Module VIII·Article II·~1 min read
Street Art and Activism: Art Beyond Institutions
Contemporary Art: Market, Institutions, and the Digital
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Graffiti and Legitimacy
Graffiti — painting without permission — by definition breaks the law. Is it "vandalism" or "folk art"? This ambivalence is the source of its power.
New York in the 1970s–80s: graffiti emerged as a voice of marginalized communities — the Bronx, Brooklyn, predominantly Black and Latino adolescents. It was a "seizure of space" in a city where they had no space. The "tag" — a signature — is an assertion of existence.
Jean-Michel Basquiat began with graffiti under the name SAMO© (Same Old Shit). By the 1980s — one of the world's most expensive artists. "Head of a Negro" (1983) — $110.5 million (2017). This shows how "street" art gets incorporated by the institution.
Banksy: Anonymity as Strategy
Banksy is anonymous. His identity is officially unknown. This is a strategic position: anonymity protects against arrest (graffiti is illegal) and commodification (cannot officially sell). His works appear on walls — and instantly become media events.
"Girl with Balloon" (2018) was sold at Sotheby's auction for £1.04 million — and immediately partially destroyed by a built-in shredder. This is a performance: an attack on the art market from inside the art market. The price of the destroyed piece rose to £18.6 million at the subsequent sale. The paradox of the system.
Question for thought: Banksy makes a critique of the system — and the system makes him a part of itself. Is there any escape from this "absorption"? Is this applicable to other forms of criticism or reformism from within the system?
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