Graffiti and Rhetoric

Using Banksy as the primary artist of study, this thesis adapts present rhetorical research to understand the importance of location, timing, and credibility for the visual rhetor. Visual Rhetoric is a rapidly growing segment of the communication discipline. Graffiti as a method of communication offers an interesting site of examination for rhetorical theories both classic and contemporary. This thesis engages current lines of research on kairos, ethos and place-as-rhetoric to understand how graffiti means, and what role it can play in social movements and personal identity. Standards of kairotic speech for visual rhetoric are theorized. Understanding ethos as dwelling place reveals the underlying principles of Banksy’s success. Finally, using graffiti the rhetorical scholar is able to uncover how meaning becomes associated with particular places and potential strategies for altering that meaning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Brass, Oliver M.

• Banksy

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/57112

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/57112