Meriç, Övünç2017-11-242017-11-2420172149-3669https://hdl.handle.net/11467/1768https://doi.org/10.21645/intermedia.2017.29Küreselleşme çağında enformasyon zaman ve mekân hızını aşmıştır. Küreselleşme sürecindeki yaygın medya söylemi savaşları, özgürlük mücadelelerini, ekonomik çelişkileri, gelir dağılımındaki eşitsizlikleri vb. görmezlikten gelmektedir. Buna karşın sokağın sesi olan grafiti başka bir mecra olarak yeni olanaklar yaratabilir. Graffitinin çıkış noktası olan duvarlar aynı zamanda direnişin de temsili ve çıkış noktasıdır. Kamusal alan olan duvarlar illegal olarak sembolik, politik ve sanatsal şekilde yeniden düzenlenir. Bu bakış açısından yola çıkan çalışma, grafik sanatçısı Banksy’nin eserlerini ele almıştır. Çalışmanın amacı graffitinin egemen yeni dünya düzenine karşı ‘başka bir anlam yaratma’ ve ‘başka dünya tahayyüllerine’ olanak sağlayıp sağlamadığını incelemektir. Bu bağlamda graffiti nasıl bir iletişim aracıdır? Küreselleşmiş dünyamızda televizyon, gazete, internet gibi kitle iletişim araçları ile yoğun bir şekilde sisteme uyum çağrısı yapılıyor. Kamusal alan olan sokaklarda yer alan duvarlar, graffiti aracılığıyla sisteme karşı kullanılabilir mi? Graffiti başka ifade alanlarının yaşamasına olanak yaratan yeni bir mecra olabilir mi? sorularına bu makalede cevap aranacaktır. Graffitinin yeni söylemlerin üretildiği bir direniş zemini olup olmadığı makale üzerinden sorgulanacaktır.Globalisation is one of the phenomena that has a big impact on the world. The effect of globalization can often be seen on various areas such as economy, politics, culture, science, technology and media. Anti-globalization movement, on the other hand, claims that globalization is a new way of imperialism and that individuals are being pacified by it. Opponents of globalization have been endeavouring to make a stand against this kind of new life style and have come up with new ideas. Anti-globalization activists have been questioning the possibility of this new world formation. The word activist can be defined as someone who campaigns for a social or political change. Activists stand out with a large variety of possible actions, such as organising meetings, boycotts, guerrilla demonstrations, strikes and meetings. Graffiti is also one of these actions which activists use. Walls, which are the starting point of graffiti, are also the starting point and symbol of opposition. It is a public space that is illegally transformed with a symbolic, political and artistic point of view. Graffiti artist Banksy uses the walls as his ground for political criticism. Banksy is often described as an “Anti-globalization activist” and “Guerrilla artist”. His true identity is anonymous. His works draw attention to capitalism, globalization and related problems. He is known for his graffiti addressing issues against global poverty, war, injustice, capitalism and multinational corporations. This article focuses on Banksy’s Anti-globalization work and argues whether or not graffiti has any opportunity to produce counterstatement against prevalent statements. The purpose of this study is to explore whether or not graffiti provides an opportunity of creating a different meaning and alternative word imaginations against sovereign new world. What kind of a communication tool is graffiti? There is an extensive call for adapting to the system by means of mass media including TV, newspaper, the Internet. This study will try to answer the following questions: Is it possible to use the walls which are public spaces against the system? Can graffiti be a new medium that enables alternative spaces for expressing oneself? The study will also discuss whether or not graffiti is a ground to express oneself. Every nation has adopted graffiti considering their culture. Graffiti, a socio-political collective, whose interacting audience are strangers, has become a type of art created by dialogue and action. Individual graffiti artists from different cities and nations have developed their own styles and have created their tags in between impressive forms. Graffiti is an important area to stand up to the system. When opposing the system, the most significant characteristic that makes graffiti distinct is that the paintings covering the walls do not convey any message. Graffities, “Invincible due to their own poverty, they resist every interpretation and every connotation, no longer denoting anyone or anything. In this way, with neither connotation nor denotation, they escape the principle of signification and, as empty signifiers, erupt into the sphere of the full signs of the city, dissolving it on contact (Baudrillard, 2002: 126). Baudrillard claims that graffiti has no content and no message, and therefore, its emptiness gives it its strength, which is the source of graffiti’s political meaning and strength. Banksy’s illegal work on the streets draws attention to political repression, and the authority that puts pressure on global companies and society. Banksy’s art is not limited to England. In global platform, his work appears in many different countries and cities such–New York, Barcelona, Paris, and West Bank. Therefore, although he restricts himself to the walls, he is not limited to cities or even countries . With regard to global framework, one of his works called “Holiday Snaps” made an overwhelming impression. In 2005, Banksy created his piece of art, as he calls “the wall of shame–world's largest open-air prison”, on which he painted nine pieces of stencils. One of the mightily impressive piece of work among them was the dream world of two children who were painting their dream world through a hole on the wall, because it has been always a mystery what is happening behind a wall. Children are known as one of the most naïve indicators of curiosity. In his work, there are two very excited children with their buckets and spades next to a hole on the wall that opens to a vista with palm trees and a gentle breeze on an island. The wall of shame, which falls into pieces and turns into paving stones, opens to a stunning beach of a tropical island. forms of content and other forms with paucity of rebellious self and also with depleted forms. Nonetheless, Banksy brings his protests to life on the streets of daily life. He is against the idea that work of art should be exhibited as extolled objects in dark museum halls. He severely criticises the museums, galleries and collectors and their decisions on what is art and what is not. He constructs installation art in order to protest this elitist concept. When criticizing the stated condition of art above, Banksy was not able to escape and had to resort to the following against the system’s resistance to graffiti: 1. It is recuperated as art. Always the aesthetic reduction, the very form of our dominant culture. 2. It is interpreted. In terms of a reclamation of identity and personal freedom, as non-conformism (Baudrillard, 2002: 134). Banksy’s works were considered as art and were directly regarded as collection objects. The system took an approach to make this attitude submissive. Hence, Banksy’s works became fetish objects which demonstrates the incline of commodity economy. How did the relation between museums, galleries and streets affect graffiti’s interference in public spaces and political power? It is a question that can be answered by means of Banksy. Banksy’s Slave Labour mural disappeared all of a sudden in London in February 2013. Londoners, and specifically London city council raised a serious objection to this (Lyall, 2013). Soon after its disappearance, in May 22013, Slave Labour mural reappeared in the USA and was put up for sale for 500,000 USD at Fine Art Auctions in Miami, US. After an appeal from London residents, the mural was withdrawn was returned to the UK. It was sold for 1.1 million USD by Bankrobber London at an auction held in the basement of London Film museum in Covent Garden by Sincura Group (Bond, 2013). The removal of the mural has been a catalyser for a series of aesthetic protests that address the global inequality. The mural was replaced with other graffities. A stencil of what is believed to be Banksy's signature rat holding a sign saying "Why?" appeared next to the area, supposedly a retaliation by Banksy to the removal of his artwork. Another stencil was made with a warning message “Danger - Thieves”. Yet another stencil appeared depicting a woman in a nun's habit with the five-pointed red star–symbol of communism–on her eye. The wall became a palimpsest displaying graffities which depict aesthetic protests. Some tried to attribute artistic value to his work with monetary value to make him submissive. However, this was regarded as a standardizing strategy of the bourgeoisie. Today, for many people, Banksy is still a character who attained originality in form and content with a political, cultural and artistic perspective. Banksy is accepted as an important figure who has presented graffiti as a tool to provide alternative areas and a sign for possible revolt. Whether they try to attribute value to or marginalize graffiti, it can be regarded as an opposition tool. Since its appearance, graffiti has been rejecting capitalist global system and government’s so-called diversification tool known as the identification which actually standardizes individuals. This symbolic protest features an effective strategy when making an alternative statement.trinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessGraffitiAktivizmBanksyGraffitiActivismBanksyArticle4614115410.21645/intermedia.2017.29