ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY ISSUES IN WORKS OF GERMAN STREET ART

In: Culture crossroads: journal of the Research Centre at the Latvian Academy of Culture, Band 13, S. 48-64

Abstract

This article deals with the development of environmental and ecological issues in Germany since the 1970s, and how these issues are represented in works of street art since the beginning of the development of modern graffiti, and later street art, in Germany. The purpose of this research is to identify differences in the ecological and environmental issues in works of graffiti and street art from the 1970s to present day in Germany. This has been done by examining general themes of environmental and ecological issues in graffiti and street art and by studying some of the specific examples of artwork, using research methods by visual analysis based on study "Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design" by Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen, and visual analysis of iconography and iconology, described by Marion G. Müller in "The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods" by Eric Margolis and Luc Pauwels. The first phase of the research involves an overview of the socio- political background of the ecological and environmental issues in Germany since the 1970s, as well as development of modern graffiti and street art in Germany in the context of ecology and environment, using the method of iconology. The second phase involves examining physical examples of graffiti and street art in Germany. The final phase deals with regional differences reflected in artists' work in Germany. This article will provide general insights in graffiti and street art in Germany and it will explore how German artists tackle the environmental and ecological issues in their works.