Abstract

The current research, entitled "Symbolic and Intellectual Features of Arab and International Graffiti Art (A Comparative Study)," sheds light on the working mechanisms of Arab and European graffiti artists, demonstrating the difference between the two styles, the types of subjects addressed in their drawings, and the symbolic and intellectual characteristics they conveyed due to the influences and circumstances in which the artist lived. The research comprises four chapters. The first chapter deals with the methodological framework of the research, representing the research problem, which sheds light on Arab and Western graffiti art and the symbolic and intellectual characteristics that distinguish each style, describing it as a mechanism that has cast its shadow on the levels of knowledge, art, and contemporary studies. It also includes the research objective, which is to identify the symbolic and intellectual features of Arab and international graffiti art. The second chapter contains the theoretical framework, which includes three axes. The first axis addresses the concept of the symbol, by reviewing the early beginnings of the symbol and the reasons for its emergence and use. The second axis discusses the symbol and the views of philosophers, which presents the meanings of the symbol. The third axis was about the beginnings of graffiti art, the reasons for its emergence, and its most important artists. The third chapter included the research procedures, the research community, its sample, and the analysis of the sample of (6) works of Arab and European graffiti artists, and a statement of the most important symbolic and intellectual features that the sample contained. Finally, the research ended with the fourth chapter, which reviewed the most important results, conclusions, recommendations, and proposals.