AIC's 44th Annual Meeting

Ethics: For decades, graffiti has been accepted as a form of artistic expression by reviewers, museums, and in the marketplace. The graffiti community has very specific ethics about art that appears in public. The response of the conservation community to graffiti must take into consideration how this code affects the life of a street work. Our efforts to preserve and treat graffiti “pieces”, “tags”, “throw-ups”, “wildstyles”, or “blockbusters” must include sensitivity not only to the materials, but also to the culture and politics of graffiti art. Emergencies: What happens when a wall comes down? Case studies of treatments of graffiti works and painted walls at the Wynwood walls, the Miami Marine Stadium, New York's East Village, and public and private collections including material and community solutions. The Future: As outdoor murals and the walls they are painted on degrade, re-creations of the works are planned. This part of the session will focus on conservation involvement with these projects and will set forward standards for the ethical re-creation of public works.