Open Access
Paris Wall Flowers, Moscow Wall Wars
Author(s) -
Elena Siemens
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
transcultural
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1920-0323
DOI - 10.21992/t9pd2c
Subject(s) - graffiti , berlin wall , mainstream , trace (psycholinguistics) , art , art history , visual arts , situationism , poetry , history , aesthetics , literature , law , politics , political science , philosophy , fall of man , linguistics
“Paris Wall Flowers, Moscow Wall Wars” is intended as an introduction to the themed issue on Translating Street Art, inspired in part by Guy Debord and his associates from the Situationist International (SI). The issue’s international cast of contributors trace various contemporary expressions of the “dérive” and the “detournament” as found in many diverse spheres from graffiti to defaced monuments to “subvertising.” Following in the footsteps of the SI’s collage-like publications, Translating Street Art incorporates poetry, photography, scholarly essays, and personal accounts. “Paris Wall Flowers, Moscow Wall Wars” discusses two graffiti sites in Paris and Moscow, and considers the importance of their locations, as well as the distinction between street art and graffiti, and the fate of the unofficial genres in today’s mainstream culture.