ΓΡΑΦΩ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΘΗΝΑ:
Graffiti in Athens, an Independent Study by Abby Schwab
GRAFFITI: The Four Major Styles As one of the most important evolutionary artistic mediums of the last century, graffiti and its offshoots remain difficult to define and interpret for both those inside and outside the art world. Traditionally, illegality, speed, writing or drawing, and a public location serve as the main defining factors of any graffiti work. In more modern times, this definition has grown to include the use of spray paint, markers, stencils, and other medium in locations other than public zones; in fact, many artists today turn to galleries and patrons to fund and sell their artwork. Graffiti art has three primary forms that have existed since its inception that changed very little over time. First, as the most common form of graffiti, “tags” or “tagging”, the writing of a name, symbol, or message usually in marker or spray paint, exists in almost every city around the world. Often related with gangs or activist groups, tags have two forms: simple and stylized. More common in America, stylized tags often act as hidden messages or codes for groups, and their highly stylized and complex nature makes them extremely difficult to decipher to the outside observer. “Bombs” or “bombing”, the second most prevalent form of street art, encompasses a wide variety of graffiti art though limited in its media and technique. According to most graffiti artists, “bombing” involves speedy application of paint to walls, canvas, or street signs to make an actual image or picture. For instance, in the 1980s in America, the most famous graffiti “bombs” coated the subway cars of the New York Transit Authority. Coincidentally, in 2004, Athens allowed graffiti artists to decorate the subway trains and tramcars of Athens in preparation for the Olympic games. Ranging from one person for smaller works to a team of people, called a crew, to execute larger ones, “bombing” requires a great deal of precision and speed that many other artistic mediums do not need. Lastly, “pieces”, the most calculated and complete forms of graffiti, now translate directly to the term “street art”. Usually painted by one artist but allowing for a team approach, “pieces” in today’s art world include legal, expressly permitted application of paint or other artistic medium to a surface, usually walls or canvas, and most often in the form of a mural. However, “pieces” still encompass illegal painting as well. Often, graffiti artists who execute “pieces” illegally serve as the main target for police and law enforcement because the works, in comparison to the other forms, require more speed,
accuracy, artistic form, and complexity. Pieces, unlike tags or bombs, offer more time to the artistry of the graffiti, and often come with a commission from a local business or property owner for the artist’s work. Unlike the United States, the prevalence of street art, the amalgam of the arts world and the underground graffiti scene, does not have a great presence in Greece, and much public street art, including sculpture, interactive exhibitions, and other offshoots remains limited.
View down one of the corridors of the Modern Museum of Art in Athens. The graffiti that cover
rs the walls exists in stark contrast to the new, tiled, concrete walls of the modernist museum.
GREECE: A Short Political History For better or for worse, the political upheaval in Greece and Athens has directly affected the growth of the graffiti and street art movements to an immeasurable extent. Most graffiti found on the streets of Athens today directly relates to the current political situation, and most street art (if not commissioned for a business) at least alludes to it. Therefore, an understanding of Greece’s political history often helps to explain the social and environmental ramifications of graffiti and street art in Athens and the rest of Greece. As in America, graffiti and street art began to appear prominently in Athens during the 1970s. At the time, most Greek graffiti found inspiration from a number of political uprisings that took place around 1973. Often referred to as the Protests
of Athens Polytechnic or the Athens Polytechnic Uprising, these riots against the ruling military junta (which began in 1967 and carried on through 1974) killed 106 people and injured approximately 1,103 people. After these protests and riots, the government declared the square inside the Athens Polytechnic School a “free zone”, giving Greeks a space to live and carry on freely without fear of persecution. Thus, this space became the center for much of the graffiti and street art that would develop in Athens and Greece over the next forty years. In 1974, the Greek government officially ended the rule of the reigning monarchy, and the Parliament voted to approve a new constitution of a democratic government. During the next twenty years
(and even up to today), the Greek government shifted power between two parties, the New Democracy party and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, or PASOK. These shifts of power typically did not occur as scheduled, and often, the transition between parties did not happen smoothly. In fact, the government collapsed multiple times throughout its short history, and it remained in a state of unrest and argument up until the present day. In modern Greece, the Greek government faces even more complex issues as it tries to deal with the repercussions of the Global Financial Crisis and the Eurozone Crisis. In 2009, after the global financial crisis that shook many of the world stock markets, the European Union ordered Greece to reduce its budget deficit, and with the election of a new government, Greece admitted to reaching a debt of nearly ₏300 billion (or nearly $400 billion). Though the Greek government introduced austerity measures to assuage the concerns of the European Union, the Greek people still took issue with their corrupt lawmakers and broke out in rioting around Greece. During this period, graffiti and street art within Athens and the rest of Greece experienced a revival and resurgence, and most modern graffiti in Athens finds its roots in this crisis. Today, protests still occur at least monthly in Athens to show disapproval of the country’s treatment of the austerity measures and various budget cuts. Though many protests no longer end violently, destruction of property, graffiti, and other misdemeanor crimes still occur during the protests. The public remains actively engaged in fighting the corruption and dirty politics within their young democracy, and, for the youth of Greece, that often means using alternative means, like graffiti, to pass along their message and opinions.
Graffiti tags found at an archaeological site. Many of these tags trace back to the late 1
1800s and early 1900s when many archaeological sites still remained quite abandoned.
GRAFFITI POLITICS:
The Interviews
The public in Greece seems conflicted over the extraordinary presence of graffiti on their streets. Many people, when asked, accept it as a mere side effect of living in Greece’s largest city and capital. When asked, most Athenian residents will not try to explain the significance or their feelings about the artwork; rather, most often, they will just say that it exists and that they hold no particular feelings about it. In fact, many describe the graffiti not as artwork but as “writing”, stripping away any of the artistic or other significance it may have provoked. However, due to the political uprising in Greece as of the 2008 global financial crisis, many younger people, from high school to mid-thirties, hold extraordinarily strong opinions on the artist’s right to expression whether or not they agree with the subject matter or message. In two separate interviews I conducted throughout the semester, I found two different, but strangely shared opinions on the issue of graffiti and tagging throughout Athens and Greece. The first interview I conducted took place in January at an Anti-Nazi and Anti-Fascist protest centered in Syntagma Square around the Hellenic Parliament Building. During the protest, I observed multiple groups of masked individuals tagging περιπτερα, or kiosks, throughout the vicinity of the square. The tags, though completed by similar groups, all read “AntiFa”, and often included anarchy symbols in the artwork. While I observed the artists at work, I had the opportunity to interview a woman, Αναστασια, who studied at Athens University and worked as a political activist and organizer for many of the protests. Though she refused to allow me to photograph her, she did answer many questions regarding the protest, the graffiti writers, and the graffiti itself.
What exactly is the major focus of this protest? It is an anti-Nazi, anti-fascist protest. We are protesting discrimination towards workers and towards people of different races. We feel that Greece needs to keep up with modern human rights, and now, we don’t. What is your role in regards to the protest? I am a political and public activist with many of my friends. We help to organize the protests, advertise for the causes, sell merchandise at the protests, and recruit new members from the crowds. How did you become involved with the anti-fascist movement? Many of my friends were already involved in the protests, and protests are held so frequently, it is hard not to get involved. I have helped to organize protests for about a year now. I am a university student now, and many university students are involved in some way. How do you spread the word about the protests? How do you get your message out about your movement? What is the message? We are tired of oppression in Greece. The young people all want equality, and the older people don’t know better. We think it is our job to spread the word. If we don’t hold protests and make noise, how will the older generation know how we feel? They won’t listen to us otherwise. All we want is equality for everyone in Greece, and the older generations and
the government need to know that, too. How do you feel about the use of graffiti in spreading your message? (This was followed by a long discussion on the meaning of the term graffiti). I don’t like it. They are just ruining things. They have other ways to spread their messages. The older people look at their writing and think it makes our city ugly, and they won’t listen. Look at our walls and our buildings. Everywhere there is writing. Most people ignore it now because they won’t stop. Either the older people hate it, or they ignore it. That means it isn’t working. But don’t you think that it helps in some way? Destroy to get attention? I agree with what they say, and I listen to it. But the people we want to talk to, the older people see it, and they don’t like it. If it is on their building or their things, they will paint over it or ignore it. The government sees it, and they ignore it, too. What’s the point if it doesn’t work? So the graffiti doesn’t help your cause at all? Well, it does help us reach our own people. It reminds us why we are fighting and why we protest. I’m not sure; it is hard to say how I feel about it. The writing is everywhere, all over everything. It doesn’t really help us all that much. But it doesn’t hurt us either. I am not sure about it. I just want more people to listen to us instead of turning away.
Looking down one of the walls inside the courtyard of the Athens Polytechnic University. Though the
e school still uses both the buildings and the courtyard, the area has become a hotbed for street art.
GRAFFITI POLITICS:
The Interviews, Continued
For my second interview, I talked with a friend from my school in Athens, Isabella. Born in Crete, Isabella grew up in Athens, studied Television and Film Production in Paris, and then moved back to Athens where she currently works and lives with her family. Though, formally, Isabella does not identify herself publicly with any political party or movement in Greece, she does consider herself politically active, and takes great interest in the messages of the movements themselves. Our conversation began with a translation of a piece of graffiti that featured a Greek idiom. Could you translate the phrase: “Μια του κλεφτη, Δυο του κλεφτη, Τρεις κι εγινε υπουργος, Εξεγερση τωρα!”? This is great! It means: The first time he failed, The second time he failed, The third time he became a Deputy. Revolt now! It is based on a Greek idiom, “Μια του κλεφτη, δυο του κλεφτη, τρεις και τον επιἀσανε” which means that he got away the first two times, but the third time, he got caught. This is in reference to a political movement trying to get rid of corrupt politicians in the government. Any specific politicians? Yes! This one is a Deputy in our government. He used to be the Vice President, but now he teaches at the university. He is one of the most corrupt politicians in the last twenty years.
Would Greeks recognize this as a reference to him? Yes, of course! Everyone knows him! He is such an idiot! Many of the political movements have phrases that they write everywhere. I think this one even has a Facebook page! Is he still a politician? Yes, he still has an office. He had a higher position before. Now, he is a Deputy, but he still has an office in the Parliament. It’s open until 8:30 if you want to go file a complaint! How is he still in power if everyone knows how corrupt he is? Why is he still in power? Good question. Because people are stupid. People vote for him because they’ve always voted for him, or they vote for him because they hope that he will get them a job or help their kids in the future. This is how the Greek political system works. Isn’t that crazy?
A random back door in the area of Εξάρχεια quo
oting the English poet and painter William Blake.
ΓΡΑΦΩ: An Explanation of Greek Art As previously discussed, the Greek people take great pride in their country, their politics, and their art of discourse. In fact, the Ancient Greeks, the founding civilization of the Greek population and culture, invented democracy, and often used a system of ostracism and voting to keep tyranny out of Athenian politics. Today, Greek culture and politics directly reflect this desire for open conversation, and the Greek people demand it from them. Clearly seen through the artistic medium of graffiti, the country’s political past and present scream out for attention and beg the onlooker to become actively engaged. The first and most notable trend in Greek graffiti centers on the use of full phrases and sentences to convey messages. Frequently, in other countries, symbols or images suffice to convey a topic of discussion in public art. However, most Greek graffiti will include at least one
major sentence, often a political outcry to the masses. These “tags”, usually written in marker and spray paint, seem hastily and illegally written and almost always cover the area of wall or space that they occupy. The messages always spout very philosophical political questions, and they often use Greek idioms or colloquialisms to harken back to the tradition upon which they founded their society and government. Another trend that seems most prominent in Athens and some of the Greek islands employs the use of murals and “pieces” in public spaces as a beautification tool. Because Athens and the islands serve as popular tourist destinations, many property owners who wish to add a different type of character to their shops by hiring an artist to paint a mural on the outside walls. Though not as prevalent in all areas of Greece, many of these murals occupy large, notable spaces in Athens, and they appear frequently in high traffic areas.
Unlike the aforementioned tags scattered around Athens, these “pieces” garner much more attention and, in some cases, offer the artists both commissions and a shot at an art career. For instance, Sonke, an artist whose well-known swirling, layered technique became very popular in Athens, opened his own gallery exhibition during the spring of 2013 while he continued to execute “pieces” throughout the city. Finally, the most notable trend in Greek graffiti includes the use of anarchic and protest symbols. Unlike the “tags” mentioned above, they almost always consist of hand-drawn or stenciled images, and they rarely ever include words or descriptions. Anarchic symbols appear everywhere in Athens and the rest of Greece, and many symbols for revolution stay consistent throughout the country. Compared to most graffiti and street art throughout the United States and Europe, Greek graffiti definitely exists as the most politically informed. In Greece, graffiti does not serve only an artistic function; in fact, many Greeks often fail to see the artistic aspect of graffiti. Graffiti in Greece serves an even greater function than art – dispersion of information to the masses. In such a politically active and complex country, graffiti serves as a medium to drive the revolutionary forces of the population, and it helps to further the messages and agendas of the youth. Of course, as in any country or civilization where graffiti has existed, random tags and messages overwhelm the streets. However, the majority of larger scale graffiti and street art in Athens and Greece as a whole suggests a culture of political awareness, political upheaval, and generational revolution.
A wall in the area of Παγκράτι. The translatio
on is, “Do you know where your woman is?”