@
A SEMIOTIC AI',{ALYSIS OF SIGNS IN BANKSY'S GRAFFITIES.
A THESIS
Sabmltted ln Partlnl of the Reqalrement
for
the Degree of Sarjana Sasffa
BY: HAI\IGGA P,RASATYA 05 185 065
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT. FACUTTY OF TETTERS ANDALAS UNIVERSITY PADAFIG-
2010'
ABSTRAK Skripsi ini membahas tentang tanda - tanda yang terdapat pada grafiti BanksyTanda yang ada dibagi atas dua macam, yaitu linguistik dan non-linguistik. Kedua tanda rcrsebut dijabarkan meRurut fixigsinya menfuk kepada model pemb:tgiriii tiinda seileiti yang dikemukakan oleh Ferdinand de Saussure. Data penelitian ini diambil dari tiga buah buku elektronik Banksy, yaitu Banksy - Exstencilism Blackbooh Banksy - Wall and Piece, dm Banl*y - Banging Yoirr Head Agairist A Briak WaIl.DEtb dirimbil sebiriiyrik 7 titik pengamatan dalam bentuk gambar (image) dikarenakan bentuk gambar ini adalatt bagran terpenting dari penelitian ini. Analisis deta dilakulam petama dengan melakiikrin penjabiran tsnda-tsndd linguistik (inguistic signs) dan nonJinguistik (nonJinguistic signs) melalui model pembagian tanda yang dikemukakan Ferdinand de Saussure. Pada tahap analisis sel.rnjutnyq penulis menjabarlain m{ikna denotatif (denotative medifirri/
iii
CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION Background of the Study
1.1.
Human share the ideas through language. The manifestation of language rs I
through communication. According to Geoffrey Leech in his book Semantics,
I
I
language has at least five functions in society.
I
i I
i
\
1-
Conveying information (informational)
2-
Expressing the speaker's or writer's feeling or attitude (expressive)
3.
Directing or influencing the behavior or attitudes of others (directive)
4.
Creating an artistic efflect (aesthetic)
5.
Maintaining social bonds (phatic) Seeing the functions of language above,
it is believed that
language is an
essential part of human life- We use language to deliver our messages to ottrcr people. And of course, we need some iorm of ianguage to deliver our messages
through communication. The form of communication can be divided into two
types, verbal communication and non-verbal. communication. Vetbal commtmication deals with how we share our ideas using our voices. Meanwhile, non-verbal communication deals with language as embedded process of human competence to convey ide4 emotion, desire, critical, etc without voices such as gestures, pictures, signs, codes, etc.
As I mentioned before, human has two form of communication; verbal and non-verbal communication. Graffiti is one of way of communication using non-
verbal communication. Graffiti is an activity of painting pictures on the wall.
Graffrti is wall pictures which use composition such as color, lines, shapes, and volume to write words, sentences, and to draw pictures. Nowadays, graffiti artist I i i
usually (name of person who does the graffiti activities) uses spray paint as their
!
tool to make their graffiti on the wall. Before human invent spray paint, graffiti
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commonly was made by chalk and paint brush-
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Wall painting activities is started from primitive times. In that time, graffiti I I I
I
was a media of spiritual and mystical to gain the spirit for the hunter in hunting
I
activities. In ancient Egypt times, graffiti was located in pyramid walls- In this
\ I
time, graffiti had its function as jounrey map &at Pharaoh
will
see
in beyond the
1
world. And the history goes to ancient Rome Empire. In the ancient Rome, the {
graffiti activities were used to show the war victory process in conquering other
i
1
I
Empires. When Christian was prohibited
in Rome, graffiti was used as
govemment's propaganda to discredit Christian people. Besides that graffiti was also used to criticize government because of unsatisfactory of the people to the government. The existence of different social class causes ttre difficulty to certain goup
of society in expressing their art activities- As a result of this condition, those groups utilize media which available in most of city part, walls. Most of graffiti
works illustrates the rmsatisfactory toward social condition. Since graffiti is an activity of drawing pictures in wall, we can say that in
graffiti, we will find many signs within. The purpose of graffid anist is to deliver their messages though their signs that they create through the wall. In 70's, graffiti
Ha.g*2
spread
to America and Europe. In this time, graffiti was used as a group of
people's identity, Besides spreading the graffiti in town's walls, the graffiti artist also draw their graffiti pictures in subway's wall. City authorities consider this
graffiti attitude as vandalism activities. In Unites State of America, every state has its own law to vague graffiti. San Diego, California and New York has released their regulation about graffiti. They declare ttrat graffiti is illegal activities.
In graffiti field, there is a famous graffiti artist named Banksy- He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, neaf, Bristol, England and
to have been born tn 1974, but there is substantial public uncertainty about his identity and personal and biogaphical details. His works is spread out in England especially in Bristol, New York, even in Ramallah fortress, the border between Palestine and
Israel. [n London, most of his graffiti works pull the trigger of
contoversies because in some of his graffiti works. However, on the streets of the United Kingdom near London, Banksy continues to gain international recognition
and fame for his graf6ti. The fact is that Banksy's "street arti' has become immensely popular with both pedestrians and private art collectors alike. In the
last several years, there have been a number of exhibitions and auctions of Banksy's art work as his popularity has soared-
Banksy uses rats as images in many of his pictures. His most famous sffeet
paintings are a series of black-and-white stenciled rats- Many of these rats are created
to be larger than life. The rats have become immensely popular with
London pedestrians.
A "gangster rat," painted on a wall near the Smithfield
market, wears a peace-sign medallion and carries a sign that says "Welcome to
Hell", another rat holding
a sign that reads "Please Love
Me."
He'r.g^3
CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION In conclusion, I found the linguistic sign and non
-
linguistic sign in some
of Banksy's graffities. In the graffiti, I identified the linguistic sign from the words, phrases, sentences, and texts. The non througfu the sign of the
-
linguistic signs are classified
graffiti.
The demand of this research is to categorize
tle linguisic
sign and non
-
linguistic sign in these signs and meanings expressed by Banksy through his graffities. In this research, I found that all of signs are combined with combination
of linguistic sign and non - linguistic sigr. After I
phenomenon,
concluded that
this
language
it is easier for graffili viewer to comprebend
the
sign wittr linguistic siga
The meaning of the sign is not defined only by dividing
sign and non
-
it into linguistic
linguistic sign. Roland Barthes atrrss that meaning include
denotation md connotation, both of meaning as order signification.
I
found that
the meaning of signs in Banksy's graffities plays important roles, since the factor
that influences the reader or the viewer of Banksy's graffities is based on the meaning ofthese signs, especially the connotative meaning in contexts of graffiti. Based on graffiti artist such as Banksy, these signs in his graffities contain
social critic messages. This research
is
conducted
to
transform the society
perspective about graffiti. Most governments with their power propagate the society that graffiti is one of form of vandalism. They believe that grdffiti should
be vanished
in cities wall. This research prov€s that
Banksy's graffities is Ha,gn 57
important ta anaLyze. Through graffiti, Banksy wants to tell us that graffiti is not a
vandalism activrty. Through graffiti, Banksy wants
to criticize
government
capitalistic system which naffows the freedom to express.
Finally, Banksy's graffrties with the sign vandalism. or
is not only the matter of
no! but also as a medium to express ideas and to criticize
the
govemment and big corporations.
Hr*gr 58
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Chandler,
D.
Semiotics
For
Beginner, Retrieved January 14, 2009 from
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2.html
Cobley, Paul and Litz.a Jansz. (1997). Introducing semiotics. Cambridge: Totem Books.
Fatma El1z4 Eci. (2008). Semiotic Study in Some Disaster Caricature in the Jalrarta Post Newspaper. A thesis of English Department-Faculty of Leffers, Aridalas University student, Pad:itig. Hawkes, T. (2003). Structuralism and Semiotics. Routledge. London and New Yorlc
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Grffiti
Subculture. London. Palgrave Macmilian
Panofsky, Erwin (1970). Meanirtg in the Visual Art. Harrnondsworth:Penguin
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