Symbiotic Postures of Commercial Advertising and Street Art

1957 Conference in Italy was a small but major step done by revolutionaries known as Situationist International (SI: 1957-1972). SI was a Paris based group who had international pioneer artists, poets, writers etc. They were humanists, socialists rather than communists. They wanted nothing less to change the world, make society to see the city they are living in a new and more realistic way. In other words, they battled against system to break down the walls between artists and consumers. Could the system that is ruling and controlling everyday life be demolished with the art that comes from any cultural and artistic production?

“We will not lead we will only detonate” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SvdWk8zRrI) is a most suitable slogan for the Paris novelty events in 1968. The May 1968 Paris events were breaking point of art and history; SI played a big role in these events. Art cannot be unpreventable or categorised. People produce, use art to express their feelings and opinions as a voice or reaction. A similar notion corroborative with my opinion is: “There is no Situationist art, only Situationist uses of art.” (www.ideologicalart.com/situationist/) Every art movement back in revolutionary years had an impact on society and art. Still every innovation governs the future manipulation on art. The supreme collaborator to manipulate society is done by commercial advertising and marketing. One influential example for this is, politics; where SI tried to abolish the wage system and classes that has been created by ruling coalition (rich), which deceive world under the name of politics and law. Therefore I can say politics are commercial advertisements because politics mean policy, plan. However politics should not be combined with art; politics is a planned system where art is an act of freedom.

As Victor Pinchuk, a Ukrainian businessman once said: “Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics.” The greatest living example for this quote and ideology is a Street Art. “Street art: artwork that is created in a public, space, typically without official permission.” (https://oxford.dictionaries.com/definition/street_art) As the definition clearly declares, street art is like a bomb against capitalist surrealism. It can suddenly appear on any object or anywhere in the city and leave you speechless then your thoughts start tingling. As is known, SI hoped to help labourers and bring out a labourer revolution with two major methods: drifts and detournement. Especially the detournement was seen as a “diversion” in visual arts. It was kind of a propaganda, which made situationists became more popularised and made this method timeless. Their influence continues to be felt and seen today in street arts, political protests etc. SI urban movement was the key element for graffiti, illustration, and collages to be accepted as art as well.

Street art is an activist, socialist movement, which rejects all art forms from the system, politics just like SI. Thusly this art movement is done in street to produce for use and need, to activate machined brains to find their own desires, roots, and cultural production. The most popular and my favourite British street, graffiti artist is Banksy. Some of his graffiti work has been painted over soon after it appeared. This reaction is a proof how street art carries valid messages towards the society without using any commercial advertising that scares the ruling coalition.

Picture 1. Banksy Print,London,2008 | Picture 2. Street Art in Oslo,Norway,2016 -taken by Ozge Genc (me)

The commercial advertising caries a perilous case, it helps informants, the system on consumers to grow. It makes society to break away from the cultural production to look similar where street art is free, creative and does not make you copy or emulate others. Here is how commercial advertising is effective on human decisions and outgrowing consumption: “ In 1825, Jean Brillat – Savain (a lawyer and politician) published The Physiology of Taste. He is noted for having said, ‘Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are!’ ”(Russell Belk, 2007, Handbook od Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing, pg. 3) An intriguing way of psychological pressure on people in this materialist culture.

Commercial Advertising is a rhetoric process which contains forms of art such as design, media etc. Commercial advertising based on consumption, where street art promotes non-commercial consumption but more on humanism. Commercial advertising initiate subliminal messages; Street art is a social synergy, a pure labour movement. In other words street art is a reformist, more risk taking, and an art that is from our nature, us.

Unfortunately the current era of Street art movement has bloomed and not only captivated in cities any more; “Companies such as Sony, Ikea, Saatchi, Nokia, Porsche, Opel and Diesel have borrowed the aesthetic of street art in order to give their producers an urban and artistic aura” (Stefania Borghini, Luca Massimiliano Visconti, Lawrel Anderson and John F. Sherry, Jr, ‘Symbiotic Postures of Commercial Advertising and street Art’, Journal of Advertising, 39:3, 2010, pg. 113). Street art form used as commercial advertising is almost unstoppable in this Internet era. The system gives urbanism a taste of it’s own medicine.

However will the playfulness of street art give the same flavour with brandalism? Where is the socialism and cultural production of the urban movement? In my opinion aestheticazation must not control the freedom speech of street art, prints. Using Street art as commercial advertising has only positive effect on the fast production and consumption, not on art.

After reading and analysing this topic I also came up with a question that left me unable to settle a matter: Is street art for broke or coward artists who cannot afford to sell their art or idea? It is very hard to give an accurate answer for it.

History of SI movement, Street art are very close to my ideology. They are beside naturalism, humanism, freedom and love. Cities must accept every creativity, cultural production, art, and man. When I plan and start working on my project I will concentrate to be less controlling, systemic and to add more veracity of nature.

Image: Banksy Print, London, 2008 (https://www.canvasartrocks.com/blogs/posts/70529347-121-amazing-banksy-graffiti-artworks-with-locations)

#streetart #banksy #activism #onelove