We’ll use Perusall to annotate and read together.
Graffiti As Literacy
I am not sure really what to say about this piece. It is an obvious example of literacy in the environment (from the essay), in that it is physically in the environment, and telling people to be wary of the environment around them. On the other hand, this is a unique piece of literacy, and rather than try to delve into the article, I’d rather rant about that.
First, this piece is unique in that it is not meant to bring any sort of notoriety or physicality to the author/artist, where most other forms do (especially tagging). In most cases (my opinion here), the written word indicates a purpose that brings in some sort of benefit to the author. For example, books give some sort of revenue, as do blogs, or tagging is deliberately indicating a specific person/people for advertising or making claim to an area. This image is specifically unlabeled/unclaimed, and sends a message to everyone outside of the author.
Secondly, this piece is located where it is not really meant to be seen by the majority of people. It is a private literacy. That in its own is awesome.
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One Reply to “Graffiti As Literacy”
While I agree that this is literacy in the environment, it also seems to be a great example of literacy as defiance. The author is not only defying the rules regarding vandalism, which is a type of revolution in itself, but also is touching on the subject of government surveillance. It’s a sort of homage to George Orwell’s 1984 that aligns the current governmental situation to the extreme totalitarianism seen in Orwell’s fictional government. The piece is a great example of literacy because in order to completely understand the idea that the author seems to be trying to convey, the reader has to be familiar with Orwell’s book, as well as understand the current governmental situation in regards to surveillance.