| This study of the international Graffiti Movement follows graffiti-artists as they travel in order to perform illegible, illegal graffiti pieces in England, France, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Holland and Sweden. I analyze the fluid constructions and ambiguous aesthetics involved as they relate both to the constructions and meanings of the international Graffiti Movement and to the relationship of these practices with the National contexts they pass through.;Through this presentation of a multicultural movement, I hope to give an example of "culture-centered", rather than "societal-centered" theory in anthropology which de-centralizes National construction away from its implicitly "natural" position as objective master-narrative framework for the study of culture and identity. Understanding practices which are not "writing society" may nonetheless offer insights into how social knowledge is challenged, maintained and transformed in a multicultural world.;Important themes include multicultural identity, national identity and the important relationships of aesthetics to texts in narratives and practices of culture. Images and aesthetics are not only necessary for thinking (or feelings), they are also necessary for performance, although this is not evident in studies focusing on texts or text-building as separate from cultural performances. |
