Historical Graffiti Research Articles

When everyone was called John: a statistical analysis of Post-Medieval letter graffiti at historic sites in the UK

SUMMARY This article examines the post-medieval letter graffiti present at historic sites in the UK, and carries out a statistical analysis of the markings across multiple sites, with a view to determining authorship and intent. The data from the graffiti inscriptions is also examined within the wider social history context of naming traditions within the UK and elsewhere, and concludes that a measurable and distinct gender bias is present amongst the historical graffiti that has wide reaching implications with regard to concepts of gendered space and social norms.

Analysis of Graffiti in State University of Malang, East Java, Indonesia.

The art of graffiti in general is adequately devoted in the environment or compound of myriads of universities (mostly undergraduate) in Indonesia. The objectives of showing/painting/brushing graffiti by undergraduate students in Indonesian universities are varied pursuant to the intended body of literature that the students (the writers/the makers) are willing to show off. This research investigated the categories, classification, information of graffiti that the researcher found in State University of Malang (UM), East Java, Indonesia. The researcher applied ethnography research in observing and/or interacting with the research participants in their real-life environment. This research was focused on analyzing the graffiti found in the area of State University of Malang. The researcher took ten participants from the students of undergraduate program, State University of Malang which is located in Jl. Semarang No.5, Sumbersari, Kec. Lowokwaru, Kota Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia. Interview and observation were utilized in collecting the data. The researcher found that the graffiti in the surrounding of State University of Malang (UM) are categorized into: tags graffiti, latrinalia graffiti, humorous graffiti, declarative graffiti, and conversational graffiti. The researcher cannot categorize them into public graffiti because they are not written on public spaces and sites; they are only addressed for undergraduate students in State University of Malang (UM). They are also not classified into historical graffiti because the researcher had direct access to the writers of the graffiti. They don’t belong to folk epigraphy graffito because they do not provide/describe any inscriptions drawn inside the graffito. The researcher also found that the men in charge seem to be no problem for them and likely to allow these groups of students to be creative in releasing their ego through graffiti. Finally, the students who designed and wrote the graffiti belonged to certain number of groups who tend to have apparently ‘lower point’ or GPA (grade point average) in the campus community. They sub-divide themselves, verbally speak and write with certain genre and these graffiti are likely to be their specification. They are busy of taking care of their domain of organization and any other kinds of UKM. They tend to separate their groups among others so they appear to be different section (genre) of college community.

Analysis of Graffiti in State University of Malang, East Java, Indonesia.

The art of graffiti in general is adequately devoted in the environment or compound of myriads of universities (mostly undergraduate) in Indonesia. The objectives of showing/painting/brushing graffiti by undergraduate students in Indonesian universities are varied pursuant to the intended body of literature that the students (the writers/the makers) are willing to show off. This research investigated the categories, classification, information of graffiti that the researcher found in State University of Malang (UM), East Java, Indonesia. The researcher applied ethnography research in observing and/or interacting with the research participants in their real-life environment. This research was focused on analyzing the graffiti found in the area of State University of Malang. The researcher took ten participants from the students of undergraduate program, State University of Malang which is located in Jl. Semarang No.5, Sumbersari, Kec. Lowokwaru, Kota Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia. Interview and observation were utilized in collecting the data. The researcher found that the graffiti in the surrounding of State University of Malang (UM) are categorized into: tags graffiti, latrinalia graffiti, humorous graffiti, declarative graffiti, and conversational graffiti. The researcher cannot categorize them into public graffiti because they are not written on public spaces and sites; they are only addressed for undergraduate students in State University of Malang (UM). They are also not classified into historical graffiti because the researcher had direct access to the writers of the graffiti. They don’t belong to folk epigraphy graffito because they do not provide/describe any inscriptions drawn inside the graffito. The researcher also found that the men in charge seem to be no problem for them and likely to allow these groups of students to be creative in releasing their ego through graffiti. Finally, the students who designed and wrote the graffiti belonged to certain number of groups who tend to have apparently ‘lower point’ or GPA (grade point average) in the campus community. They sub-divide themselves, verbally speak and write with certain genre and these graffiti are likely to be their specification. They are busy of taking care of their domain of organization and any other kinds of UKM. They tend to separate their groups among others so they appear to be different section (genre) of college community.

HIDDEN GRAFFITI IDENTIFICATION ON MARBLE SURFACES THROUGH PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES

Abstract. Nowadays, considering the various methodological approaches used by the scientific community to study graffiti, there is a need for the improvement of the documentation and analysis workflow that must be addressed. Historic graffiti are recognized by scholars of different disciplines as a relevant and genuine written source, able to provide an insight into the everyday life of the past. Many studies have indeed flourished during the last decades stating the relevance of graffiti as a multidisciplinary source of information and showing, at the same time, the fragmented research scenario due to the lack of reliable and standardized methodologies. Currently, the scientific community involved in the study of graffiti has largely benefited from the use of digital technologies. However, most of the efforts and research projects were focused on the analysis of graffiti immediately visible on the surface or graffiti the position of which was easily identifiable due to the depth and width of the engraving. The proposed study is intended to tackle the documentation pipeline a step earlier than the documentation itself when the graffiti are yet to be identified. The San Marco Basilica in Venice is used as a unique case study for the analysis of non-directly visible-to-human-eye graffiti in a rather challenging environment.

Augmented Reality Technology Spreads Information about Historical Graffiti in Temple of Debod

Abstract Learning can occur at anytime and anywhere, even when you are travelling. In this article, we explain how augmented reality (AR) can be used to better educate tourists and visitors about the sites they choose to visit. Using the Temple of Debod in Madrid and its structures as an example, we focus on applying AR to the engravings on the walls of the temple. Through AR, these engravings take on a new life, giving visitors a more interesting and interactive experience that better educates them about the temple itself and about the different historical periods in which the ‘graffiti’ were engraved. Augmented reality, combined with audio commentary in different languages, will help visitors to locate the different graffiti more easily and appreciate the true wonder of the site and the motives behind the engravings.

Signs of the times: Archaeological approaches to historical and contemporary graffiti

The papers in this themed section on historical and contemporary graffiti derive in part from a two-day workshop, That was Then, This is Now: Contemporary Archaeology in Australia, that we (Clarke and Frederick) organised at the University of Sydney in February 2012. The Editors of Australian Archaeology invited us to submit a set of papers from the workshop to showcase some of the Australian research in the field of contemporary archaeology. We agreed that a section on contemporary and historical graffiti would make an interesting and timely contribution to the growing international literature on this topic. The papers by Crisp et al., Frederick, and Ralph and Smith in this themed section were all presented at the workshop, while those by Casella, Fyfe and Brady, Agutter and Lewis were invited to provide further examples of the range and scope of approaches to this topic.

Graffiti-Art: Can it Hold the Key to the Placing of Prehistoric Rock-Art?

Can we with a twenty-first-century mindset make meaningful statements concerning the commissioning and execution of prehistoric rock-art, and what are the mechanisms that encourage people to put their mark onto a rock surface? In a key text Taçon and Chippindale (1998) coined the term “informed methods.” This approach relied on the direct contact between artist and researcher and was successfully used in understanding some of the problems associated with narratives incorporated into indigenous art in Northern Australia. Using the informed-methods approach, the author was interested in drawing analogies between historic graffiti art from a coastal site in Morecambe Bay, northern England and prehistoric art. Bearing in mind the subversive nature of modern graffiti-art and probable positive endorsement of rock-art by status individuals in the prehistoric period, this article identifies a number of analogies between the two, such as landscape grammar and the way messages, signatures, and symbols are expressed and conveyed. By looking at the potential underlying socio-economic, political, and ritual mechanisms that allowed people to carve and paint onto rock in the modern period, can we make inferences as to why prehistoric people would want to carve and paint onto rock?

Preservation of Historic Graffiti Using Ethyl Silicate: The Signature of W. F. Cody in Ellsworth County, Kansas

A laboratory examination of the effect of ethyl silicate solutions (Conservare OH and Conservare H) on red Dakota sandstone (Cretaceous) cores from Red Rock Canyon, Kanopolis Lake, Ellsworth County, showed the treatments improved the compressive strength and freeze-thaw resistance of the stone without sealing the pore system or causing discoloration. The solution then was applied to the signature of W. F Cody in order to prolong

Historical graffiti in northern Australia: Evidence of European settlement and society in the Selwyn Range of northwest Queensland

European graffiti dated 1905, including names, initials, and obscene drawings and verse, have been found interspersed with Aboriginal engravings in a sandstone rockshelter near the Mount Elliott copper mine in northwest Queensland. These graffiti enrich our knowledge of both the town and the people of the area. The township of Selwyn developed after the opening of the Mount Elliott smelter in 1910, and the first official record of it occurs in the Queensland Towns Directory in 1911 . However, the graffiti are indicative of European settlement in Selwyn/Mount Elliott some years prior to this. Some of the names and initials in the graffiti can be traced through historical records such as the state electoral rolls, which provide details of age, occupation and mobility. Furthermore, the drawings and verse provide evidence, albeit indicative and tentative, of the state of gender, sexual and ethnic relations in the Australian pioneer fringe environment. This study demonstrates the value of historical graffiti in reconstructing aspects of early European settlement.