[PPT] - Street Art in Berlin ISO 200 1/60 Vandalism or F 2.5 Art? Kayo PowerPoint Presentation

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Street Art in Berlin – Vandalism or Art?

Kayo Mikasa GER505 Contemporary German Studies II

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Outline

I. Graffiti vs. Street Art
II. Street Art in Berlin
a. Origins and Revolution
b. Significance for Artist
c. Aesthetics
III. Conclusion

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Graffiti vs. Graffiti Writing Street Art

§ Displayed in public rather than gallery setting § Differ in technique function and intent § Entail illicit action § Code / internal language § Provocation, destruction, vandalism § Communicate with public § Make statement § Use of iconic images as symbols of expression

Murals Stencils Sticker Art …

SLIDE 4 P.04/50 ISO 200 1/60 F 2.5 fjorda s e c o n d i s s u e Early 20th century Europe Inspired by hip-hop movement in NY West Berlin § Initially only from of expression among punks § Late 70s: interest grew § Different styles & techniques developed § Intervene cityscape and spread political messages East Berlin § Forms of graffiti and street art § Severe restrictions in freedom § Imposed art form: Social Realism, developed in the Soviet Union

Origins and Revolution

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East Side Gallery.

§ After fall of Berlin wall: new era of street art à joined projects with artists from East and West Berlin § Still displayed on the East Side Gallery ( 105 different paintings) § ‘Brother Kiss’ to honor the 30th anniversary of the GDR § Street Art to conceal 2nd WW traces <-> graffiti scene became criminalized

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SLIDE 7 ISO 100 1/80 F 5.6 fjorda P.07/50 s e c o n d i s s u e § Voice for unheard people § Statement / Expression / Self – presentation § Form of human communication § Reflection of society § ‘Reclaim the streets’: Re- conquering public spaces and break them away from restrictions, bans and commercial advertising ‘When I look at a wall I can picture it already. I just bring out, what’s already there.’

Significance for Artists

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Aesthetics: using the ex.

f Murals.
Bare, grey firewalls serve as

canvas

Due to war, bankrupt building

projects and failed urban planning

Street artists are

commissioned to beautify cityscape

à legal and by public accepted

attraction

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Aesthetics: Inscribing

neself.
Inscribing one’s identity and

ideology into the art

Identification & Interpretation
Personal and intimate feeling

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PINK MAN

A r t i s t : B L U L o c a t i o n : O b e r b a u m B r ü c k e Y e a r : 2 0 0 7

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Without noticing naked scared humans are part of something bigger namely the

monster.

Forming a unit (the creature), they eat an individual
According to artist: mural is representing the fascist system of oppression and

scaring the people until all of them become a whole, working together and killing individuals, without actively wanting so. § My thoughts: person suffering from depression, his own body/ negative thoughts are working against him and eventually eating itself up § à interpret every art work in your own way, maybe even relate, inscribe yourself into the art work.

Pink Man – Inscribing Oneself

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Aesthetics: Urban context.

Manage to embed the art work

in urban context by incorporating the surroundings and environment

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THE ASTRONAUT / COSMONAUT

A r t i s t : V i c t o r A s h L o c a t i o n : S k a l i t z e r S t r e e t , K o t t b u s s e r To r Y e a r : 2 0 0 7

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While he had already planned out his art piece and started painting the wall he

realised a shadow being created by one of the former spotlights of a car dealership at night.

He then decided to use this for his benefit and made it look like the astronaut is

holding a flag purely by incorporating that shadow falling next to his painting at night

Cosmonaut – Urban Context

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Aesthetics: Personal Experience.

Project one’s personal

experience onto the wall

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THE ASTRONAUT / COSMONAUT

A r t i s t : V i c t o r A s h L o c a t i o n : S k a l i t z e r S t r e e t , K o t t b u s s e r To r Y e a r : 2 0 0 7

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Ash expresses not only his past experiences and the space race between the

USSR and the USA, but also the different Berlin subcultures and the desire to escape reality

“[…] like as a little child, I escaped to a fantasy world with my space drawings

and as a teenager, I escaped to subcultures to find my identity in the urban environment where I grew up”.

Another inspiration: “Space Oddity” by David Bowie from 1969 in which he tells

the story of a astronaut who gets lost in space and later on with the song “Ashes to Ashes” in 1981 where Bowie tells us that the spaceman was in fact a junkie

n a trip”.

Cosmonaut – Personal Experience

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Aesthetics: Artistic Talent / Skill.

Transform a simple drawing

into a ginormous art work

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NATURE MORTE

A r t i s t : R O A L o c a t i o n : J u n c t i o n c o r n e r O r a n i e n s t r a ß e - M a n t e u f f e l s t a r ß e Y e a r : n . d .

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Although its drawn with white wall paint and black spray paint, he still manages

to create a thin brush stroke looking technique which gives the impression of a normal drawn image and gives it a realistic looking style

Nature Morte – Talent / Skill

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conclusion

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SPECTRUM: simple tags that have little to no aesthetic appeal and can be seen

as vandalism ---------------- more complex pieces.

Somewhere between those completely opposing ends, a random graffiti turns

into something that can be considered art.

Important to note: line can vary depending on personal taste and preference, for

some people clear line, for some just a blurry span

Its located somewhere, where a piece with a deeper meaning requires thorough

planning, leaves room for imagination, at the same time contains artistic elements like colour and composition

Conclusion

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Or delivers important message that people can relate to without offending

anyone

Whether on legal grounds by a commissioned artist or on ‘illegal’ walls à

irrelevant for answering the questions whether it can be considered art

Don’t forget the beauty and enrichment it can bring to a city and its people:

connect people and art, because the city becomes a gallery.

Street art = ever-changing system of communication that not only is so different

to traditional art, but also cannot exist without the urban context à special. This is where the beauty of urban art lies.

Conclusion