Hrytsiuk O. Graffiti in the Contemporary City: Development of Public Space and Visualization of Values (Using the Example of Kyiv).

Street wall painting is a contradictory phenomenon of modern urban culture. There are visible changes in the tastes, attitudes, and lifestyle of population due to the shift of priorities towards urban life. There is a revision of long-established stereotypes, in particular the traditional perception of graffiti as a destructive phenomenon of culture or an act of vandalism. Because of the growing role of the city and urban culture, there is an increasing interest in topics related to its anthropology. Consequently, the topic of the research is undoubtedly relevant. The XXI century is considered to be the era of globalization, urbanization and technologization. These and other processes are natural phenomena, the consequences of human searching for rational ways to exist and interact with environment. However, a person’s need for self-identification, self-expression and creativity, determination and definition of their place in the space and communication has been and still is urgent at all times, especially during the great technological progress. The evidence of this is the spread of graffiti in modern urban space. Thus, the chronology of the emergence and transformation of the forms and content of street wall painting has been traced. It has been determined that the human’s need to create graffiti has existed during the history of their existence. Nowadays, the concept broadens its boundaries. Taking into account the syncretism of the phenomenon of graffiti, it has been proposed to expand the interpretation of its functions. Wall street signs and drawings can be a means of harmonizing of the environment; are used for advertising and self-promotion; serve as a markup (such as memorial space); are an important communication tool (between an artist and a viewer, an artist and an artist, in the middle of a particular social group, such as youth subcultures); are a way of expressing personal concerns and even aggression; serve the human instincts that we suppress in terms of social taboos; are a means of interfering with the urban space, transforming it from someone else’s into their own; are a part of the laughing culture and folklore. After all, for many young people, it is a hobby that brings pleasure and inspiration, an element of creativity.