Graffiti Tagging Haunt

Graffiti - Graffiti Tagging Haunt

It doesn't matter where you live in the world, chances are you've seen graffiti somewhere around your local community. It seems to spring up in every culture, although it tends to be more prevalent in big cities.

But is it vandalism? Or is it art? That's a difficult question to answer, mainly because there are so many different types and styles of graffiti. The most basic form of graffiti is "tagging" - which is usually a simple graphic, usually letters, perhaps a play on the creator's initials or nicknames. Often small and monochrome, it's probably one of the most annoying and frustrating types of graffiti, because it is small enough to deface almost any surface, and is almost universally condemned as having no artistic merit.

Graffiti, however, isn't restricted to tagging. On larger surfaces, many graffiti artists employ multiple colors and intricate designs to create their pictures. This is the type of graffiti that starts to cross the line into being artistic. It's this type of graffiti art that is now being showcased in a number of art galleries, both in the USA and around the world.

The other problem with graffiti as art is that the issue is clouded by the location of the art. If some of these stunning designs were created on a canvas, or a wall specially set aside for the purpose, then it would be easier to recognize them as art. Unfortunately most graffiti is placed on private property, without the owner's consent, and so is less likely to be viewed as a welcome addition.

Around the world, communities and governments have become more vigilant in their attempts to reduce the amount of graffiti. In many places there are community groups or government funded teams who guarantee to clean up graffiti in 24 hours after it's reported. Trains in New York were given new coatings that allowed paint to just be "dissolved" off their surfaces.

In my own local area, the sale of spray paint to persons under 18 is illegal, and all spray paints are kept in locked display cupboards. Another area has a team of painters who regularly go around and repaint any fences that have been covered in graffiti. One homeowner I know has had his fence repainted 7 times so far! Over time, however, the amount of graffiti reappearing is reducing, which is a victory for the opponents of graffiti.

Still, simply removing the problem may in fact be a loss to the artistic community in general. If graffiti is considered in its most highly refined form, then are we in fact stopping artistic development in its tracks by making it impossible for budding graffiti artists to practice their craft?

When you illegally deface someone else's property, no matter how beautiful the art you create, you have still committed a crime. Maybe what we need to do is find ways that graffiti artists can learn and practice their craft, without needing to deface hundreds of properties in the process. Some communities now provide blank spaces and invite local graffiti artists to paint them. Others have graffiti walls, where anyone can paint whatever they want.

Maybe there needs to be a shift in the thinking of graffiti artists, so they can discover the value of painting on paper, rather than walls. Would the great painters of the past still be as famous today if they had painted on walls, rather than on canvas? The problem is complex, so finding a solution that makes everyone happy is unlikely to be simple.

1. Rhizome.org: Previous Posts by Month
... work of the retouch artist is coming back to haunt perfected images. 'The Art of Detouch' is an ... ... with the new soundtoys.net site. Thanks to a tagging scheme (a la del.icio.us), you can quickly ...
http://www.rhizome.com/fp_month.rhiz?month=200602

2. Independent Online Edition > Home
Home News UK Crime Health Medical Legal UK Politics This Britain Transport Ulster Europe World ...
http://www.independent.co.uk/c/?ec=500

3. CANADA'S ECONOMICS & SOCIETY. Research Papers, Essays, and Term Papers
... as itdid in Europe Newhall p Tagging In Sweden a manufacturing ... on thewall U Lady Pink Graffiti with feministintent Ms pp ... which take foreign asthey haunt their previous trenches and ...
http://www.research-assis ...onomics__society.html

4. Terror in our streets: L.A. Daily News Special Report
... gang-related crimes continue to haunt local communities, accounting ... mostly petty crimes. "Tagging crews" were similar to ... their territory through graffiti and petty crimes. For gangs ...
http://lang.dailynews.com ...ticles/lbp1_gang1.asp

5. Ross Mayfield's Weblog: wiki
... to debate What edits you make could come back to haunt you Don't be an idiot, or it could go on your ... ... are plans to create a stable branch (basically tagging a revision as reviewed, although review ...
http://ross.typepad.com/blog/wiki/index.html

6. site news - joe's nyc
... A. Caro Four bloggers I am tagging: Keith Ron Bob nobody else ... of revolutionary war soldiers haunt the area at night and are ... or is it a panel piece?) graffiti on a 5 train one morning ...
http://sitenews.streetnine.com/

7. Free Screen Savers software downloads
... ears open... the restless dead haunt the darkened rooms and halls ... throughout history? Desktop Graffiti shows various characters ... CD Label Printing, Super Tagging & more! CleanMyPC registry ...
http://www.sofotex.com/do ...en_Savers/more12.html

8. apophenia: August 2005 Archives
... layers that will continue to haunt your layer. Note: this post is ... from vibrating razors to Graffiti Archaeology, HCI sketches to ... structure network systems and tagging systems and whatnot, so are ...
http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2005/08/

9. Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing
Already a member? Sign in. Or, learn more. The mother of excess is not joy but joylessness ...
http://www.flickr.com/

10. Grafitti Sketches
... poker Free online graffiti tagging games The best graffiti ... Subcultures - Hip-Hop - Graffiti - Image Galleries Chevy ... primal that seem to haunt and peer br><br>The ...
http://www.gouzou.com/en/ ...GrafittiSketches.html

11. dataisnature.com » 2006 » January
... Pacman monster-ghosts haunt a centipede-entrapped Pacman ... legality of street art and graffiti, this raises serious issues ... I think most street art and tagging is as pure as art can get ...
http://www.dataisnature.com/?m=200601

12. LeGarde Mysteries | by Aaron Paul Lazar
... that heíd become confused. Graffiti was scribed into the surface ... Tell me where she is or Iíll haunt you, LeGarde. Iíll take out ... Johnny, Sadie, or Siegfried tagging along except for a few ...
http://www.legardemysteries.com/doublefort.htm

13. Rafe's Blog: Small Biz
... this openness will come back to haunt them. Blogs are the new ... This new meme refers not to graffiti, but rather the identifiers ... Flickr tagged with "PCForum." Tagging will become a highly useful ...
http://www.rafesradar.com .../small_biz/index.html

14. Graffiti Intro
... or spray paint. Artistically, tagging is the root of graffiti, and ... you will be known by in the graffiti community. DO NOT TAKE THIS ... stupid it will come back to haunt you. "Stupid" things include ...
http://www.graffiti.org/faq/graffiti_intro.html