Honors Theses and Capstones
Date of Award
Spring 2018
Project Type
Senior Honors Thesis
College or School
COLA
Department
Communication
Program or Major
Communication
First Advisor
Lawrence Prelli
Abstract
Graffiti and street art has been prevalent in the past few decades taking stances toward social and political adversity, but there lacks discussion about how dialogue is provoked within street artwork. Through the detailed analysis of the visual display created by JR on the West Bank Wall, these paper places focus on the rhetorical function of how street artist utilize images as means for political and social advocacy. The display shifts the focus from trauma, dislocation, and victimhood to that of comedic relief in our “humanness”. The identification of tropes within a street art display indicates that they are in use, sometimes without thought, within the creation and exhibition of visual imagery and not just in verbal and written text. It’s unlikely that art can change the world, but if it evokes reflection then there’s hope for new dialogue and a change in perspectives of others and of the world around us.
Recommended Citation
Kosel, Lindsay K., "A Tropic Understanding of Street Art as Political and Social Advocacy" (2018). Honors Theses and Capstones. 385.
https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/385