti.org/fargo/noc_167 the bronx 1984.jpg 316 Figure 10. Example of TRACY 168's work, 1974, available from: http://nvmag.com/guides/summer/graffiti060626 1 560.jpg 317 Figure 11. BANKSY, Mona Lisa Rocket, available from: www.nohaycomolodeuno.blogspot.com 317 Figure 12. ROADSWORTH, Bike Path, available from: http://www.roadsworth.com/main/index.php?showimage=213&category=2 318 Figure 13. VEXTA, Welcome to Australia, available from: http://farml.static.flickr.com/127/354646262 29c280b707 o.png 318 Figure 14. JACE, Gouzou Hanging, available from: http://images.imagehotel.net/ea2943595d.jpg 319 Figure 15. PEZ, Barcelona, Spain. Photo taken by the author, 2008 319 x Figure 16. INVADER, London, England. Photo taken by the author, 2008 320 Figure 17. SWOON, New York, USA. Photo taken by the author, 2008 321 Figure 18. MISS VAN, available from: Christian Hundertmark, The Art of Rebellion 2: World of Urban Art Activism.