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Cartography Of Power: The 47th State's Aversion To Graffiti Art, Priscila Poliana

Architecture and Planning ETDs

While unauthorized graffiti has been historically associated with crime, vandalism, and property damage, the visual incursions of corporate advertisers on urban landscapes have been mostly exempt from criminal characterization– by purchasing private and public spaces for cash, upfront. The persistent transfer of capital to the private sector, and by extension commercialization of public spaces and services, invades individual privacy by intensifying exposure to relentless, unsolicited advertisement. Guerrilla Art thus emerges as a force challenging the favoritism of consumer culture vis-à -vis the agency of ordinary citizens to utilize the urban fabric as a medium for expression and public discourse. Every …