Contemporary Graffiti as a Tool for Studying Prehistoric Art: A Classification Attempt

Abstract

This article aims to present a classification of contemporary graffiti to support the study of prehistoric art. The classification is based on 2-year field observations of both completed and newly created works of contemporary graffiti and street art. The classification is oriented to the result of the creative act in view of its communicative significance. The scientific approach does not aim to create direct parallels between specific artistic samples, but to study the basic principles, stages, and starting points of the creative act. Thanks to the classification, on the principle of analogy, a series of questions have been prepared and addressed to archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, and art critics with a greater degree of training in the field of prehistoric art. The current research seeks to explain some aspects of prehistoric art through modern graffiti. This approach is not intended to negate the scientific hypotheses and results achieved so far in the field of Archaeology and History of Art but to help scholars of prehistoric art study to ask or reformulate a series of questions that will contribute to a more comprehensive view and understanding of prehistoric art.