African Burial Ground
For all those who were lost · For all those who were stolen ·
For all those who were left behind · For all those who are not forgotten
African Burial Ground
For all those who were lost · For all those who were stolen ·
For all those who were left behind · For all those who are not forgotten
Urban Landscapes and the Subcultures Who Use Them
1963 Civil Rights March on Washington
- On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a crowd
of 250,000 people to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to
encourage the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
- It was organized by a group of young African Americans,
who wanted to fight for their right to be treated as an
equal citizens.
- It was a prime example of American’s peacefully
petitioning their government for change.
Urban Landscapes and the Subcultures Who Use Them
1995 Million Man March
- Decades later, on October 16, 1995, 400,000 men and
boys marched that same piece of land in Washington,
D.C., this time, rejecting the negative image that was
being portrayed of them around the world as being
criminals, drunks, and school dropouts.
-Again, groups came from all across the country by the
busload to participate in this peaceful protest.
Riverside Skate Park
New York, NY
How and why did this start?
In the early 1990's, Charles McKinney, administrator of Riverside Park, was looking for a way to address the recreational needs of adolescents, a group he
says is underserved and systematically designed out of public spaces. "The failure to provide recreation is one cause of adolescent frustrations and feelings of
being an outsider," states McKinney. As Riverside was in the midst of a restoration, underused facilities were being identified as sites specifically for a teen
project. At about this time, Andy Kessler, a native New Yorker and an avid skateboarder, contacted the New York Department of Parks and Recreation with a
proposal to build a park for skateboarders and in-line skaters. McKinney liked the idea and asked the Salvadori Educational Center on the Built Environment
(SECBE) , a non-profit educational center dedicated to helping inner-city youth understand science and math through hands-on creations, to identify
neighborhood teenagers who would be interested in this project.
Who is involved? (who are the teens)
Twenty-four "at-risk" local high school students were selected to design and build a skate area in Riverside Park. The teens did not know each other -- the
goal of the project was to foster teamwork and demonstrate practical applications of math and science. SECBE taught the students the basics of construction
and took them on a weekend retreat as part of a training program in teamwork and conflict resolution. "After the retreat," said Andy Kessler, "the kids all
worked together." He added, "Many had waited a long time for something like this, including me."
Built Example
Citizenship- Gang2.jpg appears to be a list of nick names
written on a street pole. The inference from this is that a hit list
must be completed before citizenship to the gang is allowed.
Pizza.jpg shows Spinelli's Pizza in Louisville and their huge
display of pride in their Italian citizenship, the wall is decorated
with a modern graffiti interpretation of the Italian flag.
Worldview- Gang3.jpg is more attractive text but it challenges
the common worldview of tough male gang members using
graffiti to mark territory. The name written is April, obviously a
female. Mellwood.jpg show a location also in Louisville,
Mellwood Art Center, which allows graffiti on the side of their
building to expand the worldview of students on what is
considered acceptable art.
Public Sphere- Ripple1.jpg and Ripple2.jpg show how the city
embraced graffiti in the public sphere. Gang1.jpg serves its
purpose; the gang member wants the public sphere to know
that either that building or that particular street is his territory.
Graffiti in the Public Sphere (One Built Design)
Graffiti provides an interesting discussion for the criticism of mainstream culture.
Graffiti reveals a subculture unexposed by the records of scribes.
The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall provided a canvas for subculture to criticize the powers responsible for its construction
The Berlin Wall became an ugly reminder of the government’s abuse of power to repress the freedom of its
citizens.
The Berlin Wall
Graffiti became the voice of those repressed that wished to
preserve their aspiration for freedom.
Fragmented pieces of the wall are distributed in art museums
and parks to preserve a history of subcultural turmoil.
Example 01: Curitiba, Brazil
Citizenship
• “…the classic example of decent lives helping produce a decent environment.”
Curitiba does have its slums; however, because those slums are not treated any differently than the rest of the city, all of the people
have equal amounts of social rights and status isn’t based upon income.
World Views
• Instead of following suit, Curitiba veered from the Americanized way of life to create a more meaningful way of life
Like many other cities, Curitiba could have easily continued on with this Americanized world view that grew dependent on the
automobile and developed into suburbs. However, Lerner saw these potential problems that would be detrimental to the city’s
health and implemented speedy and cheap public transit, a large park system, and a mixed zone plan.
Public Sphere
• Curitiba is based on actually living, it is not a materialistic, metropolitan city
Do to the walk-ability and transportation system throughout the city, people are forced to know their neighbors and participate in
the city culture. Here, life is inspired by those around them.
Example 02: Venice Beach Walls
Citizenship
• Instead of banning graffiti art, the community has given artists citizens public spaces to display their talents.
By giving equal citizenship to those who wish to paint, it encourages higher quality, cultural pieces to be displayed which supports
tourism and publication to the Venice area.
World Views
• The Venice Beach Walls acknowledges that people have many different understandings on how to lead a fulfilling life.
Instead of degrading an artistic culture that isn’t fully understood by those who visit, there is still an acceptance of the artist’s need
for personal fulfillment and acknowledges their actions.
Public Sphere
• The way the new rules and regulations have been set up, reinforce and respect of all artists opinions.
This space along the Pacific coast allows for the graffiti culture to exist openly and for those who participate, to experience the act of
creating graffiti while providing a realm of respect among artists.
5 Points: Institute for Higher Burning
World views: graffiti as art
Citizenship: ownership of building
and art
Social Sphere: houses artists for
their art. Public canvas
Chicago Public Housing Museum
World Views: Save the memory of
public housing and the people
who lived there.
Citizenship: Every citizen has the
right to preserve their history.
Public Sphere: New museum will
serve as a living example of
preserving our past – no matter
how bitter or inconvenient it
may be.
Built Design – Seaside, FL
Sense of community
Walkable
Small shops and small businesses providing all
residents’ needs
Create community without chaos,
where residents do feel in control
Subculture with different
worldviews distinguishing itself from
dominant culture
Sense of community of subculture
Relationship to place
Strong center
Isolated
Not true reflection of overall population
Preserves elite class and lifestyle
Built Design- Village of West Clay, Carmel IN
-Planned Community
-Creating culture using urban planning
-Diversity of housing types
-Town meeting hall
-Lack of mass transit to major business
areas
Built Example
San Francisco,
California
Built Example
San Francisco,
California
• Many neighborhoods each with their own identities, each contribute to the overall
identity of the city.
•Each neighborhood acts as its own contained town.
•Many of the neighborhoods have their own distinct architecture.
•The city is very democratic, its citizens facilitate change in it policies when they see
they are needed.
•City is a melting pot of many cultures giving it a distinct character.
•Very open to cultural groups and subgroups .
Nick’s English Hut
Bloomington, In
•
Citizenship
–
–
•
World Views
–
–
•
You are likely to see a familiar face.
It gives a hometown feel
On game day, everyone in the bar is cheering for IU. An
atmosphere that can also be felt in Germany when the
local soccer team is playing.
Draws in people from all over who come to town.
Public Sphere
–
–
Preserves the urban feel of the neighborhood bar.
A testament to the history of memories.
Built
Example
1
FAB Crew
Citizenship
•
The FAB Crew organizes an event called Subsurface in Indianapolis, which allows writers from all over the country to come and write
legally for one weekend every year. This event helps to remove some of the stigmas associated with writing.
Public Sphere
•
The FAB Crew has a completely different experience with public space than traditional graffiti writers because they obtain permission
before they write. This may cause some members to lose their sense of spontaneity that usually comes with writing.
Worldview
•
They do not have to fight for territory or risk getting in trouble, yet they still get recognition for their work. However, the FAB Crew’s
concept of reality may seem skewed to the most traditional writers because they lose the true essence of what makes their form of
communication unique.
Built Example 2 Central Park, Carmel, IN
Citizenship
•
The complex of buildings at Central Park creates a community space for teens
to interact with each other. A sense of community can spread throughout all
of the city eliminating the feeling of isolation that many teens are
experiencing.
Public Sphere
•
Teens will begin to recognize each other as they hang out at the center
regularly. They will have a common gathering space that allows for social
interactions with friends and other teens who live nearby.
Worldview
•
As teens feel that they have more freedom, they will take more pride in
themselves. They will be more open to learning about other people when
they feel secure in who they are and in their support system.
Design Solution
• Skate park in Fort Wayne, IN implemented to curb the “makeshift
skate park.”
Built Example-The Kelburn Castle Graffiti Project
The Graffiti Project of Kelburn Castle was undertaken in June 2007 in the
Ayrshire region of Scotland. The original Normal keep of Kelburn Castle
was built around 1200 A.D. by the de Boyville Family, who still maintains
ownership of the property; it is one the oldest castles in Scotland that
has been owned continuously by the same family.
In 2007, the family decided to embark on an intriguing and provocative
art project that was meant to deliver a shocking artistic statement. They
brought together four the world’s leading graffiti artists from Brazil, the
Sao Paulo Crew, to work alongside local artists to create a mural on part
of exterior walls of the castle.
Historic Scotland agreed to allow the painting of only a concrete
rendered area of a turret and two walls, of which was to be removed in
2009 during a planned a restoration.
The content includes Brazilian myths and Scottish history in an
intermingled web of symbols and characters.
Courtney Theis
Built Example-Worldviews,
Citizenship and the Public Sphere
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdkVvS3KwJo
Worldview
• Represents two different world views and cultures: 1.) The South American Street Culture and 2.) Traditional British values embodies in
the ancient castle.
•The graffiti artist, Nunca, says of the project, “This project is not just about Brazil, about Scotland, or about painting the walls of a castle.
It’s about different points of view. It’s about seeing things from a different perspective.” In this way, the project can be more about changing
traditional worldviews about graffiti by legitimizing graffiti artists on a large scale.
•Challenges notions about the urban and rural landscape.
• Provokes the public to uncover their worldviews with regard to graffiti. Some believe the work is a creative masterpiece, others find it to
be simply the legal vandalism of a National Landmark.
Citizenship
• Another important aim of the project was to “celebrate the beauty and skill of these artists and an art form often marginalized by
negative feeling in Britain…organizers hope that the work by these visiting artists will raise the profile of graffiti art in the country and
allow many talented Scottish artists to gain recognition.” In this case, the project has higher goals of infusing citizenship into the world
of the British graffiti artist, perhaps allowing them to overcome the negative stigmas that have followed their work for so long.
• The graffiti artist, Nunca, who worked in this project discussed graffiti as an important part of protesting the gap between the rich and
the poor in Sao Paulo. Protest is an important element in displaying rights and agency. This project can also stand as a kind of ‘protest’
against the rigid criminalization of graffiti artists. This project might also provide an interesting backdrop for Nunca’s views on the gap
between the rich and the poor, as the castle is a blatant symbol of the elite class.
Public Sphere
•As discussed in “The Making of Space, Race and Place,” Dickinson shows how marginalized groups used the public sphere to facilitate
lines of communications between them as a form of public expression. In this way, the public sphere was spatially transformed by the
graffiti, as well as included a social component by way of communicating between groups. While the Kelburn Castle Project was a private
undertaking, and does not have the kind of public access of the city, it carries connotations about communication and rights in the public
sphere simply through the use of graffiti. This particular art form is loaded with ideas about what is appropriate for public space, what is
art and what is vandalism? Is graffiti appropriate anywhere, or at all, and are there boundaries? Is the urban sphere the only place graffiti is
found and why? Kelburn Castle is open to the public as a historic estate. In that way, it is also a part of the public sphere and is likely part
of the reason there was such public outcry and strong opinions on the piece.
Courtney Theis