Words on the Wall: The Exploration on Graffiti in the Urban Space of Jakarta

Author: Nirwan (University of Pertiwi)
Speaker: Nirwan
Topic: Linguistic Landscapes
The GLOCAL CALA 2022 General Session

Abstract

Graffiti—is it pollution or art? The answer is debatable. This research addresses the use of aesthetic words on wall through graffities in the Urban Space of Jakarta, more specifically is to find the answers of three fundamental problems such as: the kinds of Graffiti emerged in the urban space of Jakarta, the functions and meanings of Graffiti that found in Jakarta Urban Space, how those graffities connected to the relevance social life of Jakarta. The rationality of this research is to give better understanding on language use in public space. In short, this research addresses the relation between language and public space (landscape). The method used is observation. The techniques used are picture taking and note taking. The writer applies a set of linguistic tools in novel ways to analyze not just kind, meaning and function but also its relevance to the social life of Jakarta Society. This work is influenced by the work of literary studies—voice of Bakhtin (1981), semiotic analysis of Pierce (1944), and Deconstruction of Derrida (1967).

Keywords: Graffities, Urban Space, voice, deconstruction