MA JOURNALISMFaculty of political scienceUniversity of Zagreb

Critical view on the streetart in Zagreb

ESSAY

Tutor: PhD Zlatan Krajina

Student: Matej Knežević

Word count:

July, 2015.

Zagreb

2

1. ABSTRACT.................................................42. INTRODUCTION.............................................52.1. DEFINING THE CITY......................................52.2 CONNECTION BETWEEN STREET ART AND CITY..................63. STREET ART IN ZAGREB.....................................83.1. STREET ART IN BRANIMIROVA STREET......................115. CONCLUSION..............................................146. LITERATURE..............................................157. ATTACHMENTS.............................................17

3

1. ABSTRACT

The question of removing graffiti is on going problem in

Zagreb. Also, part of the wall with graffiti in Branimirova

Street was recently demolished. It is important to hear

pedestrians oppinion about this topic and analysis the role of

graffiti in the mediated city. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

considerate city as consequences of urbanization under

capitalism and they examine the concentration and misery of

the mass of workers in the new urban agglomerations as a

necessary stage in the creation of a revolutionary force.

Acording to Iveson, graffiti writing and other forms of street

art involve alternative ways of imagining, mapping, using,

mediating and making urban space. Graffiti are usually seen as

violation of social behavior and threat for community values.

Such a perspective could very usefully be applied to

critically interrogate ‘zero tolerance’ approaches towards

graffiti. City authorities aren't supporting toward graffiti

wall in Zagreb, but also some of the citizens, who assemble

round table about this topic. They worry about idealistic

views of the city, as such views fail to account for the

everyday life and experience of it.

4

Keywords:

Street art, Zagreb, graffiti , critical review,

2. INTRODUCTION

The question of removing graffiti is on going

problem in Zagreb. First of all, city authorities , recently

decided that graffiti should be removed from Zagreb's facades

and that they will make questionnaire what does citizens of

Zagreb think about it. Also, part of the wall with graffiti

in Branimirova Street was recently demolished. While I was

preparing myself for interview with my colleague from Academy

of Fine Arts, Matija, I had noticed that every web portal

who wrote about recent demolishing wall in Branimirova,

haven’t made any distinction between street art and graffiti.

In this paper, the key emphasis will be defining differences

between those two types of public art as well as their

relevance for the city. Public art is, according to

Association of Public art, is not an art “form.” Its size can

5

be huge or small. It can tower fifty feet high or call

attention to the paving beneath your feet.”

On the other hand, in the text of Stéphane Tonnelat, public

space is defined as "open space", meaning the streets, parks and recreation

areas, plazas and other publicly owned and managed outdoor spaces, as opposed

to the private domain of housing and work (Tonnelat, 2010). In

interview for one Večernji list, Boris Bare says that street-

art is visual art created in public space. It is not all about

2D masterpieces on the wall, but also it is about

installations in the space. The wall with graffiti in

Branimirova street was exactly that - part of public art and

public space.

It was the only place of that size where were allowed to

create this type of public art legally. It is necessary to use

relevant source in order not to forget what does graffiti

mean. According to Oxford dictionary, graffiti assumes writing

or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a

wall or other surface in a public place.

About this topic and others related to it, it would be

discussed in the following text.

2.1. DEFINING THE CITYIn order to speak about street art, it is important to

specify and define other key issues like city and streetsIt

is necessary to use relevant source in order not to forget

what does graffiti mean. According to the book of Max Weber,

The City, city is define by its political and administrative

6

conception. It consist five key issues: fortification, market, a court

of its own and at least partially autonomous law, a related form of association and

partial autonomy and voting rights (Weber, 2014). Many authors would

not agree about this aspect. Aspecially other philosphers,

sociologists and some of political scientists.

The next look is marxist point of view. The Sociology guide quotes

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, where they considerate city

as „consequences of urbanization under capitalism“. Further more, they

examine „the concentration and misery of the mass of workers in the new urban

agglomerations as a necessary stage in the creation of a revolutionary force1.

„They add that urbanisation is responsible for making mass

and material reduce. As they conclude, urbanism depends on

theory and practice. The last definition comes from german

sociologist and urban sociologist George Simmel. He is known

by his work The Metropolis and Mental Life.

Acording to that work, Simmel examines the city as social

interacions as the forms of association. Looking it from that

direction, those structures repeal and convenience that

social life is possible without picking and sequences of the

observer. He exhibit on three importan ways: “money makes social

relationships, the importance of numbers and individuality against sovereign

powers of society.“ Those actions take place, not just in the city

but also on the streets.

2.2 CONNECTION BETWEEN STREET ART AND CITY

1 Urban sociological theories: http://www.sociologyguide.com/industrial-and-urban-society/Urban-sociological-theories.php

7

Street art is often used to distinguish modern public-

space artwork from traditional graffiti and the overtones of

gang territoriality and vandalism associated with it.

Graffiti writing and other forms of street art involve

alternative ways of imagining, mapping, using, mediating and

making urban space (Iveson, 2010). Their quality and quantity

changed over the last few decades. Speaking of it, one more

thing has to be said and that is differences between murals

and graffiti. The specialists of public art always make this

kind of distinction. But before it, according to Encyclopedia

Britannica, murals are a painting applied to and made integral

with the surface of a wall or ceiling. Tim Sieber says that

murals are fundamentally collective, but not individual type

of art.

8

Matija Kralj says that graffiti evolved during beginning of

hip hop culture during the 60s. Richard S. Christen in text

Hip Hop Learning: Graffiti as an Educator of Urban Teenagers, notes that

neighborhoods Washington Heights and the South Bronx, were

first places in some city in the States where graffiti

appeared.

Ten years later, the number of graffiti and graffiti artist

started to grow but also the chaise on graffiti artists

started in 70s and hasn’t finished until today. Graffiti

writers were seen as rebels ‘fighting the system’—quite the

opposite, in fact. According to Iveson’s text graffiti is a

tool used by the hateful and the corporation as well as the

marginalized, the artist and the activist. “Graffiti writing

careers involve just as many compromises as others (hello

academia!)” (Iveson, 2010.) With those quotes Matija agrees

and he adds that graffiti always has political connotation.

Graffiti are usually seen as violation of social behavior

and threat for community values. As Castells observed,

mainstream urban analysis is frequently characterized by a

reduction of difference to deviance Iveson is handling with

interesting quote by Sennet. He (Sennet) “presumed that such a

perspective could very usefully be applied to critically

interrogate ‘zero tolerance’ approaches towards graffiti!

Christen deem the graffiti artist were mostly poor

adolescence, mostly “Black and Puerto Rican ignored these

9

attacks and began saturating public places with their tags”

(Cristen, 2003).

In order to answer questions like what motivates people to

write graffiti, and what role graffiti-writing plays in their

lives, their methods and their answers are radically

different. It is also difficult to define because there are

lots of other sub-questions for example: graffiti artists

arives from different parts of the town and different social

classes. We rarerly hear that they are part of middle or

higher classes. Instead of that, we hear they are part of Marx

famous word sub-proletariat – which implies usually lower

social groups.

It is also interesting how different ideological and

political positions determine disposition why are graffiti

created. The conservatives says graffiti are vandalism unless

they are created by insitutional educated artists and the rest

of graffiti and street art should be removed or demolished.

They also adknowledge that is not proper to write graffiti on

private property ownership without bureaucratic approval.

Peseants think that graffiti brings felling of insecurity for

citizens in public space.

Liberals thinks that graffiti writers use the city as a space

for expression and communication, political activism and

fights for public interest. They display that graffiti with

discriminational and hate messages should be removed. But, it

is important to mention that an uncritical celebration of

graffiti would simply present a mirror image of the currently

10

dominant reduction of all graffiti to ‘anti-social behaviour’

regardless of its quality (Iveson, 2010).

The word street comes from Latin word strata2 and it defines

surface of the road. It can be free to say that this is the

place where art meets people outside of institutional spaces

like galleries and museums. Looking that in that direction, De

Certeau argues about the fabric woven by users, because the

city is, according to his words, living organism in way people

stops for chat with friends, streets are used for typical

walking and other daily routine (De Certeau, 1984). Should be

the same with public art and graffiti? David Morley, in the

book Home territories takes into account Koptivich quote, who says

that graffiti can often be read as “cultural inscriptions of

resistance etched in the ‘war zone’ along a new frontier where

ghetto meets gentrification” (Morley, 2000).

Similar to that, Matija Kralj, student of Academy of Fine

Arts in Zagreb adds that graffiti are connected with hip hop

culture and it is usually guerilla intervention on local

buildings, while street art is combination of traditional

painting art and using wall as medium.

De Certeau says that painters represented the city as seen in a

perspective that no eye had yet enjoyed (De Certeau, 1984). This fiction

already made the medieval spectator into a celestial eye. It

created gods. Things changed since technical procedures have

organized an "all-seeing power". Braninimirova Street is the

good example of it.

2 WordReference.com http://www.wordreference.com/ 11

3. STREET ART IN ZAGREBCity authorities of Zagreb says that many citizens and

tourist think that street art is one of the biggest problems

because they cause dirtness and reduction in value of

property. They also add that in solving this problem should

involve civil sector and NGOs.

Later on, they did not stick to promise and they said they

will unselectively remove street arts.

Former city mayor Sandra Švaljek said that every media report

which will talk about graffiti as art will be qualified as

federal offense. It is directly attack on freedom of speech

from city authorities. It’s not the first time that

authorities says how and what can be said, written and read in

media about some topic. The public in that way will get one

side of the story because the city government told media how

to broadcast about certain topic on official press

conferences.

De Certeau and Engels recognize a problem of viewing the city

from above or from a distance. They worry about idealistic

views of the city, as such views fail to account for the

everyday life and experience of it. And so both aim to correct

this problem by taking philosophy down—to the streets.

City government says that professionals are going to remove

graffiti, and the question arises: who are they and whether

are they competent enough because the government believes that

educational and religious institutions should decide about

12

that problem, without asking art institutions and

organizations dealing with the painting street art and grafiti

in the city.

One of the proper questions is to ask: ‘What is the

proper place of graffiti in the city?’ If you ask city

authorities, they will say this question is very controversial

because it hard to say which graffiti have artistic value.

When you ask city government about problematic location and

graffiti there, they say they are going to control it with

camera servailance. Question which I want to ask in this part:

is this the best way to solve that kind of problem?

On one hand former city mayor thinks this topic is

controversial because it is hard to say which graffiti have

artistical value. On other side, they said they are going to

unselectivly remove every graffiti in Zagreb (Šoštarić, 2014).

„It is difficult to make distinction between good and bad

graffiti and problem will be solved if we have equail approach

to every graffiti in town“, said the former major Sandra

Švaljek. Looking in that way, Sandra Švaljek would probably

overpaint also the artworks of the great graffiti artist

Banksy. Banksy is famous in public by his political and often

controversial paintings. What is very important to mention is

that he works like guerila street artist.

The question we have to ask ourself: is this decision

connected with destroying one of biggest street art place in

Zagreb – wall in Branimirova Street? In the text of Mark

Halsey and Ben Pederick, authors are interested in one of the

13

key distinctions between available graffiti spots—the

distinction between unsanctioned and sanctioned graffiti. The

terms on which graffiti tends to be sanctioned by urban

authorities, they argue, constitute a kind of ‘vandalism’ of

the genealogies of graffiti as a public artistic practice

(Iveson, 2010). Alison Young offers one of the sollutions in

solving this problem. The policy proposals she helped to

develop were premised on the notion that engagement with

graffiti writers and street artists ought to be a core element

of management of the urban public realm, and that (some forms

of) graffiti and street art might find a proper place in the

city. The proposals also sought to explicitly build on the

recognition that graffiti and street art could actually add

value (aesthetically, culturally, politically and even

economically) to city spaces (Young, 2010). Sadly, there are

no happy endings in many cities in the world and Zagreb isn't

exception.

She also said that the city will educate police and civil

cervants about this topic. Can police be competent in this

subject? It is job for artists them selfs.

As public and graffiti artists says and Iverson confirms in

his work Graffiti, street art and the city, artists should educate people

about this issue, as well as, artist should give their final

decision in this topic. From philosphers point of view, more

precisely Meaghers, it can be considered one interesting point

of view - viewing the city from above or from a distance. The

same issue was interesting for earlier authors like de Certeau

and Engels. 14

De Certeau give us a comprehension of how reasoning can both

offer a standardizing evaluate of the city and in addition

rules for opposing social shameful acts found through that

scrutinize. They worry about idealistic views of the city, as

such views fail to account for the everyday life and

experience of it. And so both aim to correct this problem by

taking philosophy down—to the streets (Meagher, 2007).

They stress over hopeful perspectives of the city, as being what is indicated perspectives neglect to represent the ordinary life and experience of it. Thus both plan to right this issue by bringing reasoning down—to the lane.

As Saskia Sassen, the well known educator from Chicago college, globalization can't be comprehended from a worldwide viewpoint, but instead must be comprehended at the level of the city.

‘Large cities in the highly developed world are the terrainwhere a multiplicity of globalization processes assumeconcrete, localized forms. A focus on cities allows us tocapture, further, not only the upper but also the lowercircuits of globalization. These localized forms are, in goodpart, what globalization is about (Sassen,1997).

Furthermore, cities are the locus of conflicts between new

forces of globalization and older economies, political and

power formations, and traditions. ‘The global city is a border

zone where the old spatialities and temporalities of the

national and the new ones of the global digital age engage’

(ibid, 1997,)

15

Lastly, professor Josep Ramoneda in the text „A philosophical

idea of the city“, reviews connection between philospohy and city. He

says: „Philosophy is an urban phenomenon and the city is a phenomenon of

philosophical relevance“ (Ramoneda, 2003). Further more he thinks that

the city has no identity because of its diversity. This idea,

he develops through nine philosophical categories. Although some ideas

stands, like city is never finished process or that city is

symbolic expression. there are some abortive catagories. For

example, when he talks about city as space of freedom, it

offers camouflage. Intentionally or not, author ignores the

fact that there is no such freedom in the city because you are

always under some kind of control. Trafic lights, camera

servialance, other social and cultural activities and

supervision of other citizens.

Furthermore, for him city is the place which is the domain of the "I"

while the community is that of the "we". Not quite, because the citizen

are not individuals. They are group which has specific

characteristics and identities, on the basis of which they are

connected.

3.1. STREET ART IN BRANIMIROVA STREET

Branimirova street is different from every other streets in

Zagreb. Acording to Matija Kralj, this street is „approachable

with its visual message“, which has calls upon a glance. That

is exactly what describes one of the largest streets in

16

Zagreb. It spreads from the main railway station in the center

of Zagreb till the crossing on the east part of Zagreb, known

as Sesvete. If it can be trusted to Google maps, it is 10

kilometers long. It is famous not because of its size but

also with problems of getting license acquisition and

expanded. Deterioration of the wall and its necessary

rebuilding , encourage city authorities to repair it because

it was possible that wall collapse on Branimirova Street.

Zrinka Kunić in her interview for Global newspapers3 found that

the wall above mentioned was built and finished in 1987.

during Universiade and it has been long 153 meters and three

meter high (Kunić, 2014). Today, there are many rumors which

says, that the wall will be completely removed and demolished.

On the one hand, the wall has cultural value for the city,

and on the other, it shows social changes through period

between the 80s and 90s and change of political regime. It is

the only wall in close center of the city which is completly

opposite to wall, for example, in Tel Aviv. As web portal

Iskon Internet transfered in 2005, there is mural and

graffiti on that wall, with picture of deceased prime minister

Jicak Rabin who was assinnated in Novembar in 19954. In Zagreb,

there isn't any wall with this political importance.

From estetic point of view, the wall in Branimirova shows

different opinion in eyes of its inhabbitans. With its

demolishing, the question of it political and cultural

meaning came on agenda setting again. Conservatives thought

3Ziher.hr, http://www.ziher.hr/kaj-drma-zid-u-branimirovoj/4

17

it was one of the ugliest part of the city and they does not

realise the importance of public art. On the other side,

liberals and enthusiasts of public art saw it as culturocide.

Culturocide is usually connected with urbicid, which can been

seen in this example. It can be seen through deficit of

cultural contents and different type of popular music, that

the quality of lifestyle decreases. That demolishing of the

wall is the one of visible examples of it.

On the place where was wall with graffiti, today stands

posters with advertisments and comercials. Tea Šabić in the

text Cultural industry positive and negative sides, similar to Adorno and

Horkheimer thinks that cultural industries create false needs,

which creates and satisfies capitalism (Šabić, 2013).

Meanwhile, in the text Cities for people, not for profit, authors argue

about exactly that topic. As they said, urban space under

capitalism is never fixed. It can be seen as clash of opposed

social forces oriented throw exchange-value (profit-oriented)

and use-value (everyday life) dimensions of urban sociospatial

configurations (Brenner et. al, 2009). In that point of view,

it can be seen the issue of Branimirova street, because on one

hand you have advertisments (profit-oriented value) and on the

other artists and wall on the other.

But today it is also important to highlight that, after street

art and graffiti moved from ilegal action, it has start

losing on its importance and contribution to local society. It

can be also seen that, street art moved from street and

18

entered the galleries and cinemas through the fotos and

videos.

4. COMPARATION OF BANKSY AND BRANIMIROVA STREET

Sabrina De Turk in her text The Banksy Effect: "The Rise

of Street Art in Contemporary Visual Culture" speaks

exactly about the Banksy effect. In order to understand

importance of this issue, it is necessary to mention

dimension of the social life. Professor Zlatan Krajina,

from Faculty of political science in Zagreb in the

interview for web page pogledaj.to said that there is no

any part of social life which is not meditated. He

engraft: “Everybody is interpretative actuality, by using

his emphasis resource, because we are living with media

since we are little and we always try make comparison,

connection…“ Similar thing happens with graffiti.

Furthermore, as any other media, graffiti has its own

value. This is the essence of the banksy effect. It has

been define as „level of interest in street art since

Banksy rose to prominence“ (De Turk, 2014). On the other

hand, the purpose of the wall in Branimirova is not seen

as commercial product rather like aestetic one.

As Sharon Zukin says in the Politics and aesthetics of

public space: The 'American' model says that valorization

had different imppression. Talking about aestetic ones,

19

he suggests "good" or "bad", "dangerous" or "safe",

evoked by relations between a public space's users, uses,

and design. That is maybe some of the reasons what makes

does types of art different (Zukin, 1998).

Secondly, in the 1990s, started something know as re-

aestheticization of public space which depends on a large

and growing "symbolic economy": on the one hand, on

Planet Hollywood, Imax movie theaters, and Disney stores

and on the other hand, new contemporary art museums

(ibid, 1998).

Thirdly, but not the last reason is that, the Banksy's

art is globally popular, while Zagreb's wall is popular

to local population or some tourists. It is must be said

that is pity, that Zagreb tourist office has not realise

importance for this type of art and made better

advertisment for it. As Matija Kralj conclude in his

interview: every cultural contribution is important

(Kralj, 2015).

5. CONCLUSION

As it this essay represented, city is not define only by itspolitical and administrative conception, but also as„consequences of urbanization under capitalism. Furthermore,it is social interacions as the forms of association. City ismore of that. It can be said also that the city is livingorganism which is in symbiosis with terms like graffiti,

20

public authorithies, public art, mural, streets and othersimilar forms.

It is not only the city which makes the differences, but thestreet is. Street becomes central point where artists meetregulations and laws imposed by city authorities and sometimesby (unfortunatly) its citizens. Exactly that presents thechallenges for everyone who are dealing with any kind ofculture in the city.

As it was said earlier in the text, the two political currentshave different views about street art, although, they are verysimilar. Problem lies in that they both does not give concreteanswer what has be done with this problematic.Referring to thetext once again it has to be said that viewing the city fromabove or from a distance. They worry about idealistic views ofthe city, as such views fail to account for the everyday lifeand experience of it. This is no exception, this isunfortunately cruel rule and that rule is not exempt anypublic art. Jonnatan Swift once said: „Vision is the art ofseeing what is invisible to others“, this creates livingextremly interesting.

Because of those phenomenons and connect and blend to eachother. It cannot be said that the city is unicellularorganism.At the end, it has to be said that Branimirova streetin Zagreb is not neither the first nor the last example ofthis issue, as it also isn't isolated case which will makespears be shaken,

21

6. LITERATURE

Adorno M , Horkheimer T. W. (1974): Dijalektika

prosvjetiteljstva, Sarajevo

Association for publicart URL:

http://associationforpublicart.org/ (visited on the 12

july 2015)

Brenner N., Marcuse P. , Mayer M.(2009): Cities for

people, not for profit , City, Vol. 13. Nos. 2–3, 2009,

Routledge, London

Christen, R (2003): Hip Hop Learning: Graffiti as an

Educator of Urban Teenagers, " Educational Foundations

17:4, p. 57-82.

De Certeau, M. (1984): The Practice of Everyday Life.

Translated by S. Rendall. Berkeley, CA: TheUniversity of

California Press

DeTurk, S. (2014): “The Banksy Effect: The Rise of Street

Art in Contemporary Visual Culture, American Culture

Association Annual Conference 2014,

URL:http://www.academia.edu/10332415/

_The_Banksy_Effect_The_Rise_of_Street_Art_in_Contemporary

_Visual_Culture (visited on the 12 july 2015 Iveson, K.

(2010): Graffiti, street art and the city, City, Vol. 14,

Nos. 1-2, 2010, Routledge, London

Kunić, Z. (2015): Kaj drma zid u Branimirovoj,

http://www.ziher.hr/kaj-drma-zid-u-branimirovoj/

Kralj Matija: personal interview, 30.june 2015.

22

Meagher , S. M. (2007): Philosophy in the streets Walking

the city with Engels and de Certeau , City, Vol. 11, no.

1, april 2007

Morley D, (2000): Home theritories , 11 New Fetter

Lane, London , 2000.

Šimpraga,S. (2014) Kako proživljavamo svakodnevno

bombardiranje očnog živca, URL:

http://pogledaj.to/drugestvari/kako-prozivljavamo-

svakodnevno-bombardiranje-ocnog-zivca/ (visited

13.August 2015)

Public space. http://www.publicspace.org/en/text-

library/eng/7-una-idea-filosofica-de-ciutat visited

10.june

Ramoneda J. (2003): A philosophical idea of the city, Conference lectured at Yale University

Sasen S. (1997): Whose city is it? Globalization and the

formation of new claims , URL:

http://www.asu.edu/courses/pos445/Sassen--Whose%20city

%20is%20it%3F.pdf (visited on the 10 july 2015)

Simmel G. (2002): “The Metropolis and Mental Life”

(1903) in Gary Bridge and Sophie Watson, eds. The

Blackwell City Reader. Oxford and Malden, MA: Wiley-

Blackwell, URL:

http://www.esperdy.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Simmel_

21.pdf (visited on the 10 july 2015)

Reader. Oxford and Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell,

2002.Sociology guide: Urban Sociological theiories

http://www.sociologyguide.com/industrial-and-urban-

society/Urban-sociological-theories.php

23

Šabić, T. (2013): Kulturna industrija – pozitivna ili

negativna pojava? http://gkr.hr/Magazin/Teme/Kulturna-

industrija-pozitivna-ili-negativna-pojava

Šoštarić, T. (2014): Interventnim timom u borbu protiv

grafita, AlJazeera Balkan

Tonnelat, S. (2010): The sociology of urban public

spaces in Wang Hoyang, Savy Michel and Zhai Guofang

(ed.), Teritorial Evoultion and Planning Solution: Experences from China

and France, Paris, Atlantis Press, pp 84-92

Weber, M. (2014): Grad, Mediterran Publishing, Novi Sad

Word refference , www.wordreference.com/

Young, A. (2010): Negotiated consent orzero tolerance?

Responding to graffiti and street artin Melbourne, City

, vol . 14, nos. 1–2, february –april 2010

Zukin, S. (1998): Politics and aesthetics of public

space: The 'American' model,

URL: http://www.publicspace.org/en/text-library/eng/a013-

politics-and-aesthetics-of-public-space-the-american-

model (visited on the 12 july 2015)

24

7. ATTACHMENTS

Foto number 1

FOTO number 2

25

Foto number 3

26