‘Imagine Being a Racist’: goINDIGO 2022’s «Ethics & Legality in Graffiti (Research)» Discussion Round

Abstract

During the second discussion round of goINDIGO 2022, which took place on Friday, 13 May and was called Ethics & legality in graffiti (research), three out of many invited graffiti creators joined a discussion on (potentially provocative) statements with symposium participants (joining in-person and online). The statements, compiled by Geert Verhoeven in consultation with Benjamin Wild and Norbert Pfeifer, were:

objectivity OVER morals objectivity OVER consequences graffiti INCLUDES exploitation copyright DOES NOT matter Donaukanal graffiti IGNORES the origins

The three attending graffiti creators agreed to participate following their contact and invitation via Instagram. When introducing themselves, each conveyed their relationship to the Donaukanal and their different levels of experience and exposure within Vienna’s wider graffiti scene. DEADBEAT HERO (active in Vienna since 2014) is a Texan artist mainly focusing on street art while “dabbling in graffiti”. He owns an art studio and regularly interviews Viennese graffiti creators in his Artcade podcast. FUNKY (active intermittently since 2005) is a Bosnian, but Vienna-raised creator practising graffiti “with ups and downs and a lot of breaks like in life”. He was close to the Donaukanal a decade ago, but his central activity zone is now more to the north of Vienna. MANUEL SKIRL (active since 2006) is a Vienna-based creator currently known for his organic structures formed by black and blue lines. The openness and inclusiveness of the Donaukanal scene offered him the chance to begin creating and, in time, to develop his personal style in “more artistic” directions.

Each of the three brought their own perspectives to the discussion of the selected statements, recorded in the following text. However, this text is not a verbatim or sequential account of that discussion. First, although retaining the ‘feel’ of the discussion has been prioritised, the text has been slightly edited for readability, and superfluous content got removed. Second, as is often the way with the most exploratory of dialogues, the main topic of conversation shifted quickly and regularly. Although the five statements were individually framed by Norbert Pfeifer (after which Enrico Bonadio took on the moderator role), the first four statements and their more detailed elaborations have been reduced to two sections to structure the text in a manner that might better serve the reader. This reordering of the transcription means that, in some places, the text does not always flow consecutively in the way it did during the discussion. These places are indicated by […], and they do not only mark hops forward but also hops backward in time.

Finally, it is essential to know that all authors—of which none was a minor—have read this text and confirmed in writing that they were okay with their statements. This agreement notwithstanding, one must understand that these statements were raised in a lively discussion and must also be understood and treated this way.