The Precursors.......

The fact that we have a specific name for a most dramatic event mirrored by Bible-MENE-TEKEL-we can say this example being the first META-DESCRIPTOR of the fact that people in history(antiquity)already having been aware of (some)specifics related to graffiti and writings on walls(in general)otherwise such an term never could have gained such importance almost being the prototype of/for graffiti-research.

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Several late inqueries showed me it was about time to depict the developements of methodology in sector of graffiti-research to help newcomers to tackle these problems.And here taking history of this research as the"lead"to help"draw"the image.

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1.recognition,2.salvaging,3.systematisation,4.medieval times,5.modern times,6.differentiation,7.litterature-analysis,8.field-work,9.the scientific disciplines,10.tension reduction,11.sub-cultures,12.participating overservation,13.art-therapeutical approach,14.developement of a new handcraft,15.writers' publications,16.graffiti+internet,17.the publishing business,

18.repression,19.the law,20.industry,21.gender-comparisons,22.educational system and graffiti,23.graffiti-research today,24.deep psychology and archetypes,25.communication,26.interpretation,translation,27:time-event relationship:psy-

chohistorical intrusion,28.motivational explanation,29.ubiquity of graffiti,30.relations:rock-art/graffiti,31.categorial developement,32.crisis-analysis,33.vocabulary of grafiti-research,34.propaganda-analysis/psychological warfare,35.lan-

guage-research,36:Einführung in die Grafitti-Forschung/introduction to graffiti-research,37.sociatry,38.urban spaces,39.de

velopemental psychology/behavior,40.methods of documentation,41.history of graffiti-research,42.industrial(anti)anti-graffiti protection,43.archives/specialists/institutes,44.bibliography,45.graffiti at"total institutions",46.the media,47.lexical articles,48.

First method when BOSIO began ca.220 years ago was to recognize that wall-texts were of any importance at all,and here NOT mainly the"official"texts,but rather the inscriptions left by passers-by.That graffiti were something of specific value hat to become accepted.even though the amount of persons(specialists)concerned being rather small.These were the"roots in archeology".

Once there was an agreement that wall-inscriptions of this type="graffiti"-could help understand aspects of ancient lives(which took some time....)archeologists(from here graffiti-research comes from...)began taking pains to begin"reading walls"and to copy and write them down for publication and translation.Meanwhile there is a respectable amount of them,hard to find and usually totally unknown to"outside"of specialists.

It was soon visible that there have been(and still are)thematic clusters that circle around specific themes and subjects through history and at specific places/times.Ancient finds soon turned out to circle around everiday lives then and there,among them sexuality,politics,relations,school,religion and business being important.

Radiating from archeology(and in that context:language research as ancient texts were in ancient languages)it soon was visible that also Middle Ages had their very specific graffiti.But as we do not have many Medievists research here is not very large.Finds in churches,along pilgrims roads.

Modern graffiti-research was begun around 1900 and the pioneer here F.S.KRAUSS(Vienna)with his famous AN-THROPOPHYTEIA.He was asking questions as to the developement of sexuality being reflected in behavior and attitudes of mankind reflected in language and among them,toilet inscriptions.

All first 5 steps led to first classificatory elements=scientific terminology:graffiti,titulus memorialis,proskynematon,dipinti,epi

grammaton,ostrakon,etc.

One field for students to write papers is the study of publications on graffiti(-research)and the comparison of the results and he compilation of BIBLIOGRAPHIES.This being valuable work as from many countries we almost have no informations(so far).These lists also would reflect the level of discussion relating to specific countries and-later on-permit to make a larger evaluation.

From other sceintific branches(archeology,ethology,ethnology)the going out into the field to find out where graffiti may be found and who does them is an important way to come to a deeper understanding.Here you'd see that childrens'graffiti may be placed at sites any adult hardly ever would be able to get at and/or see/understand that some messages have been places at faraway places to make shure none else may read/see them.You'd come to notice how people react to you doing what you do as this would reflect aspects of the problems related to graffiti.

In 20.century more branches but archeology and(ancient)languages discovered graffiti:Psychology,sociology,psychiatry,be

havior,ethnology,ethology,folklore to name but a few.And,lately,of course,criminology and deviant behavior.

From psychiatry and psychology(and later:art-therapy)we know about the influence and importamnce of the powers of tensions-reduction in creative and psychopathological processes and how new ways in communication may be established if additional means being invited/permitted.These few but very fundamental publications show the enormous importance to be able to"let off steam"(safety-valve function).

Inter-links to tattoos soon showing that graffiti play roles in sub-cultures like we know from closed communities(sailors,

prison-inmates,psychiatric patients etc.)and specific communities(hobos' marks).Specific cohorts in history always have been in need of secured by-lines of communication ousiders were unable to decipher so secure their survival.

To move about in territory of the"objects of study"and/or even walking along with them is another way to"see"things through their eyes.Supervision might help understand the inter and intra-personal influences here(emotions).Due to legal aspects it might otherwise be hard to get"inside"informations from writers as this could turn out to be a danger to them.It all depends an trust.

Form,color,expression,signs,symbols:all these being valuable tools for art-therapy that also may be applied to finding out more what moves makers of graffiti(and the modern form:"writing").Content and context,the outlines of graffiti/writing all tell us something about the background....only you have to find the informations as this makes it necessary that you WANT to understand.

Today(March 2000)we can say that young people(adolescents)have created a new handcraft as via(expert)spraying the influence onto all fields of arts already being visible here and some"writers"having become famous worldwide(Haring)from where they-on other levels-influence and feedback onto society and thus being important and influential economic factor(advertisement)already(commerce).Some writers already have been starting their own businesses,from tattoo-studios to advertisement-spraying and what not.

With increase of repression(anti-graffiti motivation etc.)it soon was necessary in order to ducument their products that writers started own publications(fanzines)which now also being a separate busines-sector of its own and rather influential having differentiated from self-copied(black/white)into quality-publications(color,art-paper)and globally being ca. 500 of them with(still)rising tendency.Also publication in INTERNET(e-zines)having become one way of making"graffiti/writing"

to endure/survive and become influential media.

Largest documentations-centre of graffiti/writing being ART CRIMES at:

http://www.graffiti.org

and you need 24 hours to screen all material here.Browsing the net(search-engines)show you the enormous(youth-medium!)influence graffiti/writing already having documented by finds here that use term"graffiti"as ATTRACTORS to invite interest.Sum of 100 000 finds already surpassed especialy if you need also other"key-words"like:vandalism,graffiti-research,ancient graffiti and the like.You may end up at 500 000 items already.Especially meta-search engines recommended,like:

http://www.google.com (count visitors at sites=quantity)

http://www.alltheweb.com

http://www.nothernlight.com

We see a slow but continual rise in amount of publications from brochures,articles and books today as more and more persons"discover"the importance of graffiti that already today mean a 50 billions$$ business alone annually.

Radiating from urban spaces(slum,ghetto,New York,Los Angeles etc.)and gaining global influence(youth-typical today)more and more people started complaining about"defacement"of urban walls and thus a once marginal medium(graf

fiti)has become a mayor point of interest with lots of political influence which means repressive jobs on the rise.This means police,lawmaking and prison-system(and all related jobs/fields)having to handle"the problem".

Studying material from this side(and here especially also:police-documents)showing the almost total lack of informations and knowledge as to the motivation of writers so most strategies being of no good (zero-tolerance,crackdown)which is very frustrating to these specialists.An international overview also could show all promised strategies did NOT work for very long.Sales-bans(for spraycans)actually invited(Los Angeles)scratched glass-damage to rise TENFOLD.And to replace damage glass is far more costly.

One of the largest sectors having been influenced by graffiti/writing and influencing graffiti/writing being industry with their specific(and today:custom-made for writers)products from very large markers to very large cans(and including:the graffiti-removal set)and here keyword"graffiti-removal"(internet)will show you 50 000 firms alone living off texts and images on walls.

Do the sexes write different graffiti and why and what are their themes.

The educational institutions with their(many)and specific graffiti(most publications outside archeology).

Asn first overview you may get at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/ks.html

and in case of need of more material(=over 70 Urls with more that 2000 pages from 22 years of graffiti-research)contact:

ARCHIVE1@aol.com

We also may offer addresses and subjects of graffiti-researchers globally.And related informations and URLs.Further see:

http://www.graffiti.org/axel/imndex.html

Comparing finds from modern tye of graffiti="writing(American style)"(spraycan)fixing these products in time(after 1945)with material from psychology(symbols)and comparing them with products of"collective unconscious"here via"characters international list"at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/C.html

and"categories of characters international list"at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/ca.html

we see that images and texts today still being also influenced by powers that move us if we do not learn to accept personal unconscious as a force influencing al our lives(self-reflection).

That graffiti and their modern outcrop"writing"being means of communication always has been also denied(reversal to opposite,denial)whereas the finds-also-especially from times of dictatorships(anonymity)showed that resistance playing an important role and Biblical"Menetekel"having been first indicator for political context AND being the prototype for a meta-term that now may be known almost allover the world(multiplication,permutation).

Material we want to understand needs to become placed into a time-event-relational matrix(1.)and needs a meta-theoretical(2.)frame of reference(modern graffiti,sociatry)to help us see the deeper layers that bring forth graffiti and today's"writing"which are expressions of general traits and trends("Zeitgeist")in society being transformed and projected onto(outer)walls by sensitive cohorts(male adolescents).

Certain inscriptions from history(dating back almost 6000 years)and today making it possible via known reference-sources to exactly date material thus permitting to place the finds into an time-event relational matrix showing us that specific times bringing forth specific messages that tell us about events(official)history might have liked to be"forgotten".Certain events even left"marks"of unique quality(in line of order:cave-art,graffiti,writing).

First analyses show that motives to do graffiti raging from unconscious(automated drawing)to almost scientifically planned"pieces"by a crew with 50 cans and prepared sketches taking whole nights at train-yards(e-to-e).To understand what moves writers and makers of graffiti you may analyze the availabale material(=graffiti)ask them,screen their publications and publics statements and do deep psychological analysis of their races(context-content-analysis).Keywords,characters and other categories being important(unconscious).Pro-and contra motivational aspects may be viewed at:

http://www.graffiti.org/axel/index.html.......(part 1)

http://users.aol.com/archive1/Aa.html.......(part 2)

contra:

http://moon.sooth.com:8080/ph.103

What writers say themselves(writers' manifesto)at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/m.html

The political aspects in relation to inhibition of certain informations(censorship,repression)etc.at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/ce.html

It could be show that graffiti can be found at all places man has been this making them a fundamental and unique trace and offering tons of informations that still need to be collected,systematized and interpreted and then linked to other(already:known)material in history.People leave their marks/signatures wherever they come to....and which are"basic level"?

http://users.aol.com/archive1/B.html

Since todays' graffiti are rooted in the origins of durable human communication(cave-art)there are relations betwen today's material and rock art as far as the amount of signs and symbols(archetypes)is being concerned being the"basic level"of communication on simple and complex matters.Researchers here often heatedly damning the"modern vandalism"of makers of graffiti showing their total lack of informations.To accept material/informations needs a specific psychological attitude wanting to know/understand which seems to be very rare even among specialists(prejudices).How it all began?

http://users.aol.com/archive1/cav.html

One of the main jobs has been the developement of working categories that might be applied allover the planet(comparison)to help classify the available material and detect the basic mechanisms of graffiti.Firsts results can be viewed via"Vocabulary of graffiti-research"and other URLs by A.Thiel(international work-group on graffiti-research)via"keyword-list"at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/A.html

characters' categories,images,signs,symbols and their relations to other finds(archetypes) being of importance here as well as the time-event-relationships that clearly link specific graffiti to unique times(historical documents).From politics(Nazi-use of swastika)to religion(fish as symbol of Christians in early Rome).

http://users.aol.com/archive1/cat.html

So far available material offering us deep insights via texts and images into times of crises as from places,countries and times we have ample material(Russia,Northern Ireland,Portugal,Nicaragua etc.)depicting how prolematic material has been,is and will be made public at times of unrest and confusion.That what ails people can be read on outer walls.....Mate

rial from(civil)wars also being abundant.Especially around critical times walls usually"explode"with messages,also and especially in poor countries as paint and brush are the cheapest means to communicate to people here.Many political parties(in their history)also used graffiti....many of them do not like to be reminded of that aspect.

One of the outcomes of the 1979 at Kassel started graffiti-research was the compilation of this VOCABULARY to offer other colleagues and related disciplines a compendium of all known facts,keywords,counts,findplaces and other available facts.In 2000 part 8 being in preparation which means at least 1050 pages with ca.10 500-11 000 entries.These keywords also can be used to ask search-engines for additional results and further(and:latest)finds.An "keyword-overview"(6 parts)at.

http://users.aol.com/archive1/A.html

If you want to know how it all looks like,part 4 being available at:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Bridge/7327/vocab4.htm

Since we know that US-Army having a special squad to read graffiti as indicators(throwing a shadow before)for tensions between races inside of military community we know about the importance to analyze the images and texts as they are exact indicators of matters that"bug people"we also know from history meanwhile(times of change:riots,revolutions etc.)and here Biblical MENETEKEL being the most communicated keyword in history since 2000 years of Christianity reflecting he importance of being able to"read walls"and understand the message.You may have a first set of informations relating to Biblical influence via:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/Bi.html

Here especially the SYNONYMA showing(in all languages)that our"normality"(as far as spoken communication being concerned)is being interwoven by terms that continually reflects specifics and typicals aspects of graffiti.They show the ubiquity of graffiti in all languages and are mirrors of the unconscious omnipresence of certain aspects we slowly come to see and recognize.It is important to now that all words meaning"to write"have roots that mean"scratching,inscribing etc."

http://users.aol.com/archive1/syn.html

From 1983 at Kassel 33 parts of this periodical(the only)have been published.An overview of contents may be seen at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1

After 1998 the internet-publishing replaced them as now we could discuss instantly on a global level..

It soon was visible that pure collections of graffiti-especially in 20.century after"writing(American style)was invented(spraycan)without some"meta-explanatory matrix"would be almost futile as there was a need to explain the dramatic rise of visible markers on outer walls and here especially in URBAN areas that turned out to be specific places where QUANTUM-LEAPS seem to become most likely.This point of fiew also was able to show the political aspect in it all.The overall de-valuative approaches(graffiti are nothing but....)soon were identificable as propaganda to kep out unpleasant aspects of social realities(poverty).

http://users.aol.com/archive1/de.html

It is clearly visible that graffiti/writing being related to urban areas and their specifics(survival,poverty etc.)and group-dynamics related herewith(inimical territory,multiple marginalisations) and mirroring specifics of time and space(packing,

crowding,overpopulation).It can be clearly said that marginalized people(sub-cultures)use graffiti/writing for their coherence/communicative needs(group-dynamics)and they also tell the outside about their problems.Here graffiti/writings on walls tell you about what actually is happening(social problems)and thus being important social documents.

Knowing that 99% of graffiti/writing is being done by ADOLESCENT MALES(only 1% being females)is such a striking sex/role-cluster that it also is reflecting specifics that can be understood/related/interpreted to"coming of age"(=adolescence)and their specific dynamics especially in time sof rapid changes(survival,coping,future).Understanding these very specific needs it soon also was obvious to handle"the problem"from side of "the law"would lead to almost nothing as this consideration was beside the point in question.

The copying of texts/images(with scales so we know how large they really were),photographing the material,scanning and installation in internet,archieving(videos,slides,black/white etc.),translation and publications being most important methods to offer material and communicate it to scientific community.Material has to be sorted,put into files and numbered so visitors may use the documents(press-cutouts,photos etc.).

As it soon was obvious to re-unite fragmented finds an outline for a"history of graffiti=writing"(and their abbreviated forms)could be done,and being necessary to document the developement,at:

http://users.aol.com/archive1/hist.html

and at a least 3 other URLs(copies).The faraway(fragmented)material to collect,have it sorted somehow(bibliography)was one of the firsts steps to really find out how many informations already existed and which main leads were there.This includes also messages from normal press(magazines,newspapers)as they are mayor influential agencies.

Since and due to 50 billions $$ per year this fact alone mirroring the importance of grafiti/writing and of course the aspects of protections of surfaces(coating)to graffiti-removal(chemical to laser)and the developement on repellant-surfaces being booming research.fields and influential(money)sectors here.A closer study would show how many research-projects actually already exist directly being initiated from graffiti and protection needs.Material not easy to come by.

Since things tend to become more complex al the time(modern complex societies)we have different specialists working on different sub-themes and some centres of documentation and research.Names,addresses and ongoing projects already known and in case of interest contact them(multiplication,influence,publication,permutation).To establish a system of networking and cooperation at times where fragmentational forces tear societies apart is important.So far Kassel graffiti-Archive has globally helped 1000 students globally(mainly via internet)but some from Germany(mainly)and even Europe(B,A,S)come to work here(up to:dissertation).

Since I began here 1979 at moment bibliography being at ca. 18 000 entries(3 MB,on ZIP-diskette).Cooperation always invited(study of litterature,permutation,influences etc.)to help get it onto a"broader"level.Some persons/institutions already assisting from various countries(Germany,Austria,Brazil,USA,Belgium).

At specific places we see to what extremes graffiti(have to go).From prisons,psychiatries, to lepers`' colonies,Russian Gu-lag with their specific images etc.(Time/place/event-relationship).The aspect ot helplessness and torture here being impor-

tant(on one side)and some hopes to(at least)leave a trace.Usually such places are symbols of dictatorship even if you should not know about them.

From films to videos we have a developement of also very writing-related media that are being interlinked to writers puvblications,internet and other activities and we can trace down the"infection"of adolescents with medium"spraying"also having been started(multiplication,permutation)after certain movies had been shown in various countries(Style Wars etc.)

One important aspect from graffiti-research being the making of lexical articles on graffiti and writing to raise the general level of informations(publication,permutation,multiplication)and ward off the propaganda-nonsense we so often find,first material at:

http://users.aol.com/archiv1/lex.html

and"writing(American style)":

http://users.aol.com/archive1/SY.html

and more via ART CRIMES:

http://www.graffiti.org

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(Arbeitsgruppe psychosoziale Probleme und visuelle Kommunikation)

Axel Thiel(coordination)

A.Thiel

Blücherstr.24

GERMANY

Tel/fax/answering-device:GERMANY-561-55642

Cellular-phone:GERMANY-177-50 83 847

ARCHIVE1@aol.com