Study Types of Hypotext InIran`s Graffiti

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

phd in art,. art faculty, al-zahra university

10.22070/negareh.2020.3111

Abstract

Graffiti is one of the unofficial and popular artistic media that serves to express protests as well as political, social and cultural contents. This new popular art is noteworthy in terms of communication with subcultures, youth and street art in big cities and urban areas, as well as the fact that it has found an informal, unofficial and even underground life in Iran in recent years. Graffiti is a way of expressing the views and opinions of groups, images or letters used on surfaces of public places such as walls or bridges that are visible to the public, and also the raw wall paintings are handmade and sometimes disgusting, linear drawings, conventional inscriptions on doors and walls, linear motifs and irregular and obscure writings. Graffiti is used as a way to send social and political messages and as a form of advertising. It is also known as a modern art from that is now on display in galleries around the world. Although the history of this art medium in Iran is not long, but in this brief time, remarkable works are presented in different urban areas. Further recognition of graffiti works and introduction of the variety of textual relations that govern them, require referring to the transtextuality studies. All possible relations between texts may be reviewed by taking transtextuality approach of Gerard Genette, French researcher, in which area hyper textuality is more appropriate to analyze and decode the art texts. Hypertextuality is the relation of the second text, being derived from the first text, so that if the first text does not exist, the second text will not form. According to this, the paper based on Gerard Genette’s transtextuality typology, considers classifying and exploring conjunction, effects and text relations in Iranian graffiti works. The purpose of this essay is to conduct a systematic study which leads to a wider knowledge of the identity of contemporary art. The research methodology is descriptive- analytical and based on the Genette’s theory of Transtextuality types of hypo text approach that analyzes a number of graffiti works in Iran. The graffiti samples have been collected from web-based sources. The author’s statistical population includes about 350 Iranian graffiti artists, among which 20 images have been selected as case studies by targeted sampling method. Selected works are more closely related to the head of their branch in the process of hypo text classification, and in order to answer the research questions and their goals, the method of analysis is qualitative. Also data collection is done through the documentary resources and direct observations. The results showed and explained how the text in human world is reproduced and spread with hypotextuality, as well as how this approach can be used to better understand the arts and the relationship between the texts. Graffers by keeping the contemporary space, different domains of effectiveness and explicitness of different reference, have reflected the previous divisions of hypo text in their works. Therefore, the difference of hypertext and distinction of artistic and cultural elements are visible in graffiti works that are used as artists’ protests and social purposes. Explicit reference to the hypertext is different in these samples that are different in terms of imitation and classified changes. In hypo text imitations, extent of resemblance is distinct. It is certain that hypo text compiler had more constraint in protection of hypertext’s formal style, and has shown a major creativity in content. Another result in this section is the lack of any charges and exaggerated types in Iranian graffiti works as hypo texts. Recognizing borrowed elements from hypertext requires greater consideration and delicacy so that it would include a wider transposition and less degree of parody and travesties. Perhaps it could be due to the change of system that makes this look inevitable in interdisciplinary and inter-significant transposition. In addition, slight changes in those types are perhaps related to their functions. It means that the satirical and fancy approaches in a type are more frequent, bold and explicit, and popular implication is more needed, because the artist uses the humorous language in familiar structure to achieve a more lasting impact. Major changes, both in style and content, can lead to a significant gap among hypertext and hypo text of graffiti, and thus reduce the impact on the audience. Studying the samples on mutable hypo text in graffiti works, leads to understanding incremental change, that has the largest share itself. Finally, it should be said that the application of types of hypo text at least are implicit in graffiti works and cannot be clearly decided as Genette’s classifications, especially in border resolution of fancy function. However, one can see that the pastiche of fancy function in hypo text of graffiti is the closest concept to the Gerard Genette’s typology.

Keywords


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