The Book

Necker’s essay traces Hamburg’s change from a utopian to a neo-liberal city. A process of  the unpredictable, unplanned, of open- and emptiness, of the unclaimed and of free space, all of which formed the possibilities for Hamburg’s graffiti scene. The essay focusses on these, often temporary, spaces and classifies and maps them from an architectural-historical point of view.

Der Artikel setzt sich mit Graffiti unter jugendkulturellen Gesichtspunkten auseinander und zeigt auf, dass das Sprühen in seinen historischen Anfängen als jugendkulturelle Praktik verstanden werden kann, die in einem engen Zusammenhang mit der frühen Hip-Hop-Kultur steht. Es wird unter anderem nach den Formen und Elementen gefragt, die die Anfänge der frühen Sprüher-Szene(n) auszeichnete. Das Hauptaugenmerk des einen allgemeinen Überblick gebenden Artikels liegt auf den Aspekten der Vergemeinschaftungspraktiken sowie auf den Strukturen, Ritualen und Symbolen der Szene. Die Beispiele der Darstellung orientieren sich an der Hamburger Szene des infrage stehenden Zeitraums.

Looking back at their beginnings in the young, fresh and exciting scene, what do the protagonists think today? In in-depth conversations, selected protagonists of Hamburg’s hip-hop scene share their memories, revisiting moments of their own past. Piece by piece, their stories complete a puzzle that offers more than just a vague idea of how it really was.

Flügel’s essay sets out to explore how the un-irgnorable graffiti came to Hamburg. In conversations with Christine Plößer (Graffiti – Kunst aus der Dose; Stern magazine), André Lützen (who accompanied train surfers on their dangerous tours), Torkild Hinrichsen (exhibition ‘ Narrenhände… ?: Graffiti’;  Altonaer Museum 1991), and with Barbara Uduwerella (social worker with close ties to the graffiti scene), the following questions are explored: Was the motivation of graffiti artists in Hamburg similar to the motivation of those in New York? Was it a sign of ‘rebellion’ as outlined in the New York scene as described by  J. Baudrillard? Was it an expression of a political, youth-cultural revolt? Or was it about a quest for adrenalin, risk and acceptance, maybe even fame? Where did the fascination, motivation and the initial impulse come from? And how did politics, the judiciary, art, culture and media react?

This essay focusses on the change that happened within the sub-culture, accepting artist Walter Josef Fischer as a key figure of the Hamburg scene. The OZ phenomenon, which shaped the city scape from the 1990s onwards, condemned by the media and now a part of urban history,  offers a plethora of starting points for critical exploration. Further, the essay looks at both the supposedly first German graffiti artist, Hans-Peter Eiffe from Hamburg and the so-called ‘sprayer of Zurich’, Harald Naegeli, to facilitate an illustration of the still controversial debate about art, freedom and politics.

Graffiti is regarded as one of the four elements of hip-hop culture, the others being breaking, DJing and MCing. But what was it really like in the beginning of the 1980s, when hip-hop arrived in Hamburg? Did the graffiti writers and Hamburg identify as part of a culture that included music and dance? How did they first come in contact with graffiti?

These ans other questions are explored, also by means of resurrecting the protagonist memories. Another field of inquiry is how graffiti and the other elements have influenced each other, and how they drifted apart.

Reinkings essay explores the transience of graffiti and the conservation of images and styles. It provides an outlook of graffiti after 1999, characterised by digitalisation and the internet and it covers the development of urban art as an independent art form and as a part of the art market.