A short cultural biography of graffiti and street art with the distinction between them made on the basis of the theory of the social life of things

Abstract

The paper methodologically derives from the social history of art. It explains the difference between graffiti and street art interpretatively by considering social relations, based on the traditional distinction of two types of exchange – gift and barter. The analysis is based on Arjun Appadurai’s theory of the social life of things. The different developmental stages of graffiti are classified into categories of different types of commodities and collected into a short cultural biography, modelled by Igor Kopytoff. The study starts with the typology of graffiti and street art, emphasizing the dichotomy of the linguistic and artistic types of expression on the street. In the contemporary descriptions of the difference between graffiti and (fine) street art in professional and other circles the descriptive method is mostly used. The general understanding is that the second form is a visual upgrade of the first. However, according to the physical attributes, content and form of both there is a considerable overlap, because the morphological styles are similar. The study starts with Arnold Hauser’s explanation of the development and real conditions of artistic production as stated in The Philosophy of Art History (1963). The development of stylistic forms has its own internal logic. Art consistently seeks solutions to some formal problems in each stylistic period. The theoretical framework provided a consistent basis for describing the researched phenomenon. Hip hop graffiti emerged as a symbolic empowerment of oppressed youth during a time of social unrest. It offered an artistic solution to a social problem, more specifically systemic racism. The cultural and market value of graffiti was followed by its stylistic transformation or an upgrade into street art as a global and institutional phenomenon. In the second part, the analysis is based on the theory of the social life of things. The different developmental stages of graffiti are classified into categories of different types of goods and condensed into a short cultural biography. The use of an interpretive method offers a new approach for explanation of the distinction of the two coinciding forms of urban creation – graffiti and street art. Given the two basic types of exchange, the analysis identifies graffiti as a gift, as they are made without expecting any direct payment. On the other hand, fine street art has been described as a commodity for market exchange because it is more embedded in formal currents of market exchange such as legality and payment. The paper aims to supplement the existing way of distinguishing between the two forms, based on the descriptive method, with a new interpretation. It also tries to inspire the academic world of art history to delve into different ways of street expression. At the same time it encourages the utilization of unusual theoretical backgrounds that contribute to the strengthening of interdisciplinary research.