Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Anderson, Kim

Keywords

Graffiti, Privilege, Harvey, Ellen, Swoon, Basquiat, Jean-Michel, Fairey, Shepard

Area of Concentration

Art

Abstract

The artwork produced in partial fulfillment of this thesis conflates techniques of graffiti, such as stenciling and tagging, with elements of branding and graphic design to reflect on capitalist influences on the production and marketing of Art. Privilege, barriers, and access to certain institutions and social spheres are also examined through performance, design elements, and graffiti. In simulating graffiti to subvert the institutions of privilege and exclusivity where the graffiti is performed, the art becomes a signifier of the privilege and exclusivity derived from these surrounding institutions that may otherwise go unnoticed. Themes in this essay are situated by an examination of contemporary artists Ellen Harvey, whose conceptual graffiti questions the privileging of traditional art signifiers, Shepard Fairey, whose counterculture designs coupled with keen advertising sensibilities display how guerrilla art campaigns are not immune to the influence of capitalism, Swoon, who uses street art as an outlet for social activism, and twentieth century artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who used graffiti to challenge consumer-driven society. Furthered by a reading of Marxist art criticism, I hope to deconstruct codified signs in public space that perpetuate the racial and economic segregation resulting from free market capitalism.

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