The Kwanyin Clan: Modern Literati Graffiti Writers. An aesthetic and text analysis of their main artworks

After illustrating the varied artistic production of the Kwanyin Clan, one of the most important Chinese graffiti crews, this paper analyzes in the details 6 of their main artworks (styles, techniques, aesthetic conceptions and artworks texts). In these artworks, for the first time the Kwanyin Clan tried to merge Euro-American graffiti practice with the ancient traditional arts practiced and appreciated by the Chinese literati (calligraphy, poetry, painting, seals and ceramics). Comparing the Kwanyin Clan members to ‘modern literati writers’, this article demonstrates how this crew succeeded in reinventing ancient Chinese art forms using Euro-American graffiti vocabulary, paving the way for a new development of graffiti art in China.