scholarly journals ‘Matatu’ Graffiti as An Avenue for Self-Expression and Social Commentary Among the Youth in Nairobi, Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-103
Author(s):  
Kamau Wango

This paper seeks to examine urban Art in Kenya as an integral part of urban culture with particular emphasis on ‘matatu’ graffiti, (an off-shoot of ‘mural’ graffiti that is depicted on medium-sized vehicles used for urban public transport) as an avenue for self-expression among the youth in Nairobi, Kenya. It will also examine other forms of related art, such as the genre of painting referred to as street art and explore the genesis of themes and subject matter that interest the youth. In order to generate a chronology of thoughts, the paper approaches the above first from the broad spectrum of urban culture and what it entails and then breaks it down to one of the most critical and visible elements of urban culture which is urban Art which, in turn, encompasses many forms of visual creativity both in two dimensional and three-dimensional dispensations that manifest themselves within an urban environment. The paper delves substantively on the generation of broad themes that form the basis of varied subject matters that are regularly depicted in matatu graffiti. These broad themes often derive or emanate from sociocultural, socioeconomic, religious and political factors. The paper also examines the age bracket (herein referred to as The Youth) which embraces urban Art both in terms of its execution and its consumption as well as the underlying factors that seem to make it broadly attractive and acceptable as a means of self-expression, collective discourse and social commentary among the youth. The paper finally examines the relationship between matatu graffiti and hip-hop, a genre of music characterized by terse verbal symbolism and which is increasingly associated with urban culture and the complexities of social expression in the contemporary urban world.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-100
Author(s):  
Andrea Baldini

AbstractWhat is the relationship between street art and the law? It is argued that street art has a constitutive relationship with the law. A crucial aspect of the identity of this urban art kind depends on its capacity to turn upside down dominant uses of public spaces. Street artists subvert those laws and social norms that regulate the city. It is shown that street art has not only transformed public spaces and their functions into artistic material, but has also turned its rebellious attitude toward the law into a creative resource. This essay aims at elucidating and arguing for this claim, while drawing important implications at the level of street art’s metaphysics, value, and relationship with rights of intellectual property, in particular copyright and moral rights. At the other end of the spectrum of contractual art, street art is outlaw art.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Shannon Said

It has taken many years for different styles of music to be utilised within Pentecostal churches as acceptable forms of worship. These shifts in musical sensibilities, which draw upon elements of pop, rock and hip hop, have allowed for a contemporisation of music that functions as worship within these settings, and although still debated within and across some denominations, there is a growing acceptance amongst Western churches of these styles. Whilst these developments have taken place over the past few decades, there is an ongoing resistance by Pentecostal churches to embrace Indigenous musical expressions of worship, which are usually treated as token recognitions of minority groups, and at worst, demonised as irredeemable musical forms. This article draws upon interview data with Christian-Māori leaders from New Zealand and focus group participants of a diaspora Māori church in southwest Sydney, Australia, who considered their views as Christian musicians and ministers. These perspectives seek to challenge the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations within a church setting and create a more inclusive philosophy and practice towards being ‘one in Christ’ with the role of music as worship acting as a case study throughout. It also considers how Indigenous forms of worship impact cultural identity, where Christian worship drawing upon Māori language and music forms has led to deeper connections to congregants’ cultural backgrounds.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 841
Author(s):  
Yuzhen Jin ◽  
Huang Zhou ◽  
Linhang Zhu ◽  
Zeqing Li

A three-dimensional numerical study of a single droplet splashing vertically on a liquid film is presented. The numerical method is based on the finite volume method (FVM) of Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the volume of fluid (VOF) method, and the adaptive local mesh refinement technology is adopted. It enables the liquid–gas interface to be tracked more accurately, and to be less computationally expensive. The relationship between the diameter of the free rim, the height of the crown with different numbers of collision Weber, and the thickness of the liquid film is explored. The results indicate that the crown height increases as the Weber number increases, and the diameter of the crown rim is inversely proportional to the collision Weber number. It can also be concluded that the dimensionless height of the crown decreases with the increase in the thickness of the dimensionless liquid film, which has little effect on the diameter of the crown rim during its growth.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 873
Author(s):  
Dandan Xia ◽  
Liming Dai ◽  
Li Lin ◽  
Huaifeng Wang ◽  
Haitao Hu

The field measurement was conducted to observe the wind field data of West Pacific typhoon “Maria” in this research. With the application of ultrasonic anemometers installed in different heights (10 m, 80 m, 100 m) of the tower, the three dimensional wind speed data of typhoon “Maria” was acquired. In addition, vane-type anemometers were installed to validate the accuracy of the wind data from ultrasonic anemometers. Wind characteristics such as the mean wind profile, turbulence intensity, integral length scale, and wind spectrum are studied in detail using the collected wind data. The relationship between the gust factor and turbulence intensity was also studied and compared with the existing literature to demonstrate the characteristics of Maria. The statistical characteristics of the turbulence intensity and gust factor are presented. The corresponding conclusion remarks are expected to provide a useful reference for designing wind-resistant buildings and structures.


1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 681-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Rummelt ◽  
L M Gardner ◽  
R Folberg ◽  
S Beck ◽  
B Knosp ◽  
...  

The morphology of the microcirculation of uveal melanomas is a reliable market of tumor progression. Scanning electron microscopy of cast corrosion preparations can generate three-dimensional views of these vascular patterns, but this technique sacrifices the tumor parenchyma. Formalin-fixed wet tissue sections 100-150 microns thick from uveal melanomas were stained with the lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEAI) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) to demonstrate simultaneously the tumor blood vessels and proliferating tumor cells. Indocarbocyanine (Cy3) was used as a fluorophore for UEAI and indodicarbocyanine (Cy5) was used for PCNA. Double labeled sections were examined with a laser scanning confocal microscope. Images of both stains were digitized at the same 5-microns intervals and each of the two images per interval was combined digitally to form one image. These combined images were visualized through voxel processing to study the relationship between melanoma cells expressing PCNA and various microcirculatory patterns. This technique produces images comparable to scanning electron microscopy of cast corrosion preparations while permitting simultaneous localization of melanoma cells expressing PCNA. The microcirculatory tree can be viewed from any perspective and the relationship between tumor cells and the tumor blood vessels can be studied concurrently in three dimensions. This technique is an alternative to cast corrosion preparations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 726-731 ◽  
pp. 1566-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Qiang Ding ◽  
Qing Na Li ◽  
Xin Rong Pang ◽  
Ji Run Xu

The characteristics of flocs aggregated in flocculation have been paid more and more attention for a long time. In this paper, a new classification and analyses method dealing with the flocs is developed. The flocs formed after flocculation is divided into four kinds, including the left primary particles, linear flocs with all component particles in a line, planar flocs with all component particles on a plane and volumetric flocs with all component particles in a three-dimensional space. By analyzing the formation approaches of different kind of flocs regardless of the floc breakage, the number of every kind of floc is analyzed to be related with the suspension concentration mathematically. After comparing the different items in the models describing the relationship of floc number and concentration, a series of simplified expressions are presented. Lastly, a mathematical equation relating the measurable suspension viscosity with the numbers of different flocs is obtained.


2011 ◽  
Vol 187 ◽  
pp. 522-527
Author(s):  
He Yang

As an integral element of the space environment, the environmental sculpture plays an important role in the decoration of space environment, the expression of urban culture and reflection of the city's character, etc. Environmental sculpture is a visible symbol independent and outside of the sign of nature or architectural language, which has become an important cultural carrier between the communication of environment and people. From the perspective of cognitive science, this paper analyzes the relationship between people, environment and environmental sculpture to explore the psychological characteristics of cognition of environmental sculpture and examines, analyzes and interprets the phenomenon of environmental sculpture from the cognitive psychology perspective, which brings some enlightenment for the design of environment sculpture.


Popular Music ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Mitchell

In his article ‘Rock music and politics in Italy’, Umberto Fiori deploys the example of an open-air concert by Genesis in Tirrenia in the province of Pisa, promoted in the summer of 1982 by the Italian Communist Party (PCI) as part of its annual Feste dell'Unita, as a summary example of de-politicisation of the consumption and production of rock music in Italy, and the institutionalisation of the oppositional, dissenting aspects of rock music that had previously been so potent there throughout the 1970s. To Fiori, the Genesis concert representedan unmistakeable step forward in the slow process of the ‘normalisation’ of the relationship between rock and politics in Italy. Explosive material until a few years before, rock music in the 1980s seems to have returned to being a commodity like any other, even in Italy. The songs are once again simply songs, the public is the public. The musicians are only interested in their work, and the organisers make their expected profits. If they happen to be a political party, so much the better: they can also profit in terms of public image and perhaps even votes. … Italy now learnt how to institutionalise deviation and transgression. An ‘acceptable’ gap was re-established between fiction and reality, desire and action, and music and political practice. (Fiori 1984, pp. 261–2)


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