Abstract
This essay explores the proliferation of graffiti in and around the solidarity museum in Gdansk, exploring the literary heritage of that city. My essay explores 2-3 images of Graf placed within 1000 meters of the solidarity museum, contrasting the official narratives of World War II and the Cold War as explained in the museum and the history of Wojciech Jaruzelski and Lech Walesa, with a Chicagoan’s visit to that city’s Graf community. What does street art tell us, prophetically, about the effects of globalization on local manifestations of art? How does graffiti in Gdansk compare with images from Italy (Florence, Naples) , Greece (Thessaloniki, Athens, Messolonghi), and the United States (Chicago, the Bronx, New York, Philadelphia). How does street art reconfigure the statues and memorials erected to commemorate historic events? What is the tension between street art and the monumentalizing of the past? How is such tension embodied in the deconstruction of the letter and the use of cartoons in Graf?
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Politics, Power, and Institutions
KEYWORDS
Graffiti, Hip Hop
Digital Media
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