An Art of Resistance From the Street to the Classroom

Author(s): SHENG KUAN CHUNG

Source: Art Education , July 2009, Vol. 62, No. 4 (July 2009), pp. 25-32
Published by: National Art Education Association

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20694777

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 Instructional Resources

An Art of

t <at
From the Street to the Classroom
BY SHENG KUAN CHUNG

Recommended for Grades 9-12

WjJWA ooted in graffiti culture and its attitude
AksL toward the world, street art is regarded
as a postgraffiti movement (Bou, 2005;
MacNaughton, 2006). Street art encompasses a wide array oof
media and techniques, such as traditional spray-painted tags, Learning Objectives
stickers, stencils, posters, photocopies, murals, paper cutouts,
While participating in the activities suggested by
mosaics, street installations, performances, and video projec this instructional resource, students will acquire
a deeper understanding of how Banksy s art
tions displayed in urban streets (Bou, 2005). It represents the
addresses the processes of public interaction,
desire of humans to leave traces of their existence in the public intervention, and dialogue involved in street art.
Students will:
sphere. As Lunn (2006) explains, "It has a rawness you don't
describe, analyze, and interpret Banksy s
get through other forms of media. It is the voice of the world street art to explore the social and political
issues it raises;
around us" (p. 4).
participate in a creative writing activity to
As a vernacular art form, street art, such as the work of
understand Banksy s work;
British artist Banksy, deals with activism, reclamation, and investigate street art in their urban
subversion and allows artists a platform to reach a broader neighborhoods in terms of its symbols,
artistic techniques, and meanings to make
audience than traditional art forms. Street art can serve to connections to their lives and the lives of
others;
engage students in critical dialogue about art and visual culture
demonstrate how art addresses social issues
while they collectively explore the issues it raises. This Instruc
by stenciling a T-shirt that communicates an
tional Resource describes a learning unit for high school important social issue or questions a social
practice;
students where they can address social and political issues by
examine the significance of culture jamming1;
studying street art, specifically the work of Banksy.
and public intervention by wearing the shirt
they designed and gathering feedback from
the public.

July 2009 / ART EDUCATION 25

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 Figure 1. Street art by Banksy. Photograph taken by Alex MacNaughton, from his book London Street Art (2006).
Reprinted with permission from photographer.

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 Instructional Resources

About Banksy
In contrast to governme
subversive in nature. Th
pseudonyms to avoid leg
has traveled
exhibited in major 3
extensively
muse
London, his identity rem
on his street projects and
terrorist," according to
Bristol, England. The son
but became involved in g
late 1980s" (p. 74).
Banksy's street art focu
engagement, and dialog
dialogue on social issues
combination with stenc
tive sights that force pe
rekindling the functiona
sentiments felt by those
been marginalized. Bank
social practices, includin
art world to define stand
social and cultural aspect

The Legality of St
The piece shown in Figu
borough of Islington in
washed off by the Isling
created this piece using
brushstrokes. Most, if no
is clean and instantly re
ongoing battle between t
portraying a boy defacin

Dialogue Activity
Teachers can use this pic
legality, including issues
political art. Questions f
1. What do you see in th
2. What is the boy doing
3. Is this work created b
do it?
4. Where was this picture presented? Is the location of this picture
important, and why?
5. What is the artist trying to communicate? What do you think the picture
means?
6. How does the artist feel about graffiti? Is this art or vandalism, and how
do you judge it? Should the city remove this picture? How would different
parties reach a compromise over graffiti?
7. Is the street a public space or a private space owned by the city
government? Why are only commercial signs allowed in public space?
What kinds of art can be considered acceptable in public spaces?
8. What kinds of art can be considered activist or political art? Is this work
political?

July 2009 / ART EDUCATION

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 ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^hEh

Figure 2. A playful boy with bucket by Banksy on the West Bank barrier. Photograph taken by Richard Shotton/i-globe.org.
Reprinted with permission.

Breaking the Barrier Dialogue Activity

Banksy's visit to the Israeli West Bank barrier in 2005 appeared in
news headlines. During his visit, he made several thought-provoking
pictures on the 425-mile-long barrier (see Figures 2 and 3) that
Israel has constructed to separate itself from the Palestinian territo
ries. While supporters of the barrier argue that it provides regional
stability and security by protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian
terrorism, opponents make the case that it infringes on the rights
of the Palestinian people. The United Nations has ordered Israel to
dismantle the barrier because it violates international laws. According
to Banksy, the West Bank barrier essentially turns Palestine into the
world's largest open prison.
Before showing Figures 2 and 3 to students, teachers should
encourage them to share what they know about the West Bank
barrier and provide further background information if necessary.
These images can be used to discuss issues of living with terrorism
in relation to the barrier and illuminate the importance of context
to understanding street art. Street art can add a powerful subversive
meaning to a site if displayed with the sites context in mind. Ques
tions for dialogue using Figure 2 include the following:
1. Describe what you see.
2. What is Banksy trying to tell viewers through this picture?
3. What possible issues does this picture raise?
4. Is the site where this picture is shown important? How so?
5. How would you interpret this picture if you saw it in your neigh
borhood? Would the pictures meaning change if seen on the West
Bank barrier versus on your neighborhood street wall? How so?

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 Instructional Resources

&3t

Figure 3. Street art stenciled by Banksy on the West Bank barrier. Photograph taken by Richard Shotton/i-globe.org. Reprinted with permission.

Creative Writing Activity Kissing Policemen

After briefly discussing the West Bank barrier, teachers can use
Figure 3 to facilitate a creative writing activity. To begin, teachers
can divide students into pairs and then show them the image of the
girl. Ask each pair of students to write one story about the work from
the perspective of the girl in the picture, a viewer gazing upon the
picture, or the artist who made the image. Encourage the students to
use descriptive language and a first-person perspective as they write
their story, chronicling the thoughts of their chosen character. They
can include all elements seen in the picture and any metaphors or
similes associated with it. Have the students share their writing at the
conclusion of this activity.
Several of Banksy's images of kissing policemen (see Figure 4)
have been seen in London city streets. The representation of these
policemen forces pedestrians to revisit their conceptions of homo
sexuality and masculinity and to confront the issue of homophobia.
In societies, including that of America, heterosexual couples are
often free to show their affection in public while homosexual couples
cannot. These latter displays of affection are considered a social taboo.
Banksy s kissing policemen can be used to explore such concerns,
and hopefully to develop respect toward differences among human
beings.2 In America, it is not uncommon to hear school children use
homophobic language to humiliate their peers or make deliberate,
malicious jokes. Students uninformed about homosexuality are
more likely to form prejudices and use offensive behavior toward gay
people. Another direction for initiating discussions about homosexu
ality is to introduce the concept of heteronormality. In other words,

July 2009 / ART EDUCATION

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 9tm I

Figure 4. Street art by Banksy. Photograph taken by Scott Davis. Reprinted with permission.

students need to understand that heterosexuals are the dominant
group in society, holding the political power to legitimize and
advance its own heterocentric cultural, economic, and educational
agendas. The dominant group defines, governs, and polices cultural
values and social norms such as sexual relationships, marriage,
family structure, and parenthood from a heterocentric cosmology.
Heterocentric gender roles have permeated mainstream ideology
that controls almost every aspect of social practice and portrays
gay people as deviant, which in turn has a detrimental effect on gay
youth as they struggle to understand themselves and construct their
identity.
Dialogue Activity
1. Teachers can use this picture to explore homophobia and the
concept of heteronormality. Questions for dialogue include:
2. What is your first reaction to this picture? What responses is the
picture meant to elicit from the viewer?
3. What is the picture trying to tell us? Are there elements you
would characterize as symbolic?
4. How do you think this picture was made?
5. Where was this picture presented? Is its location important, and
why?
6. Is this art, and why?
7. Are policemen authority figures in our society? Is it socially
acceptable to see policemen act in this way? Would it be more
socially acceptable if one of the policemen was a woman, and how
so? Are there other implicit messages in this picture?
8. Can societies be truly equal and democratic? How does American
society as a whole discriminate against gay people? What can we
do to make America a truly equitable society?

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 Instructional Resources

Figure 5. Sweeping It Under the Carpet by Banksy. Photograph taken by Canonsnapper.

A Voice for the Marginalized
Banksy s spray-painted image entitled Sweeping It Under the Carpet
(see Figure 5) was seen in Chalk Farm, London. According to news
paper reporter Arifa Akbar (2006), the image depicts a maid called
Leanne who cleaned the artist s room in a motel in Los Angeles.
Considering that in the past only the rich could afford to have their
portraits painted, the portrait of the maid serves to highlight the
democratization of subjects in works of art.
A Fieldwork Investigation
This image illustrates how art can be a voice for the marginalized.
Teachers can use this image to prompt students to further investigate
This neighborhood inquiry will deepen students' understanding of
street art in their own neighborhoods and the voices that proliferate
there. Teachers can give a fieldwork assignment, asking students to
survey their neighborhood streets, document street art, and present it
to the class. Encourage students to take pictures and notes during the
fieldwork, document issues and stories important to the location, and
present their findings. To conclude their investigation, students can
discuss the following questions about the street art world (Erickson,
2002):
1. Which people do members of the street art world judge to be
important?
2. What sort of places do members of the street art world meet to
share activities and ideas?
3. What activities are essential to maintaining street art culture?
4. What important ideas are members of the street art world
engaged with?
street art and allow them to gain firsthand knowledge of how street
artists, like Banksy, resist established social practices, address social
issues, or mark traces of human existence.

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 Studio Activity: Stenciling and Culture Jamming
Students can stencil T-shirts that illuminate or challenge social
practices, demonstrating their understanding of how art can act as an
intervention. First, ask students to individually identify an important
social issue or a questionable social practice and draw a black-and
white image for stenciling a T-shirt based on this issue. Students
need to understand that their images should address individually
chosen issues or bring to light a questionable social practice. Remind
students that because they will use their images to make stencils,
they should be simple, instantly readable, and in black and white (the
black area will be the cutout area where the ink is filled). Then intro
duce stenciling techniques to transfer the images onto the T-shirts.3
The ultimate goal of the studio project is to allow students to enter the inspiration for artistic creativity. From this learning unit, students
real world with their art to increase public awareness about impor
tant social issues. They can participate in culture jamming using the
guerrilla communication approach.4 To do so, encourage students
to wear their designed T-shirts as human billboards while soliciting
comments or reactions from the public. Culture jamming moves
students from passive spectatorship toward active involvement
with culture production.
Assessment and Conclusion
Teachers can assess this unit through class participation, writing
assignments, and studio production. Students should be able to artic
ulate an understanding of street art and Banksy s work and apply it
to a developing knowledge of activist art that initiates dialogue. They
should examine such questions as: How do street artists mark their
existence in the street? What issues does Banksy s work raise? What
issue did you address and how did you approach it in your work?
What responses do you hope to elicit from the audience through
your piece? How is your own work similar to or different from that of
Banksy or other street artists?
Street art is omnipresent in urban streets and is a rich source of
will begin to understand that street art reflects the unedited world
in which we live. It possesses the aesthetic voices of the ordinary
and enables resistance for the marginalized. Banksy s street art, in
particular, can guide students to think about various social and
political issues and to reflect upon the immediate, if not unjust, world
in which they live, to transform that world, and to possibly initiate
change.

Sheng Kuan Chung is Associate Professor and Graduate Program

Director of Art Education in the Department of Curriculum and
Instruction at the University of Houston, Texas. E-mail:skchung@
uh.edu

RESOURCES ENDNOTES
http://www.banksy.co.uk/ 1 Culture jamming is an activist tactic for breaking corporate domination over
http://www.instructables.com/ what we consume and experience (Lasn, 1999). Culture jammers appropriate
http://www.youtube.com mainstream media constructs or produce alternative cultural forms to illumi
nate important issues or question social practices.

REFERENCES 2 The lack of discussion about homosexuality or gay issues in schools has

Akbar, A. (2006, May 16). Banksy takes to streets to highlight Aids crisis. The
encouraged ignorance and fear about homosexuality. A consequence of igno
Independent. Retrieved December, 2008, from http://www.independent. rance is intolerance based on sexual orientation, leading people and several
co.uk/ states in the United States to adopt practices that are openly discriminatory

Bou, L. (2005). Street art: The spray files. New York: Collins Design, Monsa.
(Fischer, 1982; Lampela, 1996).

Erickson, M. (2002). What are artworlds and why are they important? In M. 3 Websites such as YouTube.com and Instructables.com have numerous step
Erickson & B. Young (Eds.), Multicultural artworlds: Enduring, evolving, by-step video demonstrations for art teachers unfamiliar with stenciling tech
and overlapping traditions (pp. 17-25). Reston, VA: National Art Education niques. A stencil can be made out of paper, translucent mylar, or poster board
Association. and the image can be set using fabric spray paint, which is recommended to
Fischer, T. R. (1982). A study of educators' attitudes toward homosexuality. get a cleaner result. Due to possible health hazards, spray paint should not be
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, used in the classroom.
VA.
4 Guerrilla communication is a communication method and a political inter
Lampela, L. (1996). Concerns of gay and lesbian caucuses within art, vention using street performance/events or public engagements designed to
education, and art education. Art Education, 49(2), 20-4.
disrupt or change the public's perceptions.
Lasn, K. (1999). Culture jam: The uncooling of America (TM). New York: Eagle
Brook.
Lunn, M. (2006). Street art uncut. Australia: Craftsman House.
MacNaughton, A. (2006). London street art. London: Prestel.
Manco, T. (2002). Stencil graffiti. New York: Thames & Hudson.

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