Articulating Global Flows and Local Experience: New Identities Revealed by Graffiti in Belo Horizonte

Abstract

Graffiti is an artistic and, above all, social manifestation, being thus, susceptible to the transformations that occur in this area, such as those related to globalization. This paper aims at analysing if globalization should weaken local qualities present in this kind of work, thus encouraging mass phenomena. Initially the text outlines a brief history of this urban art, along with its essential concepts and values. The following section focuses on the theories of globalization, both from the homogenization and heterogeneity perspectives. It regards the current scenario of graffiti as an experience guided by the diversity and intensity of global flows, deployed in various coexisting layers, which create particular virtual worlds, or scapes. These scapes result in a new concept of culture, now deterritorialized and multiple, as proposed by Appadurai (2004). Finally, these concepts are inspected within the context of graffiti in the city of Belo Horizonte, based on interviews made with local artists. This leads to the understanding that, although there is a strong foreign influence, mainly American, it is added to the individual life experiences of each artist, creating new identities, and thus, the presence of various styles on the walls of the city.