research proposal

Formation of Identity and Minority Identity through Street Art and Social Media

Michaila Forte, Emerson Matson, Yi Shi

Abstract:

This research proposal composes of our individual research questions which are generally about the street art and social medias and the relationship with minority identities and identity development. We have Michila particularly looking at two artists, comparing and contrasting the differences and similarities and the relationship with many social identities in Berlin. We have yishi who is doing the differences between different minority communities and berlin identities in general.

Background:

Street art is urban visual art created in public locations, usually created by unsanctioned artists outside the traditional art community. The term “street art” is interchangeable with “guerrilla art”, “graffiti” and “urban art” and encompasses several distinct styles of conveying societal messages. From elaborate stencils, prints and murals, to interactive street installations, street art has been integrated into the heart of contemporary art. Today, street art is used as an unconventional form of expression and activism.

Street art has been a significant presence in Western civilization throughout history. First found in prehistoric cave, like Lascaux to marking gang territory in the 30s to the currently political statements found in the streets of New York City. It’s obvious that “people have always felt the need to share and express themselves in a public way, sometimes by telling a story or posing a question” (Smith 2007, 11). In the early 1900s, graffiti picked up popularity. Some of the earliest well recorded expressions of street art were the graffiti which tags, started showing up on the sides of train carts and walls. These were the works of local gangs marking territory. In the 1940s, there was a “Kilroy” movement in Europe during World War II. The phrase “Kilroy was here,” usually accompanied by a drawing of a bald figure with a big nose, began appearing wherever US servicemen were stationed. The Kilroy movement signified a milestone in the history of street art. By the 1970s and 80s, the impact of the subversive culture shifted into high gear. There was a significant turning point in the history of street art – it was then a time where the younger generation started creating a movement, taking the “battle” of their current sociopolitical environment into their own hands. However, today, street art has moved towards a larger scale. It is now considered marvelous art form filled with diversity and social activism of the 21st century. The evolution of street art is extremely dynamic and is evident as iconic artists such as Banksy, whose stencil art became revolutionary throughout the world, take over the streets. The emergence of artists such Vhils, a famous etcher who carves his art into buildings, or JR, who specializes in wheat pasting, show that street art became a ground for experimenting with different kinds of methodology, but constantly pushing societal boundaries and sending .

Street art encompasses several different types of artistic styles and mediums: (i) tagging represents an early and common expression of street art meant to spread an individual’s name or group. Its main purpose was to contest the conformity of daily life through “the repetition of names or words of rebellion on public walls” (source). Tags can often contain subtle and cryptic messages, and may incorporate the artist's crew symbol; (ii) sticking, or slaps, is the practice of pasting simple drawings and symbols on stickers in public spaces so as to spread short messages to a broader audience; (iii) stenciling uses complex, premade stencils to effectively place pieces that “mimics the marketing practices of advertising and branding by replicating the same form or symbol in multiple places” (source) ; (iv) poetic assault is one of the recently emerging practices of street art, and it consists of writing of poetry on bare public spaces to spread sentimental and elegant content; and (v) urban design mostly relates to a practice applied for the purpose of beautification of public architecture and urbanization. Over time these different styles emerged to form specific milestones within the street art industry. While these are some of the popular techniques, each specific artist has their own methodology, which can help with identify and categorize street artists.

The popularity of street art as an art form has grown immensely, as the practice has become an idolized counter culture. The commercial success has allowed street art to gain an impressive presence in pop culture and the contemporary art world. Art allows a connection to form between artist and viewer while it transcends language barriers to convey a specific message. There is a strong presence of activism and rebellion within this powerful type of urban art. Street art is most often used as a platform for reaching the public and an influential form of political expression for the oppressed. *Something else* There is currently a great controversy between arts and vandalism. Some see street art as benefitting their city both aesthetically and bringing a flood of tourism, while others strongly view street art as illegal vandalism.

When the word identity is mentioned, people always think of the ethical aspect but not other dimensions of identity. According to Model of multiple dimensions of identity, a person’s identity also includes: race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, ability, age and nationality. Because the registered life partnership for same sex couples is allowed in Germany and Berlin is one of the most open and welcoming cities in the world today, many same sex couples choose to live in Germany especially in Berlin. Gay or lesbian themed art is also the big topic for street art in berlin. There are many well-known artists has been grown up in berlin like unknown artsiest but signed by “6s”, or even grow into a group like “the dead chicken”. The history of street art particularly in berlin can be divided into art before berlin wall and after. In the 1970s, the street art was flourishing in New York City; the troops from the US first introduced to Germany and started to flourish. (Source*). The berlin wall is widely recognized as the “biggest canvas on earth” for street art, the east side of berlin wall stayed untouched and white until 90s, more artists added on there. The west side of berlin wall is full of graffiti and people express their love and hates on there. One of the big art performance is: in the year 1982 the West-German artist Elsner created about 500 artworks along the former border strip around West-Berlin as part of his work series "Border Injuries".

According to “statistik of berlin Brandenburg”, 71% of the population in berlin is actually ethnical German out of 82% of European. Turkish has 5.5% of berlin population out of 9% Middle Eastern. There are also 3% of Asian and 2% of afro-German. However, there are only about 2% of American and 2% of mixed raced population.

Michaila’s Sections (Rough draft)

A Case Study: Transnational Street Artists on Border Identities

Question:

MF: My research is going to focus on going in depth into a case study between two transnational street artists who have painted extensively in Berlin. Within this study, I want to analyze what their pieces reveals about border identity and transnational art. I want to see what types of issues are focused on and how they portray their views. The two artists I have chosen are Alias and Alice. Alias is considered one of top street artists in Berlin. Between 2004 and 2008, he was the most active street artist in Berlin. His influence in the city of Berlin is enormous but his works can also be found in Hamburg, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Milano, Bristol and even Istanbul. Alias’ work represents mainly introspective stencils of children, teenagers, and some adults. It is usually individuals that are alone, dealing with situations. I want to analyze what their art says about the artist’s identity and views on social criticism. My second artist, Alice is a female artist from Rome. Her work can be found on the streets of London, Paris, Rome, Madrid and now recently Berlin as well. Her work quite often features strong, empowered women displaying acts of love, hope, and affection. Her art brings a more uplifting, romantic quality to the streets. In one interview, she states that she’s interested “in representing human feelings and exploring different points of view. [She is] often annoyed by female stereotypes proposed by artists [..] [She is] seduced instead by real women and hope that, by proposing a different female universe in the street, [she] will help build a new image of women.” (“Alice Pasquini”) In my research I want to drive into the differences and similarities between the two artists and how they relate to the overall border identities of Berlin.

YS: My research topic for now is the relationship between street art in berlin and the difference between minorities’ identities and berlin identities in general. The reason why I am interested in berlin street art is because berlin has over 100 museums in the cities and very prestigious in art field. When I was doing my research, I saw a quote: “if you really want to know the city of Berlin, the tour of street art will be a great start.” Government builds all the monuments, but what are the real thoughts and identities from ordinary people? Street walls became the place for expressing their thoughts. I hope I can learn more about this city, this city’s people in a modern perspective. I have been looking up pictures of berlin street art and couple artists who are doing them. The whole city of berlin is full of street art, as if the free thoughts of people are in the every corner of berlin. When I look up the definition for identity, I found out that the word identity is more than the dimension of cultural and ethnical, identity will also include many other dimensions such as: gender, gender orientation and religion. Berlin is one the biggest cities in the world and also the city who is actively dealing with many very debatable issues in nowadays. The city’s identity is transforming from postwar stage to a more modern big city stage. It will be interesting to find out more about German identity in those unique perspectives and the connections between street arts.

Cultural Sensitivity:

MF:I think one of my biggest biases is that I’m not involved in the art community in Seattle or at UW. This will be my first time analyzing art so I might miss key things that an experienced artist would notice. I also grew up in a small upper middle class town where there was practically no street art was present. There was a stigma that graffiti was affiliated with gangs and violence, but after research I’ve found that’s definitely not the case. I want to try to be as unbiased as possible in my study, and hold a neutral but informed position.

YS: I think my biggest biases in this particular subject is that I have never been creating or studying in any street art before. Even though I had little experience with art, however, I have almost no knowledge in pop art at all. The lack of knowing the pop art culture will make appreciating and understanding the street art very hard. Being a foreigner in another country, not knowing where are the best places looking for street art could really give me a narrow view of the overall idea of street art in berlin.

Daily Schedule:

MF: Before Berlin:

Introduce myself to Berlin artists through email/social media.

Research locations of specific art pieces that are vital to my question.

Demographics of neighborhoods

1st week in Berlin

Observations and close analysis of images.

Refine demographic research based on chosen images.

Talk to Manuela about narrowing topic and local experts to interview

2nd week in Berlin

Interview artists

Street interviews

Gathering data from local sources, articles, and other mediums.

3rd week

Meet with Humboldt faculty to solidify ideas and start my conclusions

4th week

Wrap up conclusions

Wrap up research paper

Prepare for presentation with group

Equipment:

Pen, paper, camera

Information:

Photos, notes from interviews, observations about people’s view of the art

YS: before departure:

have the proposal ready

1st week in berlin:

getting to know the city better and taking pic

go to a street art tour and experience the process of creating

talk with professor in Humboldt U and street artist

2nd week

focusing more on the differences in berlin’s different districts.

Berliners’ identities

same sex right(pride parade)

religion and street art

postwar

3rd week:

differences between jena and berlin, so identity for German in a broader perspective.

4th week:

finishing research paper

equipment:

phone, camera, notebook, pen. possibly a recorder.

information:

lots of photos, different events, interviews.

Works Cited:

"Alice Pasquini." Street Art Berlin RSS. Web. 3 June 2015.

"Alternative Berlin." Alternative Berlin RSS. Web. 3 June 2015.

"Art in the Streets of Berlin." Street Art Guide in Berlin. Web. 3 June 2015.

"OpenWalls." Contemporary Fine Arts. Web. 3 June 2015.