Photos used with permission.
Leigh and Sue’s reflection, Activity 5
The history of graffiti stretches all the way back to the days when humans lived in caves. People are constantly making meaning in our everyday lives. Graffiti is often perceived simply as a form of vandalism rather than art or a form of communication about social issues. In choosing this topic, we wanted to provide information that sheds light on the purpose of graffiti, its artists, and possibly, address the stigma associated with it. There is an enormous amount of information available about graffiti, however, the overall interpretation tends to be biased, presenting graffiti in a negative connotation, even as a criminal act, while ignoring the underlying process of communication (Alonso, 1998). Graffiti’s strong association with hip-hop culture in the later part of the 20th century influenced part of this lack of mainstream acceptance or negative connotations (Thompson, 2009, p. 9).
So. What can graffiti teach us? Basquiat, Haring, and Banksy began their careers ‘writing’ or ‘tagging’ New York City subway cars in the 70s and 80s. The social commentary that graffiti artists, such as Banksy and other engage in, illustrates the power that graffiti as a source of communication that provides a platform for those whose voices could remain unheard is powerful. Questions and debates about graffiti as art or vandalism continue to colour public spaces (Baird & Taylor, 2010; Thompson, 2009). In any event, graffiti and ‘street art’ are free, open, and accessible. Weller and Anderson try to help us as educators make sense of the learning theories and pedagogy to manage and negotiate the open spaces that create at pedagogy of abundance. Banksy is all about accessible art that is open and belongs to the people. Banksy’s picture of “Girl with Balloon”, auctioned by Sothebys for 1.4 million dollars, was promptly shredded before the horrified eyes of all present at the exclusive art auction. Banksy had a built-in shredder to destroy his work as a statement of taking back control of his street art, where the artist is a medium for the voices of marginalized communities. As Banksy states, “This is the first time the essentially bourgeois world of art has belonged to the people. We need to make it count”(Ellsworth-Jones, 2013, para. 3).
In exploring graffiti, the abundance of information on the Internet made learning about the topic very accessible. Even overwhelming. As a team of two, we decided before we started our research that we would stay focused on three subtopics: history, culture, and graffiti as a form of communication and education. Weller states that educators “firstly [need to decide] how they can best take advantage of abundance in their own teaching practice, and secondly how do we best equip learners to make use of it?”(Weller, 2011). Anderson (2016) agree that the second challenge, is the most pressing and central to theories for learning and for teaching in the digital era. Anderson posits that “as important as scaling content is the power of effective search and retrieval methods” (2016, p.41).
Lessons from Weller (2011) and Anderson (2016) armed us with strategies to negotiate the wealth of information on graffiti and to contemplate how we would best equip learners to make use of the information on the topic. Graffiti, like technology, is everywhere and a powerful communication and learning tool. According to Banksy, “As soon as I cut my first stencil I could feel the power there. We also like the political edge. All graffiti is low-level dissent, but stencils have an extra history. They’ve been used to start revolutions and to stop wars” (Ellsworth-Jones, 2013, para. 5). With such power, comes responsibility, which leads to discussion on the objectivity and reliability of sources. This is something that is pertinent to educators and learners alike: how do we discern what we are reading on the Internet, as we research any given topic, is reliable? “Exploring pedagogies of abundance will be essential for educators to meet this challenge and equip their learners with the skills they need in an age of digital abundance”(Weller, 2011).
References
Alonso, A. (1998). Urban scribblings on the city landscape. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.614.3042&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Anderson, T. (2016). Chapter 3: Theories for Learning with Emerging Technologies. In Veletsianos, G. (Ed). Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning: Foundations and Applications. Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120258/ebook/03_Veletsianos_2016-Emergence_and_Innovation_in_Digital_Learning.pdf
Baird, J., & Taylor, C. (Eds.). (2010). Ancient graffiti in context. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca
Banksy (nd). Girl with balloon [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-6-iconic-works-banksy
Banky (nd). Extinction and rebellion [digital image]. Retrieved from https://grist.org/article/it-looks-like-banksy-just-created-an-extinction-rebellion-mural/
Ellsworth-Jones, W. (2013). The Story Behind Banksy. Smithsonian.com Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-behind-banksy-4310304/
Weller, M. (2011). A pedagogy of abundance. Spanish Journal of Pedagogy, 249, pp. 223-236. Retrieved from http://oro.open.ac.uk/28774/2/BB62B2.pdf
September 29, 2019 at 5:18 pm
Really good post!
Following up on Arv’s response in Sue’s post, and recognizing that since Weller’s writing we have gained a better understanding of how algorithms shape what we see and don’t see online, what may be some steps that individuals (and others, such as search engines, social meia platforms, governments, etc) may take to help people find the ‘right’ content?
September 29, 2019 at 7:24 pm
Glad you appreciated our post, George!
Great question… “What are some steps that individuals (and others, such as search engines, social media platforms, governments, etc.) may take to help people find the ‘right’ content?”
I can speak to this as a K-12 educator… As teachers, we need to start teaching students how to narrow their research topics on search engines, even through basic strategies like using key words and commas! I recently taught a Grade 12 class who had trouble doing research on the Internet due to the absence of these basic skills and strategies. More importantly is the constant dialogue that we need to engage in with students AND society about really questioning the “credibility” and potential “implicit bias” of different sources that are so accessible on the Internet. Similarly, the importance of researching using VARIOUS sources is more important today than ever, also in connection with questioning the credibility of sources. I try to provide my older students with some key websites or authors to start their research with, scaffolding their research experience. With younger students, I will share or “push” a specific educational site, perhaps model how I got there, and speak to “why” I chose it and why I trust its content to help us to learn.
September 29, 2019 at 8:02 pm
Hi Leigh,
Great response to George’s question. And I appreciate the direction you provide as it’s helpful (as we know!) for anyone searching online to have some guidance.
For reference, I’ve included my response to George below as part of the overall discussion.
Interestingly, I just read a post on Twitter about edtech resistance. Here’s the URL for those who may want to read it. https://codeactsineducation.wordpress.com/2019/09/26/edtech-resistance/
I would suggest it’s really about building awareness by educating ourselves and each other, and holding organizations accountable for the data they collect and its use. Of course, the work of people like Audrey Watters http://hackeducation.com/2019/08/28/surveillance-ed-tech, who we’ve all become aware of through this course, is instrumental in communicating the issues.
October 17, 2019 at 11:27 am
Graffiti has always intrigued me as a communication tool, and I like your point of it also being an educational tool. Your connection to graffiti and cave paintings really made me think of it as a learning tool. Imagine the knowledge we would be missing if there weren’t any cave paintings!
In the classroom, we still use images to help students learn, but as a society, we look down on graffiti. I admit there is graffiti that does not seem to serve much of a communicational or educational purpose; for instance gangs marking territory (though, it is a communication tool) or destructive graffiti. Weller states, “[the] link between the availability of goods and their price that drives the standard economic model. But when goods become digital and available online then scarcity disappears” (Weller, 2011, p. 225), as you say, graffiti has already accomplished the being open and available for many to see. There is little cost in creating graffiti (as far as I know, as I am not a graffiti artist) which allows information/education to get to people who may not be able to be in a classroom setting.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Kathy
Reference
Weller, Martin (2011). A pedagogy of abundance. Spanish Journal of Pedagogy, 249 pp. 223–236.