Street Art: The Transfiguration of the Commonplaces

Author(s): NICHOLAS ALDEN RIGGLE

Source: The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 68, No. 3 (SUMMER 2010), pp. 243257
Published by: Wiley on behalf of The American Society for Aesthetics
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NICHOLAS ALDEN RIGGLE

oftheCommonplaces
StreetArt:TheTransfiguration

part,byallowingeveryday
objectsand eventsto
enterthe museum,gallery,
and art-critical
conhaveheardbefore:
some- versation.
Anotherpossibility,
anotherresponse
Hereisa story
youmight
is to do just the reverse:weave
thing
hugehappenedaroundthetimethatPopArt to modernism,
life.Buthowwouldthatwork?
thein- artintoeveryday
enteredtheartworld.
Modernism,
through
could
there
an artpracticethatrequires,
and
had
How
be
fluence
offormalist
theory criticism, septhatthesignificance ina mannerofspeaking,
aratedartandlifebyinsisting
takingartoutofthemuwas
and privatecollectionArtistic
ofartis neverrelational.
seum,gallery,
ultimately,
significance
and putting
it intothefracto be foundsolelyin a work'saesthetic,
largely out oftheartworldlife?How couldthere
notitsrepresentational, turedstreamof everyday
visual,formal
properties,
art?
or politicalcontent.Andy be post-museum
social,metaphorical,
artpracBrilloBox,andsimilar
Warhol's
acclaimed
works,
Imaginean intentionally
anonymous
tookthisidea to task.BrilloBox is visuallyin- tice,mostof whoseworksare destroyed
by naThis
fromJamesHarvey'ssplendidly tureand,oftenintentionally,
byhumankind.
distinguishable
Brillo
and
hinders
the
construcboxes
for
the
popular
anonymity ephemerality
designedshipping
tion of a masternarrative.
Imaginea practice
cleaningpad. As a result,artcouldno longerbe
arelargely
disconnected
fromthe
fromnonartbyitsvisualproperties. whoseartworks
distinguished
becausetheirsignificance
itseemed,couldlooklike,or be,any- artworld
Artworks,
hingesontheir
ofthatworld.Thisdisconnection
imEventhemostbanaleveryday
objectcould beingoutside
thing.
in
involvement
in
the
it
the
the
artworld's
be "transfigured"
practice
byappropriately
placing
pedes
artworld.
Suchworkseffectively
collapsethefor- and ensuresthattheworksenterthe museum,
A
and artmarketonlyat great,ifnottotal,
betweenartandtheeveryday.
malistdistinction
gallery,
can be art cost.Imaginean artpracticethat,insteadofdeconsequenceofthefactthatanything
sensibilities
ofan elite
and
therefined
isa proliferation
ofstyles,
media,movements,
lighting
merely
Histori- few,hasthepowertoengage,effortlessly
andaesinfluencesa floodof creativefreedom.
themassesthrough
itsmanifest
creativans and criticscan no longercrafttheir"master thetically,
thatattempt
to capturethedefining ity,
andbeauty.
narratives"
skill,originality,
depthofmeaning,
WhatI haveaskedyoutoimagineis embodied
influence
of a singlemasteror of a manifestoart.It respondsto modThisis all thebetterforthe in thepracticeofstreet
movement.
wielding
theeverydayitsworksare
since ernism
notbyhosting
"Post-Historical"
responseto modernism,
the artificial typically
noteveryday
thesenarratives
serveto reinforce
objectsand,likeModernist
a dis- works,
oftenretainrecognizable
visualproperties
distinction
betweenartand theeverydayart- of art-butbymakingartin thestreetsforall to
tinction
thata fullyrealized,trulypluralistic
norpostsee. Streetartis neitherpostmodern,
worldshouldabandon.1
It is theotherresponseto theModLess familiar
is thefactthatthereis morethan postmodern.
beernseparation
ofartandlife.
one wayto abandontheModerndistinction
In whatfollows,
I expandupontheseideasby
tweenartandlife.According
to ourstoryabove,
in large offering
a wayof thinking
aboutthe natureof
we enteredthepost-historical
artworld,
I. INTRODUCTION

TheJournal
ofAesthetics
andArtCriticism
68:3Summer
2010
2010TheAmerican
SocietyforAesthetics

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andArtCriticism
ofAesthetics
TheJournal

244
art."I then
street
art.InSectionII, I define"street
itstreatment
defendthedefinition
byaddressing
of similararts.In SectionIII, I addressgraffiti,
and in SectionIV,I discusstherelationbetween
publicand streetart.Alongthe way I demonandart-critical
art-historical
stratethedefinition's
advantages.
II. DEFINING 'STREET ART'

art?mightseemeasy
The questionWhatis street
scribbled
to answer.We haveall seenit:graffiti,
names,and murals.It is just artplaced on the
where'thestreet'is takenin a verybroad
street,
sensetodenote,roughly,
anyurbanpublicspace.2
answercannotbe
However,thiscommonsensical
in newworks
bringing
right.Imaginea gallerist
wholeansa painting
againsthercarbeforeopening the gallerydoors.The paintingwas placed
in thestreetbutclearlyis notstreetart.In art
areplacedinthe
fairsaroundtheworld,
paintings
streetart.Thenobuttheyarenotthereby
street,
tionthatstreetartis artplacedin thestreetis
insofaras it suggeststhatstreet
also misleading
artis madeandsubsequently
placedinthestreet.
butas we willsee,in
Thisis trueofsomeworks,
intheproducmanycases,thestreetis employed
tionoftheart.It doesnothelpto add thattheart
mustbe in thestreetforat leasta certainlength
oftime.Asidefrombeingad hoc,itis false.Street
artspansworksthatare utterly
ephemeraland
enduring.
relatively
ConsiderJoshAllenHarris'sinflatable
sculpcreaturesout of
tures.Harriscreatesinflatable
andtapesthemtosubplasticmaterial
diaphanous
ofNewYorkCity.
wayairductson thesidewalks
Whenthesubwaypasses,air shootsout of the
ducts(Remember
Monroe?)andinflates
Marilyn
themintoa shortandfrenzied
theanimals,
casting
lastaboutas
The inflatable
existence.
sculptures
chain
ofsubfor
an
as
it
takes
average-sized
long
waycarsto zoom by.3On theotherside of the
are theworksof "Stikman"
temporalspectrum
involves
's projects
(see Figure1). One ofStikman
in
middle
the
stickmen
little
thermoplastic
placing
Unlessthey
incrosswalks).
ofthestreet(normally
are deliberately
theywillbe thereas
destroyed,
is.Invader'sworkis equally
longas thecrosswalk
colorful
Withpowerful
glue,he affixes
enduring.
to
mosaicsdepicting
digital-style
spacecreatures
varioussurfaces
(see Figure2). The artistREVS,

Figure1. Stikman(photography
byLuna Park).

whomI discussin moredetailbelow,weldsor

ofhisname
metalsculptures
boltsmedium-sized
andother
toloadingdocks,ironbeams,sidewalks,
surfaces.
city
havea farlessdirectconOtherstreetartworks
whichraisesthequestionof
nectionto thestreet,
inthestreet.
whether
streetartmustbe physically
BlucreatedMuto,a fascinating
Theartist
pieceof
board.
thatusesthestreetas a drawing
animation
in hisdistinctive
Blu paintedcharacters
styleon
shifted
tooka photograph,
variousstreetsurfaces,
took
another
thecharacter
photograph,
slightly,
theimagestogether
and so on. He thenstitched
walk
Human-like
andaddedsoundeffects.
figures
kick
over
and
crawl
under
windows,
alongwalls,
extheir
lose
into
heads,
bugs,
logs;theymorph
teethcrawlalong
pand,splitinhalf,andmultiply;
thesidewalkandup walls.One reallymustsee it
mosaics
tobelieveit.4Another
example:Invader's
areplacedall overvariouscities,butthefinished
a map thatdetailsthelocaproductis normally
tionof each work.Invaderprintsthemapsand

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Riggle StreetArt

245

Figure2. Invader(photograph
byLuna Park).

themin the"invaded"city.The Paris

distributes
are detailedin books
and Los Angelesinvasions
soldon Invader'swebsite.ThesemapsandMuto
are arguably
streetarteventhoughtheyare not
locatedinthestreet.5
physically
condiIt cannotbe a necessaryor sufficient
tionthatstreetartbe art-in-the-street.
Still,street
to the
has somestrongconnection
artobviously
is thatstreetartis
street.A different
suggestion
resource.
thestreetas an artistic
artthatemploys
kinds
of
artistic
resources.
are
different
there
Now,
resourceis thephysicalmaOne kindof artistic
terialartistsuse to createtheirworks.Justas
and
galleries,
paintersuse canvas,paint,frames,
The
ofthestreet.
useelements
walls,streetartists
subwayanditsbriefshotsofcityairare literally
thestreetis thedrawpartofHarris'ssculptures;
windows,
doorways,
ingboardforBlu'sanimation;
all areusedtocresidewalks,
rooftopssignposts,
resourceis
atestreetart.Anotherkindofartistic
inwhichtheworkis displayed.
Some
thecontext

artistsuse thegallery,
studio,or museum;street
artistsuse the street.So perhapsan artwork
is
streetartif,andonlyif,itscreatorusesthestreet
inatleastoneoftheseways.
as an artistic
resource
Thisdefinition
but it is
getssomething
right,
artusesthestreetas an
tooinclusive.
Commercial
inbothsenses-massstenciling
artistic
resource
by
movieproduction
billboards,
companies,
posters,
butnoneofitis street
projectedadvertisementsart.Thatanartwork
usesthestreet
isnotsufficient
foritsbeingstreetart.Butgiventhatitcoversall
ourexamplesthusfar,itdoesseemnecessary.
Our
definition
shouldentailthematerial
requirement:
an artwork
is streetartonlyifitusesthestreetas
an artistic
resource.
(I willoftensaythatartworks
makea material
or
thatsatisfy
thisrequirement
artistic
useofthestreet.)
itis necFora workto use an artistic
resource,
essarythatthecreatorof theworkintentionally
use it in thecreationof thework.(It is notnecin
feature
essarythattheconceptofthematerial
can"intend
to
theintention.
Forexample,
anartist
to use thisstuff,
use iron"in a workbyintending
a
whichis iron.)Whenthismaterialis thestreet,
norfurther
commitment
is atleastimplicitly
(but
Thisisa commitment
to
incurred.
mallyexplicitly)
. In usingthestreet,artists
ephemer
ality
willingly
it
subjecttheirworkto all of its manythreatsalbe
moved,
might stolen,defaced,destroyed,
Thisis notto saythatall
tered,or appropriated.
streetartists
expecttheirworkto be short-lived;
surelyStikman
expectshisworksto endure.It is
tosaythat,inusingthestreet,
any
theyrelinquish
of
orontheintegrity
claimonthework'sintegrity,
to itsbeing
thepartoftheworkthatcontributes
Blu'suseofthestreet
streetart.(So, forexample,
increating
Mutoinvolvesthecommitment.)
A notablefeatureofmuchstreetartis thatits
is severely
whenremoved
meaning
compromised
fromthestreet.
JoshHarris'sinflatable
sculptures
iftheywereinwouldlose something
important
fanina museumorgallery,
flatedbyan industrial
becausetheartist'suse of thestreet
presumably
of
role in theinterpretation
playsan important
thework.Theregular
movement
ofthecitybrings
Harris'ssculptures
intoexistenceand introduces
themto a briefandanimatedlife.As thesubway
In Harris'swork,
passeson,so do thesculptures.
thelifeofthecityjustis thelifeofthesculpture.
TheartistC. Finleybeautifies
ruggedsteeldumpThe
themwithpretty
stersbycovering
wallpaper.6
isona dumpstera veteran
factthatthewallpaper

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246

TheJournal
ofAesthetics
andArtCriticism

isstreet
artif,andonlyif,itsmaterial
useof
denizenofthestreetis whatmakesitsignificant. Anartwork
withsuchhomelydcor, thestreet
isinternal
toitsmeaning.
By covering
dumpsters
tothefactthatthestreetis
Finleydrawsattention
ofstreetartthat,
also a kindoflivingroom.Her workrevealsthat It is a virtueofthisconception
neednotbe so
theelements
ofourcommonplaces
givencertainfactsabout the street,it implies
The dumpsterlikethekitchentrash thatstreetartis at leastlikelyto haveproperties
uninviting.
binor thehometoilet-need notreflect
itscon- thatitinfactoftenhas.Thedefinition
impliesthat
tents.
alone
is
is
street
art
to
other
illebe,
merely
Wallpaper
things,
Wallpaper
pretty.
likely
among
on a dumpster:
thatis streetart.7
and
creative,
gal,anonymous,
ephemeral,
highly
In contrast,
themeaningof an advertisement attractive.10
does notchangeifitis removedfromthestreet.
The streetis composedlargelyofsurfaces
and
Its messageis generally
this
or
see
that
no
owned
the
and
other
buy
objects
by
city
people;the
matter
whereitis.Ofcourse,thatthead conveys artistic
use of thesesurfacesis normally
an act
thismessagemight
Thisfactforcesmanystreetartists
dependonitsuseofthestreet, ofvandalism.
andtherhetorical
effect
ofan ad is oftenseverely to be anonymous
or to use pseudonyms.
Many
diminished
whenremoved
froma publiclocation; streetartistsare notoriously
unidentifiable
and
ifremoved,
itmight
be ineffective
commercial
to contact.Also due to theillegality,
and
art, difficult
butitwouldstillmeanthesamething.
IfC. Finley
's
as a resultof exposureto theforcesof
partially
isremoved
fromthedumpster,
orifthe nature,streetart is highlyephemeralsome of
wallpaper
is placedin a warehouse it existsforonlya coupleof hoursbeforeit is
wallpapered
dumpster
buffedout,scrawledover,or naturally
erased.
(or a gallery),themeaningof theworkwillbe
ifnotentirely
streetartdoes notexistin a desseverely
compromised,
destroyed.8 Furthermore,
Thisindicatesthat,forstreetart,the artistic ignated"artspace"-a place like a museumor
use of thestreetmustbe internal
to its signifi- galleryspecially
reserved
forart.As a result,
itis
to
its
much
more
the
will
that
notice
these
cance,thatis,itmustcontribute
essentially
likely
public
Featuresof artworks
can be eitherex- worksif theyare visuallystrikingstreetartists
meaning.
ternalor internal
to theirmeaning.9
Thinkofthe arepressured
to maketheirworkspop outofthe
and otherartiststo
meaningofa workas givenbyan interpretation. streetand call on passersby
ThesizeofOdilonRedon'sGuardianoftheSpirit payattention.
various
to
Theyemploy
strategies
Waters
is an eliminable
feature
ofanyinterpreta- achievethis.Theymaketheirworksvisually
stuntion-oneneednotdiscussitto makesenseofthe ning(Figure3), examplesof extraordinary
skill
work.However,
thesizeofBarnett
Newman'sVir (Figure4), highly
or all
originalandimaginative,
HeroicusSublimusor of RobertSmithson's
mostpiecesneed
Spi- at once (Figure5). As a result,
ralJetty
mustplaya rolein theirinterpretation. notbe placedin a gallery,
reviewedby a critic,
ispretty
becauseitismadeof
or blessedby theartworld
to be appreciated
as
Duchamp'sFountain
butitsprettiness
haslittle art.11
glossywhiteporcelain,
todo withitsmeaning
towhatsomeforThiswayofthinking
aboutstreetartalsohelps
(contrary
malists
havethought).
Incontrast,
theloveliness
of
makesenseoftheexperience
ofseeingstreetart
C. Finley's
wouldplayan esin designatedartspacesit invariably
feelsdead
wallpaper
dumpsters
sentialroleinanyreasonableinterpretation.
This and inauthentic.
Whena workis movedintoan
of a
suggeststhatanyreasonableinterpretation
artspace,theone thingthatchangesis thevery
pieceofstreetartmustreferto thewayinwhich thingthatmadeitstreetart;at bestit lookslike
theartistuses thestreetto givemeaningto the streetart.One couldexperienceit as streetart
artwork.
If
Call thistheimmaterial
whatitsuse ofthestreetmight
requirement:
onlybyimagining
a workis street
then
its
use
of
the
street
is
have
been.
At
art,
best,then,one couldimaginehow
internal
toitsmeaning.
theworkseeninthegallery
havebeenstreet
might
Noticethattheimmaterial
requirement
implies art.
thematerial
Ifan artistic
use ofthe
In StyleWars(HenryChalfant
andTonySilver,
requirement.
streetis internal
to themeaningofa work,then, 1983),theearlydocumentary
of theculturethat
theworkusesthestreet.
artdealersinthen, gavebirthtocontemporary
obviously,
Perhaps,
graffiti,
theimmaterial
isalsoa sufficient
con- viteyounggraffiti
artists
toproduceandsellworks
requirement
dition.Thus,
oncanvas.In onescene,whichArthur
Dantocalls

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Riggle StreetArt

247

Figure3. Blu,2007(photograph
byLuna Park).

Figure4. C215 (photograph

byLuna Park).

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

ofAesthetics
andArtCriticism
TheJournal

248

Figure5. Dan Witz(photograph

byLuna Park).

"themostdispiriting
sequence"in thefilm,the
viewer
iswitness
toa savagegallery
where
opening
thewriters'
distinctive
stylesare exploitedin an
to makethemviablein the artworld.12
attempt
Danto'swordsarechosencarefully.
Itisthe"most
dispiriting
sequence"becauseitistheonlyplacein
thefilmwherewesee graffiti
outsideofitsproper
decutofffromthestreet,and thereby
context,
voidofitsdistinctive
has
been
It
meaning.
literally
ofitsspirit.
stripped
Streetartis deeplyantithetical
totheartworld.
Thatis,foreach partof theartworld,
streetart
resiststo someappreciableextentplayinga role
in it.Considera museum.Therecouldbe an exhibition
ofstreetartonlyat greatcostto thesignificance
oftheworksexhibited.
Bypullingthem
fromthestreetsthecuratoreliminates
theirmaterialuse of thestreet,thereby
their
destroying
meaningand statusas streetart.Whatis exhibitedin themuseumis at mosta vestigeofstreet
ifyoucan,a gallery
art.Imagine,
thatdealssolely
in streetart.Streetartis done on ownedprop-

itis
erty.Whatis thereto sell?Legallyspeaking,
Of course,itwouldbe possible
alreadyowned.13
to createa temporary
galleryin thestreetsfull
ofephemeral
artthatcannotbe sold.ArtistErik
Burkehasdonejustthatwithhis(Con)temporary
Galleryin Reno,Nevada.14But sucha "gallery"
structure
hardlyhas theinstitutional
requiredof
an artworld
gallery.
Evensomeofthethought-driven
realmsofthe
artcriticism
andhisartworldandthephilosophy
whendirected
at street
toryofart-lookdifferent
art.I thinkmanyartcriticsevaluatestreetart
by relatingit to the historyand criticalbackart. Criticstend to asgroundof institutional
sess streetartin termsof howsuchworkwould
farein a galleryor museumsetting.
Unsurprisare invariably
ingly,suchassessments
negative,
buttheydo littlemorethanpointout theobviousfactthatstreetartmakesbadinstitutional
art.
This is not to say thatcriticism
of streetartis
or thatit mustignoreitsrelationto
impossible,
institutional
art.Below,I discusstherelevanceof

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249

Art
RiggleStreet
Newman'spaintings
to a specific
Barnett
pieceof
graffiti.
of
Streetartraisesproblemsforjustifications
themuseum
thatappealtothepurported
uniqueStreetart
nessandpoweroftheworksitcontains.
is largelyephemeralartthatis usuallycheapto
andownedandoverseen
make,freetoexperience,
Museumsoften
everyone).
byno one (or,rather,
containartthatis extremely
expensive(to make
andoverseen
toexperience,
andown),costly
byan
a museum,
anda
elitefew.One reasonforvisiting
and
theexpansive,
reasonto maintain
expensive,
rolesthatsustain
network
ofartworld
exhausting
them,is thatwhatis inthemuseumis supposedly
fromwhatis outsideit-itis
different
sufficiently
more
fullof complexmeaning,
morepowerful,
thantheevandrewarding
beautiful,
challenging,
Thisis indeedtrueofartlikeBrilloBox,
eryday.
thatHarvey'severywhichcarriesa significance
includes
when
the
But
boxes
lack.
everyday
day
street
art,thereasonlosesbite.Danto,ina discussionofthisveryissue,askswhatartmustbe liketo
He says,
a newcomer's
triptothemuseum.
justify
will
that
make
sure
want
to
not,
upon
they
"[Y]ou
thatstrikes
findsomething
themuseum,
entering
themas justlikewhattheysawon Broadwayand
forthentheywillaskwhatthepoint
145thStreet,
of goingto themuseumwas.15Thatquestionis esWhat'sthepointofgoingto themuseum?street
inthefaceofa flourishing
peciallypressing
artpractice.
to the artNot onlyis streetart antithetical
butitalsoisatoddswiththeModernvision
world,
Ourdefinition
ofartandartcriticism.
impliesthat
to employsolelyformalist
it is impossible
principlesin a critiqueof streetart.The verything
to themeaning
whoseuse contributes
essentially
of streetart,thestreet,itselfhas meaning.The
sidewindows,
alleywalls,dumpsters,
doorways,
walks,signs,polls,crosswalks,
subwaycars,and
as public,
all havetheirownsignificance
tunnelseveryday
objects.Thesearesharedspaces,ignored
spaces,politispaces,practicalspaces,conflicted
cal spaces.To makesenseofstreetart,thecritic
of a work's
is forcedto discussthesignificance
use of theseinflected
spaces.This violatesthe
of
derivedfromtheprinciple
formalist
principle,
a workof
thatto appreciate
aesthetic
autonomy,
features
artthecriticmustattendto itsaesthetic
to ourdefinition,
alone.According
makingsense

ofstreetartrequiresattending
to a nonaesthetic
ofthework,namely,
itsmaterial
useofthe
feature
street.16
A formalist
would
critiqueofa streetartwork
notbe a critiqueof it as such.Thisis notto say
thatstreetartis formally
uninteresting.
(I have
of
accomalreadyprovidedexamples formally
formalist
art.)Itistosaythatstrictly
plishedstreet
artcriticism
cannothandlestreetart,inspiteofits
oftendazzlingaesthetic
qualities.
The ubiquityof thesequalitiesindicateshow
tenet.Forstreetartrespects
atleastoneformalist
thatartshouldliftus outof the
maliststhought
itshouldhavethepower
everyday.
Theythought
to disengageus fromourpracticalconcernsand
contemliftus to a higherplace of disinterested
of art itself,apartfrom
plation-contemplation
thequotidianconcerns
ofeveryday
life.Clement
the
formalist
criticand
Greenberg, preeminent
madesurehe wouldhave suchexperitheorist,
hewouldshuthiseyesand
ences.On gallery
visits,
haveartists
guidehimto theirnewworks.When
he wouldabruptly
he was correctly
positioned,
intoviewand
his
to
the
work
eyes bring
open
stimuli.17
Greenwithaesthetic
inundatehimself
oftenformed
berg's"pureaestheticexperience"
thebasisforhiscritical
opinionofthework.One
wouldhave
canonlywonderwhether
Greenberg
to havea stranger
jumpoutat himon
preferred
itvithestreetholding
thefreshartwork,
flashing
olentlybeforehiseyes.He wouldnotevenhave
Vmabouttolookat art;I'm about
beenthinking
couldnotbe more
to lookat art.The experience
thanthat.
"pure"or "unmediated"
Yet thisis how streetart oftenentersone's
downthestreet,
ofconsciousness.
stream
Walking
a bar,
onthewaytowork,a friend's
house,dinner,
dia lecture,
one haphazardly
glancesintheright
inaesthetic
rectionandBOOM!- an unsolicited
hazycloud
jection.One is joltedoutofwhatever
one was in;one is forcedto
ofpracticalthought
andrather
indifreconsider
one'spurelypractical
ferentrelationship
to thestreet,and a curiosity
theexpetoexploretheworkdevelops.However,
to formalism,
theprimary
rienceis not,contrary
opinion.Criticism
approprigroundfora critical
of
consideration
ate to streetartrequiresfurther
the
of
thework'smeaning,
especially significance
itsuse ofthestreet.(The critic,
too,mustreturn
of streetart
to thecave.) The aestheticfeatures

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andArtCriticism
TheJournal
ofAesthetics

250

Figure6. Swoon(photograph
byLuna Park).

or moralforce(see
Themeaning sophical,critical,religious,
areoftenguidestothatsignificance.
of streetart outstrips
the powerof its mani- Figure6).18
I defined
street
Thereis no necessary
festaestheticproperties.
art,showedthatitisdeeplyantitotheartworld,
andarguedthatformalist
tensionbetweena work'sbeautyand its philo- thetical

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251

Riggle StreetArt

assumption(a) is wrong-a lot of streetart is not

Streetartentertainsa wide rangeof
meregraffiti.
artisticpractices,fromsculptureto painting,video,
and performance.Here I show thatassumptions
(b) and (c) are also wrong.I therebyshowthatthe
premisesoftheabove argumentare mistaken.Not
is merewritingon a surface,but even if
all graffiti
it were,its use of the streetcan be essentialto its
be streetart,but it
meaning.Not onlycan graffiti
can also be verygood streetart.To make thislast
pointmorevivid,I show that,in at least one case,
a mere tag- an unadornedname on a surface-is
streetartofthehighestcaliber.In doingso, I hope
to illustrateone way in whichstreetart criticism
can proceed.
Examples, which abound, show that assumption(1) is false.Gettinga bettersense of contemwill help us reformulate(1) and
porarygraffiti
recast the initialargumentin its strongestform.
artistsuse media as diverse
Contemporarygraffiti
as paint,chalk,light,video projection,and comIII. GRAFFITI
The GraffitiResearch Lab, a
puterprogramming.
writersdedicated
groupofso-calledGeek Graffiti
One mightworrythatthisdefinitionimpliesthat
to inventingand providingopen source technolis not streetart. Here is an argumentto
graffiti
withsmall,
artists,makes graffiti
ogy for graffiti
thateffect:
magnetizedLED lightscalled "throwies"because
theycan be thrownonto otherwiseunreachable
metal surfaces.19
(1) Graffiti is illegal writing, usually a
They also use powerfullightsto
artists
onto buildings.Some graffiti
shine graffiti
pseudonym,on a publicsurface.
hack digitalroad signsto displaytheirown mes(2) The materialuse of the streetis not essential
to themeaningof a piece of graffiti.
sages. I mentionedearlierthatREVS weldsmetal
o streetart,then,graffiti sculpturesof his pseudonymto parts of the city.
(3) Giventhedefinition
is not streetart.
Those worksare largelyjust metal cutoutsof his
widelyrecognizedtag, and many considerthese
Graffitiis not always as
trueof graffiti. sculpturesto be graffiti.
The firstpremiseseems intuitively
as
The second premiseis supportedby the factthat
simple illegallywritinga name on a publicsurface. Light writingis not necessarilyillegal, and
to themeaningof
itslocationmakesno difference
REVS's sculpturesare not writingon a public
It means the same in a public
a piece of graffiti.
surface.
bathroom,on an alleywall,or on a bus.I take itas
twobasic kindsofgraffiti,
It helpsto distinguish
giventhatany definitionof streetartthatimplies
Our openingarand artisticgraffiti.
meregraffiti
is streetartcannotbe right.Thus,if
thatno graffiti
Mere graffiti
thisargumentworks,thenthe definitionis badly
gumentfailsto make thisdistinction.
is reallywhat premise(1) has in mind.It is grafmistaken.
I
fitithatsays,"so-and-sowas here,"or "Jackloves
Until now,I have hardlymentionedgraffiti.
is not art,so the question of
Jill."Mere graffiti
did this in order to show how diverse streetart
its statusas streetart does not arise. The salient
is today.People unacquaintedwiththerichnessof
streetarttendto equate itwithgraffiti.
question is whetherand when artisticgraffitiis
Theythink
is hard to define,and
streetart. Artisticgraffiti
is iland that(b) graffiti
that(a) streetartis graffiti
is
and meregraffiti
artistic
the
between
and
as
surface
on
a
boundary
(same (1)),
legal writing public
is notart;itis merevandalthat(c) all suchwriting
certainlyvague. Sufficeto say thatthe paradigm
is done in a distinctive
ismor territory
style
marking.All oftheseassumptions case of artisticgraffiti
thatoriginatedin New York Cityin the 1970sand
are wrong.In the previoussection,I showed that

principlescannotadequatelyaddressit.It follows
thatstreetartembodiesa responseto modernism
fromthe postmoddifferent
thatis interestingly
ern,or post-historical,
response.Modernismseparatedartand life.It exaltedartto extinction.The
post-historicalartistscorrectedthis by allowing
the everydaya place in the gallery.Art and life
wereconjoinedin theworldof art.Consequently,
we lost the abilityto recognize art by its visual
properties;to graspan object'sartstatus,thestory
goes, one is forcedto considerits possible relations to the artworld.This is not the case foran
artpracticethatrebutsmodernismbyincorporating art into the everyday.Not only can such art
visual properties,
retainartistically
distinguishing
but it should-if it does not call on the viewerto
appreciateit as such,itrisksblendingintotheundifferentiated
scene,sinkingto the bottomof the
fracturedstreamof life.

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andArtCriticism
TheJournal
ofAesthetics

252
attitude
1980s,anditis createdwitha distinctive
orintention.20
is notstreet
The argument
thatartistic
graffiti
in
is publicwriting
artnowgoes:artistic
graffiti
attia distinctive
style,createdwitha particular
to
tude.Thematerial
useofthestreetisirrelevant
and still
itsmeaningbecauseitcan be anywhere
to the
meanthesamething.
Therefore,
according
is street
ofstreet
definition
art,no artistic
graffiti
art.
herebetween
We need to makea distinction
usesofthestreet.A general
generalandspecific
useofthestreetis a use ofa publicsurfaceforits
A specific
useofthestreetis a useofthe
publicity.
usesof
features
of
a
specific
publicspace.Specific
usesofa typeofstreet
thestreet
areeitherspecific
a doorwayora brickwall)or
space(forexample,
brick
usesofa tokenspace{thisparticular
specific
how
artistic
It
is
difficult
to
wall).21
imagine
any
thatmakesa specificuse of thestreetis
graffiti
So the
notstreetartaccording
to ourdefinition.
is notstreetartmustbe the
thatgraffiti
argument
thatartistic
thatmakesa general
graffiti
argument
street
use ofthestreetis not,qua artistic
graffiti,
to
artbecauseitsuse ofthestreetis notinternal
itsmeaning.
It is unclearwhetherthis argumentshould
of thedefinition
bothera proponent
developed
thatmakesa
here.Even thoughartistic
graffiti
generaluse ofthestreetis notstreetartin virtue
somesuchgraffiti
is streetart
ofitsbeinggraffiti,
invirtue
ofitssignificant
use
of
thestreet.
general
to a
The use of thestreetmightnotbe internal
as graffiti,
butitmightbe inwork'ssignificance
ternaltoitswiderartistic
significance.
ConsiderMOMO's ManhattanTag. In 2006,
the streetartistMOMO made what is likely
to be the largesttag ever created.It even has
it
a claim to be amongthe largestartworks;
is largerthan RobertSmithson'sSpiralJetty,
TurandJames
MichaelHeizer'sDoubleNegative,
The artisttagged"MOMO"
rell'sRodenCrater.
acrossthewidthof New YorkCitywitha thin
lineofpaint.Thepiecestartson thefarwestside
oftheWestVillageand endsin East RiverPark
justsouthofHoustonStreet.It is overtwomiles
wideandaboutonemilehigh.Thisisclearlyartisticgraffiti
thatmakesa generaluse ofthestreet.
MOMO simply
taggedthestreet.It justhappens
tobe verylarge.22
The sheersizeofthistagis nottheonlything
thatcontributes
toitssignificance.
Equallyimpor-

inparticular
thethintant,inmyview,is thestyle,
line
he
of
the
ness,
painted(see Figure7). The
vastness
ofthetagis evidentto anyonewhopays
to obtainan allattention
to it,yetanyattempt
visionofitisfutile.
Anyaerialposiencompassing
sectionof
tionthatallowedonetosee therelevant
Manhattan
wouldbe toohighto see thethinline.
Theartist
himself
hasneverseenthewholething.
Yeta central
isto"getup"-graffiti
goaloftagging
writers
wanttomaketheirnameas visibleas possibleto as manypeopleas possible,especially
to
otherwriters.
It is sweetly
ironicthatthebiggest
in its
tagin theworldis designedto be invisible
entirety.
Butthesignificance
ofthispieceoutstrips,
and
itsirony.In a way,MOMO has taken
outshines,
an idea of BarnettNewman'sone stepfurther.
Newman'slargepaintings
are widelyconsidered
to be sublime.According
to ImmanuelKant,the
to putitoverlysimply,
involvesa feeling
sublime,
ofdispleasure
followed
ofpleasure.It
bya feeling
is theexperience
ofan objector eventthatoverwhelms
theimagination
orthesenses-theinfinite,
thevastness
oftheuniversethepowerofnature,
whilerecognizing
thatwe canrationally
graspthe
ofsuchthings.
Thepleasurewetakeinthe
totality
toKant,is thepleasurewefeel
sublime,
according
in realizingthat,althoughour imaginations
are
our reason
stymied(the sourceof displeasure),
back.23
understands.
Reason'sgotImagination's
tobe expeNewmanwantedhislargepaintings
riencedup close,so thattheytakeup eventhe
vision.He
farthest
reachesof one's peripheral
wantedtheviewertobe overwhelmed
bythevastness of thepainting;
viewedat theappropriate
senses
are
our
distance,
incapableoftakinginthe
in
ofdiswholething,
resulting a Kantianfeeling
totakeinthewholething.
pleasureinourinability
Thisfeeling
canbe overcomebythepleasurefelt
to take
whenwe use ourreason-laced
autonomy
a stepbackandviewthewholepainting,
thereby
thetwo-course
mealofsublimity.
completing
MOMO's pieceartfully
suppliesthefeelingof
at ourinability
to see thewholetag.
displeasure
But there's
no stepping
back,no pleasurablereto
assuranceofourreason'spower.Anyattempt
bringthe entirepiece intoviewsimultaneously
withthe
takesit out of view.One is confronted
factthatone's sensessimplycannottakein this
work.Whatwe can do is drawthepieceouton a
map;we can use GoogleMaps to visuallyimagofpleasure"
inethepiece.The resulting
"feeling

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253

Art
RiggleStreet

Figure7. (Partof) MOMO's ManhattanTag(photograph

byNicholasRiggle).

wouldbe a pleasureinthepoweroftheimaginathe
tiontorecreate
thepieceina digitalmediumsublimeinthetwenty-first
century.
herecountsas street
The definition
proffered
thatmakesa generaluse
artsomeartistic
graffiti
of thestreet.It does notcoverit all. Thismight
botheryou.But I thinkit is thecorrectresult:
aredifferent
artsthatsomestreetartandgraffiti
timesmeetin a singlework.Some streetartis
isnotstreet
art.There
someartistic
graffiti;
graffiti
is no essentialconnection
betweenthetwo.This
and streetarthavea
is notto denythatgraffiti
In fact,a case can
connection.
stronghistorical
be
made
that
culture
wasthe
(andshould)
graffiti
forcebehindthedevelopment
ofstreet
art.
driving
Butthisstrong
connection
doesnotimhistorical
inessence.Thisshowsthatstreet
plya connection
artisjustoneform
ofpostmuseum
art-a category

If mydefinition
is
thatincludesartistic
graffiti.24
thenarthistorians
shouldnotjust look
correct,
to earlygraffiti
forstreetart'spredecessors;
they
shouldalso lookto artists
whoseworkmaterially
thestreet,
artists
likeGordonMattaincorporates
Clark,FelixGonzales-Torres,
Wodiczko,
Krzystof
RobertSmithson,
BarbaraKruger,
Hlzer,
Jenny
VitoAcconci,andFrancisAlys,to namea few.
IV. PUBLIC ART

In a sense,all streetart is publicart,sinceall

streetartis public.But to whatextentis public
artstreetart?Somepublicsculptures,
whichare
clearlynotstreetart,appearto use thestreetin
a waythatis internal
Does that
to theirmeaning.
makethemstreet
art?To addressthisquestion,
let

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254

TheJournal
ofAesthetics
andArtCriticism

usfocuson RichardSerra'smuch-discussed
Tilted
Arc- largesteelslab120feetlong,12 feethigh,
and2.5 inchesthick,
placedin thecenterofNew
YorkCity'sFederalPlaza and widelyconsidered
to havebeena site-specific
TiltedArc
sculpture.
andin1989itwas
enragedthepublicitaddressed,
dismantled
againstthewillof theartworld.
Any
streetartistor streetartenthusiast
woulddeny
thatTilted
Arcis streetart.Yet,givenourdefinithatitis:
tion,thereis a simpleargument
Arc'suse ofpublicspaceis internal
to
(1) Tilted
itsmeaning.
Arcusesthe
(2) Byusingthispublicspace,Tilted
street.
Arc'suse ofthestreetis internal
to
(3) So Tilted
itsmeaning.
Tilted
Arcis streetart.
(4) Therefore,
Premise(3) followsfrom(1) and (2) by simple
logic,and premise(4) followsfrom(3) and the
definition
ofstreet
art.Premise(1) is verydifficultto deny.Serraconceivedand designedthe
forFederalPlaza,anda National
piecespecifically
Endowment
fortheArtsSite ReviewAdvisory
Panelconcluded
thatTilted
Arcwasa site-specific
Thereis a straightforward
piece.25
wayto defend
if
Invader
one
of
hismosaicsin
premise(2):
put
FederalPlaza,itwouldbe streetartinvirtueofits
useofthePlaza.So,theuseofthePlazais a useof
thestreet.TiltedArc'smaterialuse ofthePlaza,
useofthestreet.
then,is a material
Thereis a quickresponsetothisargument
that
I wouldliketo setaside,butwhichis important
to note.The responseis to pointoutthatSerra's
useofthepublicspacedidnotinvolveanycommitmenttothework'sephemerality.
Theartist
fought
itsremoval.As a result,
longandhardtoprevent
Serradidnotintendto use thestreet
in therelevantsense.Thisis important
to notebecausethe
samegoesfornearlyall publicsculpture.
Almost
allpublicsculpture's
useofthestreetlacksa commitment
to ephemerality,
andas a result,
noneof
itusesthestreet
intheintended
sense.
Butstill,onecanimaginea publicartwork
that
uses the streetin the relevantsense.Although
Serratriedto prevent
theremovalof TiltedArc,
he couldhaveintended
thesculpture
to corrode
I wanttoformulate
overtime.26
tworesponses
to
theargument
on theassumption
thatthequick
The secondresponsetoresponseis unavailable.
with
the
constitute
a powergether
quickresponse

fulcaseagainsttheopeningargument
andagainst
identicalargument
to
any formally
purporting
showthata publicartwork
is streetart.
Thefirst
istobitethebulletandaccept
response
thatTiltedArcis streetartbutsweetenthebullet'stastebyexplaining
bad
whyitisexceptionally
streetart.One couldpointoutthatitlooksa lot
likethestuff
oneseesina museum;
thatitisreally
intoitsenvironment;
bigandpoorlyincorporated
that,as a result,it is imposingand obstructive,
thatitsuse ofthestreetis
plainandbewildering;
offensive
to thosewhouse it evenmore.Surely
veryfewpiecesofstreetartarethisbad.But,says
thebulletbiter,thatdoes notmeanthatitis not
streetart.Tilted
Arcis streetart,reallybad street
art.
reBitingthe bulletmightbe a satisfactory
thata certainpublic
sponseto somearguments
workis streetart,butin thecase of TiltedArc,
thereistoomuchmetaltobite.Theotherresponse
is to denypremise(2), whichis supported
bythe
factthata typical
pieceofstreetartthatusedFederalPlazawouldbe streetartinvirtueofthatuse.
The mostsalientdifference
betweenthisimaginedstreetartwork
and TiltedArcis thatthefull
institutions
backedthelatter.
rangeof artworld
One might
involvement
arguethattheartworld's
withTilted
Arcmadetheworktransform
thepublic space it used. TiltedArc drastically
changed
thegeography
of theplaza. To thosewho were
notprivyto theintra-artworld
ofthe
significance
it was merelyan obstructive
and imsculpture,
posingfeatureof the space. The effectwas to
transform
FederalPlaza froma somewhatdrab
and oppressiveemptyspace to one thatwas
evenmoreoppressive.
It transformed
it intoan
artspace.
One mightthinkthatthe artworld's
involvementwithTiltedArc has nothing
to do withits
transformative
thatitssheersizeandposieffect,
tioniswhatchangesthenatureofthespace.Butif
a lonestreetartist
an exactreplica
coylyinstalled
of TiltedArcinFederalPlaza,itwouldnottransformthepublicspaceintoan artspace.
Thepublic
coulddo whatevertheywantedwiththesculpture.Theycouldtakeitdown,writeon it,or cut
doorwaysin it. The workwouldnotbe merely
forthepublicto reflect
uponandexalt.It would
be forthepublic,period.The crucialdifference
of theartworld.
Tilted
reallyis theinvolvement
tookoverFederal
Arc,alongwiththeartworld,
Plaza. Itsuse ofthepublicspaceis theuse ofan

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255

Riggle StreetArt
artworld-sanctioned
artspace.ArthurDanto expresses this thoughtin his review of the work:
"Tilted Arc," he says, "is the metal grin of the
art world havingbittenoffa piece of the public
world."27What theybit offwas the street;what
theyspitout was a museum-in-public.
is to arThe finalstep in the counterargument
and
artworld-sanctioned
this
that
protected
gue
artspace is not thestreet.This would be so if no
such artspaceis the street,or if,more sweepingly,
no artspaceis the street.So whatdoes it take for
somethingto be thestreet?Whetheror nota place
is the streetdepends in part on the way people
who inhabitor frequentthe place treatit. For a
place to be the street,people musttreatit as the
street,whichmeans theymustmaintaina vague
constellationof practicalattitudestowardit. It is
to say whattheseattitudesare and which
difficult
are more centralthan the others.One important
attitudeseems to be the considerationof a space
as social,as playinga role in the organizationand
of a society.Anotherimportantattifunctioning
tudeseemsto be thebeliefthatthespace isprimarOther
ilypublic,thatit is basicallyfor-the-public.
conditionsmusthold as well, such as, forexample, that the space must be regularlyused by a
fairnumberof people and it mustbe outside,in a
sense.
Thisis clearlyan incompleteanswerto thequestion,but it is enough to carryon withthe argument.We need onlyask to whatextentsomeone
can reasonablymaintainthese attitudestoward
and protectedspace. In
an artworld-sanctioned
some cases, it seems quite easy. Tom Otterness's
TimeSquare is a good example.In others,itseems
Fednearlyimpossible.The Tiltedv4rc-inhabited
eral Plaza is a case in point. In using thispublic
space, TiltedArc, along withthe artworld,transformedit into an artspacethatresistscharacterization as the street.Serra was correctin predicting thatonce TiltedArc was installed,"the space
will be understoodprimarilyas a functionof the
sculpture."28
The response to the opening argument,then,
is this:if TiltedArc is streetart,thenit is at best
bad streetart.
almostunrecognizably,
extremely,
willbe unwillingto accept
Some,includingmyself,
thatTiltedArc is streetart.Those who likethedefinitionprofferedhere will have to contendwith
eitherpremise(1) or (2). My responseis to argue
againstpremise(2). In additionto the quick response,thereis a strongcase to be made thatTilted

the
Arc is notstreetartinsofaras (a) ittransforms
into
an
artworld-sanctioned
artspace,
publicspace
and (b) no such space is the street.What appears
to be a use of the streetis no more than the use
of publicmuseumspace. I have focusedon Tilted
Arc,butthetreatment
generalizesto all publicart.
There is a tensionbetweena certainkindof public artthatuses the streetand streetart.Intrusive
publicartthatexudes fromtheartworldthreatens
itsresidenceintoa museum-in-public
to transform
and therebydevoid its use of public space of any
streetartisticsignificance.
v. conclusion
I have argued thatwe should thinkof streetart
as all and only those artworkswhose use of the
streetis essentialto theirmeaning.The streetcan
be used as a physicalpartof thework,or itcan be
thework'spropercontext.In usingthe street,the
artistmustincura commitmentto the ephemeralityof the artwork,whichrelinquishesanyclaim
A publicspace is thestreet
on thework'sintegrity.
onlyifit is the object of a certainconstellationof
practical attitudes,includingthe belief that the
forthe public.
space is primarily
This conceptionof streetartrevealshow street
and artisticgraffiti.
art differsfrommere graffiti
thatmakes a generaluse of
Some artisticgraffiti
muchpublic
the streetis streetart.Furthermore,
art is not streetart in spite of its apparentuse of
the street.And althoughstreetartflourishesat a
comfortabledistancefrommuchof the artworld,
itis notimmuneto criticism,
thoughsuchcriticism
mustbe carefulnot to presupposeprinciplesthat
mightbe appropriateonly for the criticaltreatment of institutionalart. Street art criticsmust
make sense of how a work'smeaningdepends,at
least in part,on itsuse ofthestreet.The definition
also supportsplacing streetart in an interesting
art-historical
position.
Streetartembodiestheotherresponseto modernism.The post-historical
responsereformedthe
artworldto allow theeverydaya place in itsranks.
between
artrejectedthedistinction
Post-historical
art and the everyday,between "high" and "low"
art,by bringingthe everydayinto the artworld.
Ironically,some of those very objects have become themostvividsymbolsof theartworld'sextravagantdistancefromeven theclosestoutsider.
As a response intendedto collapse the artificial

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andArtCriticism
TheJournal
ofAesthetics

256
distinction
betweenartand life,one has to wonderwhether
it is a success.Streetartembodies
one thattrulyallowsartto
a different
responsejointheliving.29

but such an artworkmustbe carefulnot to disruptthe

in
streetstatusof the space it uses. I discussthisfurther
SectionIV.
11. One mightmistakenly
appreciatea streetobjectas
art-itmightturnoutto be a cleveradvertisement,
trash,or
a band'slogo.Suchis thedangerofstreetart.Furthermore,
NICHOLAS ALDEN RIGGLE
notall streetartistswantto achievethis"pop-out"effect.
One ofmyfavorite
worksis a projectbyREVS. He wrotea
Departmentof Philosophy
seriesofover225 autobiographical
passageson thewallsof
New York University
underground
subwaytunnels.The passagesare practically
New York,New York 10003
unreachableand in thedark.
12. Originalappeared in The Nation,Jan 12, 1985,
internet:nar271@nyu.edu
pp.24-27.Repr.in TheStateoftheArt,pp.28-32.
13. Of course,it is not impossibleto createsome kind
has
of marketforstreetart.One ambitiousentrepreneur
see Arthur
1. For moreof thedetailsof thisnarrative,
sold a Banksypiece on theside of a buildingstillattached.
Danto's TheTransfiguration
(Harvard
oftheCommonplace
The cost:$407,000.(The BBC newsreportis here:http://
Press,1981),and especiallyAftertheEnd ofArt
University
Also, artPress,1997).The term'post-historical news.bbc.co.uk/l/hi/entertainment/7188387.stm.)
(Princeton
University
istswhoare famousfortheirstreetarthavebeensuccessful
art'is Danto's preferred
termforwhatmanypeople would
inshowingandsellingsomeoftheirartingalleries.Accordart.'See pp. 11-12o AftertheEnd ofArt
call 'postmodern
suchworkis notstreetart,eventhough
Theidea is thattheterm'post-historical' ingtomydefinition,
foran explanation.
as a streetartistmadeit.
someonewhoidentifies
ofpost-1950sart.Even
bettercapturesthestylistic
pluralism
14. More informationabout this gallery is here:
are(forthemostpart)
artworks
thoughsome"postmodern"
Also, in December 2006,
ofthisera- theambiguous,
distinctive
http^/ctgallery.blogspot.com/.
unclear,ugly,and inWoosterCollectivehelped create a show in a multistory
ones-othersaremoresimilartodistellectually
challenging
abandonedbuildingat 11 SpringStreetin New YorkCity.
I willmostly
artworks.
modernorevenpremodern
tinctively
artistsputup their
Over a periodoftwomonths,
inthisessay.
use 'post-historical'
forty-five
work.The showran forthreedays,December15-17,and
of'thestreet'until
definition
2. Thiswillbe therunning
was visitedbyover6,000people.Aftertheshowclosed,all
we getto SectionIV,wherewe willhaveto be morecareful.
3. To see a video of theseworks,go here:http://videos theartwas destroyed.
inEmbod15. ArthurDanto,"MuseumandMeringue,"
Allen-Harris.
Art-Joshua.nymag.com/video/Streetied Meanings(New York:Farrar,Strausand Giroux,1995),
4. The videois here:http://vimeo.com/993998.
here.Anyargument pp.349-362.
5. Thereis roomfordisagreement
16. In a recentarticle,JasonGaigerwrites,"The rejecagainstMuto's being streetart has to contendwiththe
tionof aestheticautonomycarrieswithit the dangerthat
thatitis
andenthusiasts
vastconsensusamongpractitioners
of the artworld
artwillbe assimilatedintothe institution
streetart(someevenclaimthatitis streetartofthehighest
and thatits criticalfunctionwill be paraded as just one
to
quality).But evenifit is not,thenwithoutan argument
ofart"(p. 57). This
further
elementinthespectacularization
thecontrary,
we shouldallowthatit is at leastpossiblefor
is not trueof streetart,whichrejectsaestheticautonomy
in thestreetand
thereto be streetartthatis notphysically
See "Dismantling
to theartworld.
and is deeplyantithetical
construct
thedefinition
accordingly.
The
ArtandAestheticAutonomy,"
6. Images of the dumpstersare here: http://www theFrame:Site-Specific
49 (2009):43-58.
JournalofAesthetics
British
.cfinley.com/wallpaper.html.
17. He wantedhisfirstexperienceoftheworkto be an
7. Thethemeofmakingthecitymorehabitable,
inviting,
on,in fullview,withgood lighting.
and friendly
is commonto a lot of streetart.Some neat
experienceofitstraight
outofthecornerofhiseye,or
He didnotwantto see itfirst
moreplayful.
makestraffic
markings
examples:Roadsworth
or hearaboutit froma friendbecausehe
in a photograph,
JanVormanfillsthecracksofold stonewallswithcolorful
itwoulddilutehisexperienceofthework.
ofLegos.BrunoTaylorinstallsswingsat busstops.
thought
patterns
18. The (wrongheaded)idea thatthereis sucha tension
thattheworkofone ofthemostfamous
8. Thissuggests
is ambiguousinan interesting, has been a major assumptionbehinda lot of twentiethstreetartists,
ShepardFairey,
Here is Duchampexpressing
indeedcompromising,
centurytheoryand criticism.
way.In the1990s,Faireylitteredthe
thesupposedtension:"SinceCourbetit'sbeenbelievedthat
andpostersofa stylized
streetswithstickers
imageofAndr
theGiantthatsimplysaid,"OBEY." Butintheearly2000s,
paintingis addressedto theretina.Thatwas everyone'serror.The retinalshudder!Before,paintinghad otherfunccompaniesthatuse
Faireystartedclothingand marketing
moral."See Pierre
tions:itcouldbe religious,
fromhisstreet
theverysameinsigniaand stylesso familiar
philosophical,
Cabanne,DialogueswithMarcelDuchamp,trans.Ron Padart.NowtheOBEY postersare ambiguousbetweena comandstreetartwithsome
mercialplea tobuyOBEY products
gett(New York:Da Capo, 1987),p. 43.
19. Have a look at http://graffitiresearchlab.com/.
othermeaning.
Video of the "throwies"in action can be found here:
9. See chapter4, "Internaland ExternalBeauty,"of
Arthur
Danto's TheAbuseofBeauty(Peru,IL: Open Court,
http^/graffitiresearchlab.com/LEDjhrowiesJWEB.mov.
20. I cannotgo intothedetailsoftherelevantstyleand
2003).Danto givesa theoryof "internalbeauty,"or beauty
and calattitudehere.Note,however,thatartisticgraffiti
thatis essentialto themeaningofa work.
have a lot in common(muchmorethantheiret10. To be clear,I supposetherecould be a streetartligraphy
and bland,
workthatis legal,credited,relatively
ymology).Also, I do not mean to implythatall artistic
enduring,

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Riggle StreetArt

257

is done in, or influencedby,the New York City

graffiti
style.The Brazilianpixao style,forexample,is nativeto
Brazil.
21. Thisis an important
distinction
thatis oftenelided
in discussionsof "site-specific"
art. Some criticsare outworkis movedto
ragedwhena particular"site-specific"
anotherlocation.But it is possiblethatthe work'sspecificityrequiresonlythatit be in the bottomcornerof a
Thatis,itcould
galleryor hungneara prominent
entryway.
be specificto thetypeof siteit uses ratherthanthetoken
site.
22. More information
about MOMO's work can be
foundhere:http://momoshowpalace.com.
23. See thesecondbook,inparticular
28,ofImmanuel
Kant'sCritiqueofthePowerofJudgment,
trans.Paul Guyer
and EricMatthews(CambridgeUniversity
Press,2000).
24. Earthworks,
orLandArt,wouldalsoseemtofallinto
thiscategory.

25. See The Destruction

of TiltedArc: Documents,ed.
Clara Weyergraf-Serra
and MarthaBuskirk(MIT Press,
1991).
26. Of course,he did not. He made TiltedArc out of
metal.
COR-TEN steel,an especiallycorrosion-resistant
27. Danto,"TiltedArc and PublicArt,"in TheStateof
theArt,p. 93.
28. "RichardSerra'sUrbanSculpture,"
an interview
by
Douglas Crimpin RichardSerra:Writings/Interviews
(Uniof ChicagoPress,1994),p. 127. (The interview
was
versity
first
publishedinArtsMagazine,November1980).
29. Thanks to Nol Carroll,Susan Feagin, Cressida
JeffSebo, and an anonymous
Gaukroger,Dale Jamieson,
refereeforespeciallyhelpfulcomments
on thisarticle,and
thanksto manyfriends,
forhelpespeciallyHragVartanian,
fuldiscussionabout theseissues.Special thanksto Luna
Park forgenerously
givingpermissionto use some of her
wonderful
photographs.

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