Minor Marks and Modifications: Foot Traffic

Abstract

This contribution is part of a larger project that explores graffiti and other non-official and often illicit acts of public marking outside of the usual juridicial frameworks. The project focuses on the phenomenology of looking, on the emplaced and embodied act of seeing in the world. This specific bit of writing is a companion piece to a long-term photo project on street art that occurs on the street itself (rather than walls). This project, called "Foot Traffic," is distinguished by a square format and the prominent inclusion of the photographer's feet. This playful use of what is typically read as an unintentional inclusion functions to draw attention to positionally and spectatorship. The feet tie the image of the subject (the graffiti) to the location of the pedestrian spectator.