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The Evolution of Graffiti Practices in Melbourne, Australia

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The Evolution of Graffiti Practices in Melbourne, Australia “Beauty is in the Street.” The Evolution of Graffiti Practices in Melbourne, Australia. Amy Marr A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts (MA), Art History At the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. 2015. ii Abstract Graffiti has had a history as an illegal and unsanctioned presence in Melbourne, Australia. It has propelled the city to the forefront of the international street art movement as the graffiti capital of Australia and the Pacific, while being decreed both a dangerous blight on the cityscape and an important part of the city’s urban culture. This thesis examines these developments, asking how and why graffiti has been paradoxically received as both a form of crime and art by the Melbourne City Council and the Victorian State Government. My thesis begins with a discussion of the symbolic nature of contemporary graffiti practices in an international and historic context, looking primarily at the similarities and differences between hip-hop style graffiti and street art, and the diverging responses to these forms of graffiti. I argue that it is primarily the disruption graffiti practices represent in relation to urban social and visual order that has influenced and informed official responses to graffiti practices. Furthermore, the strong position taken by city authorities against graffiti internationally has effectively worked to enhance the disruptive and subversive nature of graffiti, imbuing it with a powerful and evocative presence in urban space. Following this, I address the diverse history of graffiti in Melbourne and the circumstances unique to Melbourne that have culminated in its international reputation as a graffiti capital. I outline the policy and legislative actions undertaken by the Melbourne City Council and the Victorian State Government in order to eradicate the presence of graffiti in the city, arguing that until very recently, Melbourne’s reputation as a city ripe for graffiti production was undesired and actively rebuffed by city authorities. I also argue that these harsh measures were undertaken largely because of the pervasively negative cultural value of graffiti. The final section of the thesis examines the authorised redefining of street art (but not other forms of graffiti) as a positive presence in Melbourne through both the pervasiveness of the ‘creative city’ model and the growing international popularity of street art. Ultimately I argue that the appropriation of street art to bolster Melbourne’s image as a creative and vibrant city has the potential to the reduce the disruptive nature of street art, as it transforms it from subversive symbol of disorder into a part of the city’s iii authorised and controlled urban visual culture. iv Acknowledgements Firstly, a big thank you to the History and Art History Department, both staff and postgraduate students, for being so welcoming and supportive while I have experienced the highs and lows of the research journey. I could not have completed this thesis without the invaluable guidance of my supportive and patient supervisors Judith Collard and Hilary Radner. Judith, as my primary supervisor, has suffered through draft after draft of this thesis and through every step of this process she has provided me with much needed grammar tips, encouragement and perspective when I have felt out of my depth. Her first hand knowledge of Melbourne proved particularly insightful and really helped me develop a deeper understanding of my case study. I would also like to specifically thank my co-supervisor Hilary for unwavering enthusiasm and support of this project, and me personally, and for the amazing attention to detail with which she read every draft. Through her asking me the ‘big’ questions, I was able to approach my research and writing from directions I had not expected and I am hugely grateful for this. I would also like to thank my endlessly encouraging and selfless Mother who has been incredibly patient with me during my many moments of self doubt. She always believed I could finish this project, even when I thought I wouldn’t. The support of friends and family in Dunedin, Wellington Christchurch and Auckland has also been invaluable throughout this year and a half, and I am particularly grateful for the kind words, willing ears and patience of Hannah Banks, Katie Cooper, Alice Milne, Steven Marr, Briar Holt and Rebecca Smith. My cousin Alice was the voice of reason during this process, while my brother Steven provided the perfectly mastered soundtrack for writing. My lovely friends Hannah and Rebecca offered to read drafts and provided motivational slogans and advice, despite their own busy, busy schedules. Finally, but not lastly, I shared an office for over a year with Katie and Briar and I feel so lucky that I got to work beside and become friends with two wonderfully intelligent, kind and funny women. Your support and understanding has been immeasurably appreciated. Amy Marr v Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. ii Contents ............................................................................................................................................. v List of Figures .................................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Visual Resistance and the “Aesthetics of Authority”: The Development of Contemporary Graffiti Forms and the Response of City Authorities ............................................... 12 Chapter Two: The Writing of the Wall: A History of Graffiti Practices in Melbourne ...................... 44 Chapter Three: “Do Art, Not Tags”: The Evolving Role of Street Art and Graffiti in Creative Melbourne ........................................................................................................................................ 77 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 107 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 117 Figures ............................................................................................................................................ 134 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Ellis, Rennie. Children Unite, South Melbourne 1974. Black and White Photograph. Source: Rennieellis.com, accessed 15 May 2015. http://www.rennieellis.com.au/gallery/graffiti/151. Figure 2. Hip-hop Style Graffiti Piece in Union Lane, Melbourne (Artist Unknown). Colour Photograph. Taken by Author, June 2014. Figure 3. Different Forms of Street Art (including paste ups, sculpture and stickers) Found in Central Melbourne (Various Artists including Space Invader). Colour Photograph. Taken by Author, June 2014. Figure 4. Street Art Mural by Mike Makatron in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Colour Photograph. Taken by Author, April 2015. Figure 5. Example of Stencil Art, Miami (Artist Unknown). Colour Photograph. Taken by Author, April 2015. Figure 6. Street Art Pieces (A Multi-coloured Stencil and A Paste Up) Surrounded by Tags in Tribeca, New York City (Artists Unknown). Colour Photograph. Taken by Author, April 2015. Figure 7. Ellis, Rennie. Smash the Housing Commission, Fitzroy 1974. Black and White Photograph. Source: Rennieellis.com, accessed 20 May 2015. http://www.rennieellis.com.au/gallery/graffiti/163. Figure 8. Ellis, Rennie. No One Wants t’be Trapped Inside a Fantasy, Fitzroy 1975. Black and White Photograph. Source: Rennieellis.com, accessed 20 May 2015. http://www.rennieellis.com.au/gallery/graffiti/163. Figure 9. Sunshine, Dean. Love- Melbourne. Colour Photograph. Source: landofsunshine.com, accessed 18 May 2015. http://deansunshine.com/love-melb/. Figure 10. Tourists take Photographs of the Street Art in Hosier Lane, Melbourne. Colour Photograph. Taken by Author, June 2014. Figure 11. Street Art in Fitzroy (Artists Unknown), Melbourne. Colour Photograph. Taken by Author, June 2014. Figure 12. Sunshine, Dean. Be Free, Melbourne. Colour Photograph. Source: landofsunshine.com, accessed 18 May 2015. http://deansunshine.com/be-free- suki-art-melbourne/. vii Figure 13. Sunshine, Dean. Stencil Tres Melbourne 2010. Colour Photograph. Source landofsunshine.com, accessed 18 May 2015. http://deansunshine.com/stencils- tres-melbourne-2010/. Figure 14. Example of Tagged Street Art Mural in Hoiser Lane, Melbourne, (Artist Unknown), Colour Photograph, Taken by Author, June 2014. Figure 15. Sunshine, Dean. ACDC Lane Melbourne. Colour Photograph. Source: landofsunshine.com, accessed 18 May 2015. http://deansunshine.com/acdc-lane- melbourne/. 1 Introduction The origins of the term graffiti comes from the Latin term graffito (meaning an image or text scratched into a surface) used in reference to messages and images scratched into facades in Ancient Rome.1 Contemporary definitions of graffiti have moved away from this neutral meaning, and now the term has come to describe a negative presence in the city, generally referring to the vandalism of public and private surfaces through the writing, painting, scratching or attachment of an image or text.2 Fedrick argues that graffiti has become “typified as an act of vandalism and anti-social behaviour”
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