Search Results (90)

This paper defines the term “graffiti” and outlines the origins of this concept. The terminological arrangement allowed for the subject of this research, i.e., illegal graffiti, to be situated in reality, i.e., an urban space. It was assumed that the existence of the tag was associated with a disturbance of spatial order and had an impact on safety in a space. This, in turn, is related to whether the principles of sustainable development in the social dimension are applied. This paper makes reference to theories of security in a space (the “broken windows” theory and the strategy of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, CPTED) and shows the problem of illegal graffiti against the background of these theories. A new research aspect of the occurrence of illegal graffiti (scribbles and tags) within urban space is the features that determine its emergence in a spatial dimension. The aim of the analyses in this paper is to obtain information on which geospatial features are generators of illegal graffiti. The research field was limited to the space of one city—Olsztyn—with the assumption that the proposed research methodology would be useful for the spaces of other cities. The research methodology consists of several steps: firstly, we determined a list of features in the surroundings of illegal graffiti using direct interviews, and secondly, we analyzed the frequency of occurrence of these features in the researched locations in space. The next step was to standardize the obtained results using the quotient transformation method with respect to a reference point, where the reference point is the sum of all observations. After that, we assigned ranks for standardized results. The last stage involved an analysis using the GRA type of grey systems to obtain a sequence of strengths of relationships. This sequence allowed us to determine which of the features adopted for analysis have the greatest impact on the creation of illegal graffiti in a space. As indicated by the strength of the relationship, in the analyses conducted, geospatial features such as poor sidewalk condition and neglected greenery have the greatest impact on the occurrence of illegal graffiti. Other features that influence the occurrence of illegal graffiti in a given space include a lack of visibility from neighboring windows and the proximity of a two-way street. It can be assumed that these features are generators of illegal graffiti in the studied area and space. The poor condition of the facade has the least impact on the possibility of illegal graffiti occurring in a given space. Full article

This article discusses the role of artistic interventions in shaping communities in selected Polish cities. It especially explores marginalized urban areas that are gaining new identities through art. A crucial aspect of the analysis concentrates on the influence of artistic activities on the formation of social bonds. Moreover, it focuses on the revitalization strategies that incorporate artistic activities designed to beautify spaces and enhance residents’ sense of security. It also includes examples of grassroots initiatives undertaken by artists in degraded areas. This study employed a qualitative methodology. In addition to reviewing the literature, a comparative analysis of case studies encompassing murals, site-specific installations, graffiti, and participatory art was conducted. The selected case studies demonstrate that art is not merely an esthetic endeavor but an important tool for solving spatial and social issues. Artists’ activities in difficult areas of a city lead to perceptual, visual, and functional changes. However, the question was whether the process of co-creation with the local community translated into stronger neighborly relationships or a greater sense of security. Full article

This article focuses on graffiti and street art analysis in green areas from Romanian cities. Whether it is about the invasion or anticipated integration of urban artworks in green areas, in recent years, the phenomenon of urban art has become undoubtedly visible and finds its place among other components of artistic interventions. This study aims to diagnose various forms and expressions of urban art in the parks of several case study cities from Romania and to evaluate the urban art rapport with the parks’ organization. The methods used combine field research to identify spots with urban art, typologies based on different criteria, documentation for primary or supplementary explanations about the reality identified in the field, and results mapping using GIS tools. This study’s main findings are in relation to the location and preferred surfaces in the investigated parks for graffiti and street art works; hence, the main types of urban art and the messages transmitted. The results obtained highlight the idea that there are differences and gaps in terms of urban art phenomenon evolution reflected in diverse approaches of urban art and different balances that impact the parks’ image. Full article

Graffiti’s dual existence as both public art and illicit practice has generated sustained legal, cultural, and aesthetic debates. This article examines the role of anonymity in shaping how graffiti is recognized, regulated, and interpreted within both legal frameworks and artworld aesthetics. Focusing on the legal battle over 5Pointz, a prominent New York graffiti site that was whitewashed in 2013 and demolished in 2014, I analyze how the Cohen v. G&M Realty L.P. case reveals a structural tension between graffiti’s collective ethos and the legal system’s emphasis on identifiable authorship. Drawing upon legal studies, urban cultural theory, and aesthetics, this article explores how the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) mediated the legal recognition of graffiti, often privileging curated, institutionally sanctioned works while rendering anonymous street art legally vulnerable. I further synthesize scholarly perspectives on 5Pointz to highlight how legal discourse constructs and delimits the status of graffiti within public spaces. Ultimately, I argue that anonymity functions not simply as an absence of authorship but as an aesthetic and political mode of experiencing the object, one that challenges traditional frameworks of artistic attribution and cultural legitimacy. By interrogating the legal and ideological forces that shape graffiti’s recognition, this article situates anonymity as a central, yet often overlooked, feature of graffiti’s critical and aesthetic power. Full article

In this piece, we approach graffiti from the perspective of the ‘circuits of valorization’ that qualify as well as quantify it. We understand a valorization circuit as an assemblage of cultural, legal, economic and geographic dynamics surrounding a given artefact, which eventually confer a certain ‘value’ to it. Here, we look at examples of global graffiti, with attention to how cities and administrations juggle with its controversial valorization, implementing various policies to rein it in, but also to exploit it. Typically, graffiti appears and lives in ill-defined, metamorphic urban spaces: as an urban artefact, graffiti occupies loose, interstitial places and rhymes with an aesthetic of defacement and infestation. The ‘in place/out of place’ dialectic is thus central for claims to legitimacy, legality, and, ultimately, also the ‘quality’ of graffiti. Through the lens of radical legal pluralism, we argue that graffiti can insert a distinctive dynamism into the lawscape, rather than be a sheer inert object of urban policies. Graffiti itself actively participates, not simply in populating the lawscape, but in its actual crafting. Full article

The article considers the practice and praxis of graffiti and street art from the perspectives of law enforcement, local government and placemaking, and between the production and consumption of this ambivalent form of cultural expression. The work is based on primary, site-based research and visualisation undertaken in Europe, North America and Australia. Full article

This study investigates the deterioration of granite graffiti at the Philae Archaeological Site on Bigeh Island (Aswan, Egypt), attributed to Khaemwaset (1281–1225 BCE, 19th Dynasty). These graffiti, despite being carved into durable Aswan granite, are experiencing progressive degradation due to environmental and hydrological factors. This research aims to analyze the mineralogical and chemical transformations affecting the graffiti to provide a comparative assessment of submerged and unsubmerged granite surfaces. A multi-analytical approach was employed, combining petrographical examination, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to identify compositional changes and deterioration patterns. The results indicate mineralogical transformations in submerged and periodically exposed surfaces. The granite primarily consists of quartz, feldspar, and biotite, with notable alterations including kaolinization and illitization and dissolution of feldspar minerals and biotite oxidation. These processes are directly linked to prolonged exposure to fluctuating water levels and recurrent wet–dry cycles, which accelerate granular disintegration, exfoliation, and surface loss. Additionally, salt crystallization, particularly halite, contributes to granite weathering, while sulfate interactions promote chemical weathering. In addition, biofilm colonization, facilitated by high moisture retention, further exacerbates surface deterioration by producing organic acids that weaken the mineral matrix. Finally, the results confirm the need for conservation interventions to mitigate ongoing damage. Full article

This paper examines secondary rock art practices in southern Africa and how they served as mechanisms for expressing and negotiating identity through iterative engagement with existing artistic traditions. Often dismissed as mere ’graffiti’ or vandalism, these practices of modifying, adding to, or reinterpreting historic rock art represent sophisticated forms of engagement with inherited cultural landscapes. Through detailed analysis of mode, placement, and technique, this article demonstrates how secondary artists used existing imagery as both physical and symbolic resources, selectively mobilising earlier artforms to articulate their own positions within changing social worlds. With their technical choices encoding specific attitudes towards inherited traditions, secondary artists appear as one of many audiences—a range which includes contemporary researchers—engaging with these artistic traditions as subjects of common interest, their modifications creating material epistolaries that capture how different communities understood and positioned themselves relative to their own imaginations of the past. By reconceptualising these practices as meaningful interpretive acts rather than degradation, this paper contributes to broader discussions about how African identities have been articulated, contested, and preserved through active engagement with cultural heritage across time. Full article

The evolution of photogrammetry has been significantly influenced by advancements in camera technology, particularly the emergence of spherical cameras. These devices offer extensive photographic coverage and are increasingly utilised in many photogrammetry applications due to their significant user-friendly configuration, especially in their low-cost versions. Despite their advantages, these cameras are subject to high image distortion. This necessitates specialised calibration solutions related to fisheye images, which represent the primary geometry of the raw files. This paper evaluates fisheye calibration processes for the effective utilisation of low-cost spherical cameras, for the purpose of 3D reconstruction and the verification of geometric stability. Calibration optical parameters include focal length, pixel positions, and distortion coefficients. Emphasis was placed on the evaluation of solutions for camera calibration, calibration network design, and the assessment of software or toolboxes that support the correspondent geometry and calibration for processing. The efficiency in accuracy, correctness, computational time, and stability parameters was assessed with the influence of calibration parameters based on the accuracy of the 3D reconstruction. The assessment was conducted using a previous case study of graffiti on an underpass in Wiesbaden, Germany. The robust calibration solution is a two-step calibration process, including a pre-calibration stage and the consideration of the best possible network design. Fisheye undistortion was performed using OpenCV, and finally, calibration parameters were optimized with self-calibration through bundle adjustment to achieve both calibration parameters and 3D reconstruction using Agisoft Metashape software. In comparison to 3D calibration, self-calibration, and a pre-calibration strategy, the two-step calibration process has demonstrated an average improvement of 2826 points in the 3D sparse point cloud and a 0.22 m decrease in the re-projection error value derived from the front lens images of two individual spherical cameras. The accuracy and correctness of the 3D point cloud and the statistical analysis of parameters in the two-step calibration solution are presented as a result of the quality assessment of this paper and in comparison with the 3D point cloud produced by a laser scanner. Full article

Graffiti vandalism poses a major threat to cultural heritage. This review paper aims to identify and describe policy measures for combatting graffiti vandalism on heritage assets, which is a significant and complex problem in urban areas worldwide with considerable cultural and economic impacts. Alongside, their effectiveness is assessed. Despite being recognized as a significant problem, research papers addressing graffiti vandalism policies are existent but not adequately systematized. In the first part of this article, a theoretical overview of graffiti vandalism is provided. This is followed by an outline of the research methodology, along with a presentation of results based on the analysis of the reviewed articles. Given the relatively small number of articles that directly address this topic, the review is supplemented with an analysis of best practices, specifically, examining municipal measures and strategies aimed at combating graffiti vandalism. Full article

The present article studies aspects of the artistic production at New Kingdom Saqqara, a necropolis of the ancient Egyptian royal residence city Memphis. Following a brief review of the functions of ancient Egyptian tombs, this article will first set out to scrutinize the tomb-making section of society (e.g., size, membership). Second, the corpus of tombs will be reviewed to uncover the diverse nature of the tomb owners and to investigate access to resources required for tomb making. Third, the article will proceed to place the tombs in spatial and temporal context and reflect on the artistic production in a necropolis in motion. Full article

Graffiti relies on social instrumentation for its creation on spatial structures. It is questioned whether different mechanisms exist to transfer social and spatial hierarchies under a new model for better engagement, management, and governance. This research aims to replace physical graffiti using augmented reality (AR) in smartphones. Contact-free AR graffiti starts with the creation of 3D graffiti; this is followed by an AR cloud platform upload, quick response (QR) code access, and site deployment, leading to the secondary reconstruction of a field scene using smartphone screenshots. The working structure was created based on the first 3D reconstruction of graffiti details as AR models and second 3D reconstruction of field graffiti on different backgrounds using a photogrammetry method. The 3D graffiti can be geotagged as a personal map and 3D printed for collections. This culture-engaged AR creates a two-way method of interacting with spatial structures where the result is collected as a self-governed form of social media. The reinterpreted context is represented by a virtual 3D sticker or symbolized name card shared on the cloud. The hidden or social hierarchy was reinterpreted by a sense of ritual without altering any space. The application of digital stickers in AR redefines the spatial order, typology, and governance of graffiti. Full article

Various factors such as natural disasters, vandalism, weather, and environmental conditions can affect the physical state of traffic signs. The proposed model aims to improve detection of traffic signs affected by partial occlusion as a result of overgrown vegetation, displaced signs (those knocked down, bent), perforated signs (those damaged with holes), faded signs (color degradation), rusted signs (corroded surface), and de-faced signs (placing graffiti, etc., by vandals). This research aims to improve the detection of bad traffic signs using three approaches. In the first approach, Spiral Pooling Pyramid-Fast (SPPF) and C3TR modules are introduced to the architecture of Yolov5 models. SPPF helps provide a multi-scale representation of the input feature map by pooling at different scales, which is useful in improving the quality of feature maps and detecting bad traffic signs of various sizes and perspectives. The C3TR module uses convolutional layers to enhance local feature extraction and transformers to boost understanding of the global context. Secondly, we use predictions of Yolov5 as base models to implement a mean ensemble to improve performance. Thirdly, test time augmentation (TTA) is applied at test time by using scaling and flipping to improve accuracy. Some signs are generated using stable diffusion techniques to augment certain classes. We test the proposed models on the CCTSDB2021, TT100K, GTSDB, and GTSRD datasets to ensure generalization and use k-fold cross-validation to further evaluate the performance of the models. The proposed models outperform other state-of-the-art models in comparison. Full article

The aim of this article is to assess which elements of street design impact subjective well-being in the central area of a city in southern Chile, based on residents’ perceptions. Fifty-six semi-structured walking interviews were conducted to obtain records of pedestrians’ self-reported perceptions of their environment. To categorize the emotions reported in the interviews, the Circumplex Model of Affect was used to organize and classify the declared emotions. The results revealed that street design elements such as heritage buildings with well-maintained facades with intense colors in their coatings, spacious front gardens, wooden facades, low fences, wide sidewalks, soft or rubberized floors, and trees with colorful fruits and leaves promote a greater dominance of high-intensity positive emotions such as enjoyment, joy, happiness, liking, and pleasure. In contrast, neglected or abandoned building facades, blind fronts with graffiti or murals, high fences, tall buildings, treeless or vegetation-free sidewalks, untrimmed bushes, and narrow and poorly maintained sidewalks promote negative emotions of both high and low activation such as fear, anger, dislike, rage, unsafety, discomfort, and stress. The article concludes with the development of an emotional map of momentary experiences, identifying places of well-being and discomfort in public spaces. The value of this map is discussed as a tool to inform urban design in the promotion of healthier pedestrian environments in Latin American cities. Full article

There is currently a certain pressure from various mnemonic communities, animated by vernacular interests, to canonize new saints within what is regarded as the flawed saints’ cultural-political movement. Among these new, uncanonized saints, whose memory is commemorated unofficially in various cultural-political registers, there is also the football star Diego Armando Maradona, called by his millions of fans “the Hand of God” (La Mano de Dios). The commemorative culture that thrived around Maradona’s persona—materialized in artefacts, shrines, icon-like paintings, prints, graffiti, stencils, and other memorabilia—do not fit the customary narratives of sainthood, nor to the display and content of the recently inaugurated (2023) memorial to the new martyrs of both the 20th and 21st centuries at Saint Bartholomew Basilica in Rome. The article argues that the commemoration of Maradona by his fans in Italy, Argentina, and worldwide is enacted in pop culture formats aimed at addressing different sets of contemporary mnemonic and spiritual needs. The aim is to offer a fresh conceptual engagement with the contemporary cultural-political phenomenon of “flawed saints” commemoration through the lens of contemporary popular culture, taking the culture of commemoration of Diego Maradona as a case study. Full article