ABSTRACT
Graffiti are unsanctioned and unregulated; due to its illegality, it has a spontaneous, rupturing quality. The “tags” hastily written on lampposts, the “throw-ups” on alley walls, and “pieces” in abandoned factories are an ongoing open dialogue that is overheard by passersby (see related ideas in this volume from Rodriguez, Meade, Plesch, Lovata, Beaton and Todd, Gopinath, Duncan, Olton, Beck et al., Daniell, Mitman, and Scheinman). It is a forbidden language that forces itself into polite society, allowing for a circulation of knowledges that transform physical space into contested sites as the walls’ declarations reflect the larger political discussions of the day.
