Appropriating Architecture. Digital Graffiti as Temporary Spatial Intervention

Abstract

Is digital graffiti the new tool for the generation of digital natives to resist, protest, and engage? With examples we see that going digital allows a “displacement and assemblage of space,” and leads to a reorganizing of the aesthetics of architecture with all its symbols and power structures. Digital graffiti is a powerful tool for protest and intervention. And the practical advantages of digital graffiti over traditional graffiti are obvious. One does not have to get close to the architecture onto which one intends to project. Even fenced-in buildings can be turned into a projection screen. One may even choose the building in relation to the message of the graffiti. Also, digital graffiti does not cause damage to property and is therefore not a criminal act.