Transformations of practices and perceptions of graffiti in cities: From urban transgression to commercialized art

Abstract

The present study focuses on the artistic-cultural expression of graffiti approached from a research initiated in the city of Brasília. Among the objectives, the search for assimilation of this modality of expression in cities, in the public spaces of their urban landscapes and, more recently, in private environments stands out. As a method of qualitative approach adopted in conducting the study, an investigative guideline was systematized that, initially, permeated the theoretical framework used on the thematic object with an identification and categorization of three distinct social groups with regard to their relationship with the interventions carried out in the public and private space through graffiti expressions; then, a mixed questionnaire aimed at the assimilation of graffiti by the three groups of social actors in question was elaborated and, finally, the application of this tool and the subsequent analysis of its data supported by the theoretical contribution initially used allowed the reach of expected results, such as the identification of similarities and distinctions regarding the assimilation of graffiti by the groups of actors participating in the research. In addition to the reflections linked to both the specialized literature on the subject of graffiti and its regulations in our study location, we consider that the complementary reflections that we were able to add to the study through the responses of the participating public were also substantial for directing the investigation. allowed us to go beyond the objectivity of a study on the subject at present or in a locality and perceive it from the subjective nuances of the groups of actors that, in some way, transform and are transformed by this field and that were sensitive to the attention to them requested under circumstances as specific and difficult as those experienced by everyone since 2020.