‘I want to learn to do that’: subcultural heritage, identity, and learning graffiti in Pamplona

ABSTRACT

Graffiti culture has expanded rapidly since its inception in the 1970s, and is now an established practice. Graffiti is part of the visual culture of many societies, and constitutes the visible part that is hidden to the common pedestrian. As such, it is argued that graffiti has become part of many countries’ subcultural heritage. This article focuses on the processes of learning and identity construction of graffiti writers in Pamplona, in Spain, and considers the consequences of this for the concept of subcultural heritage. The data were collected via interviews and participant observations conducted over eight months. The findings suggest that graffiti writers’ identities are constituted via their artwork, which is influenced by emotions and praise that serves to fuel their ego. The findings also indicate that these writers tend to hide the fact that they have learned from others, claiming instead to have learned on their own. Hence, graffiti subcultural heritage is defined by ideas that writers themselves have about graffiti, and their learning of the previous heritage. The paper concludes that writers leaving their mark and receiving feedback from their community contribute to their subcultural heritage, and that these two aspects represent specific characteristics of this subculture.

KEYWORDS:

• Graffiti
• subcultural heritage
• learning
• identity
• emotions

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the support received by the Ethics in Communities of Practice research group (ETICOP-IT, GIU 18/140).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. By contrast, Burdick and Canessa Vicencio (2015), Plesch (2002), and Sandoval (2001) do not use this distinction. Burdick and Vicencio (2015) considered political graffiti in the San Francisco church in Chile, and Sandoval (2001) compiled and theorised on political graffiti created by Brigada Chacón, again in Chile. Plesch (2002) analysed historical practices that have also been designated as ‘graffiti’ in the Middle Ages. Graffiti in Pamplona differs from such religious or political graffiti practices.

2. Other examples of subcultural heritage may be considered with reference to the practices of narco bands or street gangs.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ana María Liñero

Ana María Liñero earned her M.A. in Philosophy, Science and Values in 2015 and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Her research focuses on the impact of collective imaginaries in independent public art. She has published several papers focusing on art in different contexts such as Australia and disobedience in art and street art.

Elizabeth Pérez-Izaguirre

Elizabeth Pérez-Izaguirre is an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). She is a member of the Department of Didactics and School Organisation (DOE), where she teaches School Organisation, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Education, and Multilingual Education both at Graduate and Master’s level. Her research interests include educational inequalities, teaching practices, the constitution of identity and teacher-to-student interaction in multi-ethnic academic environments. She interested in the anthropology of art and has conducted qualitative research in art and art learning.