Effects of the implementations of protest street arts in public areas on physical and social spaces

Public areas are constantly transformed and renewed in the process of globalization within the framework of organizations and events due to competition and needs of cities. In this sense, the integration of street arts in the public areas has been on the agenda of local and regional authorities recently. Works and implementations of public art have also become a center of interest for various institutions and organizations in Turkey since the 90's. Art projects which are specially organized in public open spaces of the city, have gained importance and grown in number with the declaration of Istanbul as the European Capital of Culture in 2010. Many events and projects have been organized and exhibited at many points throughout the city since then. In this manner, awareness towards public art and public art works has increased steadily. The potential possitive effects and contributions of public arts have become undeniably accepted by local authorities, artists and implementators as well as urban residents. The emancipatory effects and aesthetic qualities of public art should be determined by the principles and criteria established on scientific and democratic platforms. The legitimization of protest street arts, which are considered to be a type of public art, is being used as an essential part of urban planning and urban design nowadays. Implementors of protest street arts can make public areas notable elements of mass communication platforms by freeing art from its artistic institutional description. The term "protest street arts" is being shortened at some parts throughout the thesis as graffiti-mural, since today many protest street art implementors are producing works under these two popular types of protest street arts. Therefore graffiti-mural works which mostly emerge anonymous and uncontrolled in public areas, contribute to urban life with their own discourse and style. This study reveals the relationship between the works of protest street arts which is a kind of public art, the urban space and the perception of the individuals through the effects on physical and social spaces. The concept of public space, public art and protest street arts are discussed; the history and development processes of these concepts in the world and in Turkey are analyzed throughout the thesis. Works of protest street arts are mostly produced anonymously, ubiquitously and uncontrolled on the surfaces of the city, which also set off the big dilemma over these works as being a part of vandalism or public art. The struggle between authorities and graffiti-mural implementors is also researched in a special part of the thesis. Many cities are facing a huge graffiti problem and this kind of problematic emerge should not be confused with other types of public arts and should be dealt with patience according to democratic platforms and reasonable solutions. Mural Istanbul festival is the case study and Yeldegirmeni district is the working area of the thesis. Mural Istanbul festival as a contemporary, ongoing street art organization and Yeldegirmeni district as being renewed with in the scope of urban revitalization projects, are determined as the boundaries of the study. Two hypotheses have been defined with the help of research questions. It is proven in the first hypothesis according to the survey method by questionnaire which was conducted with the people on field in high education level that the effects of the implementations of protest street art, which are produced with permissions in public areas, are being perceived as more positive on physical spaces than on social spaces. It is possibly the result of the rare communicational contact between implementor and spectator. Especially murals are made on large surfaces that the implementor and spectator are not deeply connected. So it is important, that the implementor should stay in touch with the community insterests, if s/he wants to create an accepted and beloved piece by the spectators. It is confirmed in the second hypothesis according to the questions and answers' method of in-depth interviews which were conducted with technical and qualified persons that the implementations of the protest street arts to be placed in strategic points and in acceptance of certain criteria within the permits in the city are considered to be a part of the popular culture nowadays and their intellectual contents are being bent or softened according to asserted concerns and worries in the progress of time. The surfaces of the city have been used as fields to express feelings and share ideas of individuals and/or groups in nearly every period of the world history. Forms of individual expressions turn intoartistic elements and become an essential part of today's popular culture with increasing interest to the contemporary and modern street arts while spreading around the world and adding important values to the physical and social spaces nowadays. In this process protest street arts can change in their forms and styles through legitimation and commercialization attempts. Their intellectual contents can be adapted to flexile urban platforms by means of psychological intervention elements like environmental and social concerns. However it must always be taken into consideration that according to their free and independent nature, implementations of protest street art cannot be a part of a system which is constructed on to such control mechanisms and illegal activities can always come in sight over different individuals or groups in different periods of time.