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Graffiti - Graffiti Tagging Laws
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.
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Some Other Useful Web Resources
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1. AfricaResource.com - Background of East Coast Graffiti
... more severe" (60). Due to these laws, the major change was the ... lines like the 2 and 5, graffiti removal significantly ... of time, many writers were tagging with markers on the outside ...
http://www.africaresource.com/content/view/11/90/ |
2. Blog before you Think!: 2005-02
... Contact through the South African civil service laws (Code of Conduct Bureau) strongly prohibits us ... ... the idea of posting boards with the metaphor of tagging and thus creates a new scope of communication ...
http://www.socio-kybernet ...05_02_01_archive.html |
3. Potomac News Online | Graffitibuster
... any graffiti, whether nuisance tagging or surefire gang graffiti, to ... do you think about gangs and graffiti?That's like asking, how do ... up with stringent,enforcable laws that make it easier to arrest ...
http://www.potomacnews.co ...d=1149188395424&path= |
4. New Page 1
... when individuals are underage. Graffiti tagging continues to be a serious problem because ... ... premises and ensure compliance with liquor laws; and 5. Educate youth on the importance of ...
http://www.rbpf.org/Commi ...tatement_for_2006.htm |
5. detroit rhetoric » quandries of rhetoric
... three? My best guess right now is that it is the struggle for literary expression in the 1970s when the apartheid government imposed censorship laws. I sure will be intersted in finding out about the ...
http://detroitrhetoric.net/wordpress/?cat=1 |
6. Graffiti Verite' Documentary Video Series Sell Sheet - Wholesale
... up in an area with draconian anti-graffiti laws, knowledge of this art-form has been elusive ... ... this edition addresses the history of graffiti - from tagging gang territory, to the importance of ...
http://www.graffitiverite.com/GVSELLSHEET2003.htm |
7. BigShinyThing
... and MPAA want to betray that legacy by passing laws that will regulate new technologies in advance ... ... will be the first car manufacturer to use a new tagging system allowing viewers instant access to ...
http://www.bigshinything.com/?tag=PVR |
8. http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles1/nij/185279.txt
... related offenses and enforced laws prohibiting graffiti. 5 ... profile of taggers (graffiti writers) in Mid-City roughly ... Web sites that promote tagging. Taggers can boast about ...
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9. Mass. General Laws Popular Name Table D-K
... treatment of minors) c.112, s.12F Graffiti ("tagging") c.266, s.126A-126B Grandfathered lots c.40A, s.6 Grandparents' visitation law c.119, s.39D Gun control laws, licensing c.140, s.121-131C ...
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/popnamed-k.html |
10. History of Graffiti
... became increasingly tense. Laws restricting the sale of paint ... 1989 On certain subway lines graffiti removal significantly ... of time, many writers were tagging with markers on the outside ...
http://www.daveyd.com/historyofgraf.html |
11. The Power of a Hug -
... criminalization of petty acts such as "tagging" (graffiti-spraying), and the deployment of armed ... ... toward young adults and children at risk - and laws designed to seal their fate - grow more ...
http://library.adoption.c ...g/article/2349/1.html |
12. Prime Minister's Speeches - 2002 - Re-balancing of the Criminal Justice System
... justice acts, strengthening our laws against everything from ... this, I mean the vandalism, graffiti, street crime - not done by ... to drug testing or electronic tagging - to suit each individual ...
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page1717.asp |
13. Burners
... 197 1971:By 1970; "taggingî, or "hitting" as it was ... held a consistent presence. Graffiti was coming to an end on most ... quit due to the severity of the laws and jail time that was given ...
http://www.subwayoutlaws.com/History/History.htm |
14. Graffiti Hurts - Community Resources
... the top response when asked what would get them to stop tagging. 1 For guidance and models for developing effective local anti-graffiti laws, visit the National Council to Prevent Delinquency web ...
http://www.graffitihurts. ...ources/prevention.cfm |
15. Reason: Free Play: The politics of the video game
... In the soundtrack-heavy skating and graffiti-tagging game Jet Set Radio Future (Sega), pirate ... ... But given the chance, would subscribers adopt laws like the strict zoning inherent in the original ...
http://www.reason.com/0404/fe.kp.free.shtml |
16. Letters - The Northwest Voice
... May 19, 2006 13:48:39 PDT -- 0 comments Leash laws in place for reason Letters What part of ... ... homeowner and I ve noticed lots of tagging and graffiti in the recent week. I m disgusted by it ...
http://www.northwestvoice ...catview.php?cat_id=99 |
17. bigbluemeanie
... Slow - (2) The Thames - (2) Graffiti in Oxted - (2) The drought ... to the very severe local laws, you may get your arm chopped ... things about Flickr, is the tagging system which allows you to ...
http://www.bluemeanie.org/weblog/2005/12/ |
18. Protestors of pigeon shoot blast police, cry for justice
... used in rodeo are being abusedProtesters tagging along on Olympic Torch routeProtesters, fair ... ... Local citizens removed the red-paint graffiti. Go Back SHARK PO Box 28 Geneva, IL 60134 630 ...
http://www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000262 |
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