When we say graffiti, we think of a secretly written drawing or message on a public surface, usually on a wall.
There is no city without graffiti, and depending on the cultural and historical context in which they were created, graffiti tell different stories. Why they are important to us and what truths about the society we live in can be read from them – the topic of the first of two episodes of the show about graffiti, graffiti culture and street art: Stories from the Walls.
Art historian Ljiljana Radošević tells us about some of the oldest graffiti in Belgrade, but also about the contemporary styles of expression of street artists. Rock critic Petar Janjatović reveals the connection between graffiti, punk and new wave, and filmologist Ivan Velisavljević guides us through graffiti on film. Miodrag Stošić, the host of radio Belgrade 202, reminds that graffiti does not have to be written only on walls, while professor from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Milena Dragićević Šešić, explains how graffiti became mobile by moving to banners during protests in the 1990s.
Regardless of whether they convey political views, messages of love, artistic visions or cryptic nicknames, street art and graffiti represent a quiet street rebellion, because, like any form of intervention in public space, they are prohibited by law.
In the second episode of the show Stories from the Walls, we discover where the oldest preserved mural in Belgrade is located, when it was created and how state policy, in the eighties of the last century, encouraged the development of muralism in the capital. What is meant by the term new muralism, and what is meant by “graveyard trash romanticism”? What are the most significant film productions when it comes to graffiti culture in our country? And finally, how did graffiti and street art go from being a subversive act to recognized art? The answers are provided by art historian Ljiljana Radošević, filmologist Ivan Velisavljević, as well as street art artists Dušan Raić Dulajt, Andrej Žikić Artez and Petar Popović Piros.
Author of the show: Ivana Nićiforović
On RTS, popular culture phenomena are also presented as part of the AproPop show, and one out of ten episodes is dedicated to graffiti and street art.
Author of the series: Selina Lovren Aksentić