Graffiti: Ephemeral Inscriptions in Urban Space
Style Writing in Hamburg in the 1980s and 1990s
2019–2023
RFB09
Since the 1970s, the modern graffiti form of ‘style writing’ has characterised urban landscapes worldwide. The self-chosen pseudonym of the artist (writer) or his or her associated group (crew) is usually the only element behind this kind of inscription – which is often difficult to decipher due to the strong modification of letters. This, in most circumstances, illicit spraying of typefaces is generally done either spontaneously by quickly writing the artist's signature (tag), or planned and realised as elaborated murals (pieces).
One essential characteristic of graffiti is ephemerality. Because graffiti often disappear from public spaces as quickly as they appear due to ordered removal or weathering, the artists always photograph their piece after completion. In this way, they counteract the transience of this art form, which is why the storing of the photographic documents plays a central role in graffiti art, too. Eventually, it is only through the photograph that graffiti art in public space becomes tangible, archivable and reconstructable.
Against this background, this project investigates the private archive of Mirko Reisser alias DAIM, who has been a key figure in the Hamburg graffiti scene since 1989. Over the past ten years, while continuing as an active artist himself, Reisser has established a graffiti archive, which documents the development of the graffiti scene in Hamburg during the 1980s and 1990s. The main part of his collection consists of about 50,000 photos, several thousands of books and magazines as well as materials from the scene, such as sketchbooks or letter correspondences from artists.
The aim of this project is to illuminate the processes of production, transformation, preservation and also the destruction of the ephemeral materiality of style writing in its social, spatial, historical and cultural contexts in which graffiti are produced, received and archived.
On the one hand, it examines the process of writing graffiti – from sketching to realising, photographing and archiving. On the other hand, Reisser’s archive is investigated in its entirety as a research object of its own with a focus on practices and strategies of archiving, including his digital database as extended archive space.
People
Project lead: Sanja Ewald