ATTITUDES OF BELGRADE CITIZENS TOWARDS DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRAFFITI
Text topic: Studies
Text author: Данка Пурић
Graffiti can be seen as a specific means of communication used by young people in urban environments. Graffiti are a very heterogeneous phenomenon, certain aspects of which border on art, while others remain in the domain of vandalism. Considering the absence of graffiti related research in our country, this study is exploratory and has two main goals - to assess the perception of Belgrade citizens on the prevalence of diverse types of stylized and non-stylized graffiti in different urban locations and to determine the participants’ relationship towards graffiti, and their subtypes, as well as the appropriateness of a number of locations for creating graffiti. A convenient sample of 100 citizens of Belgrade has completed an on-line extensive questionnaire. The results indicate that non-stylized graffiti are perceived as more prevalent than stylized graffiti, while the relationship towards stylized graffiti is significantly more favourable. This finding could be explained by the greater amount of effort invested in stylized graffiti which leads to their higher aesthetic value. Certain public spaces - such as surrounding walls / fences, underpasses, overpasses and bridges - which are perceived as most covered in graffiti are at the same time seen as most appropriate for this type of activity.