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Graffiti - How To Graffiti Tagging
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. Adam Bosworth's Weblog: Tensions on the Web
... not so much in the "eye of the beholder" as it is how much trust I'm willing to give to the vandal ... ... he blogs or not. Is it ironic that graffiti is called "tagging"? "Tag", you're it! Posted by: John ...
http://www.adambosworth.net/archives/000041.html |
2. collaborative cartography
... the collaborative geospatial tagging collective. Why do I blog ... of their introductory course, how to work with the Google Maps ... I found a tasty nugget Äî "Graffiti's social navigation ...
http://research.techkwond ...aborative_cartography |
3. How would you change Flickr? - The Social Software Weblog
... software(10) startups(3) tagging(14) ubicomp(0) VCs(4 ... days) LiveJournal doesn't care how you feel about breastfeeding or ... the Travel Wise (07/17/06) Graffiti Worldwide Bueller and ...
http://socialsoftware.web ...try/1234000400070201/ |
4. Elevate - a blog by Eight Media
... Posted in News, Business|1 comment|no trackbacks Tagging Air Force One Posted by simon Wed, 19 Apr 2006 06:43:23 GMT Some guy has put up a video showing how he tagged (graffiti) Air Force One, the ...
http://blog.eight.nl/articles/2006/04 |
5. Rafe's Blog: Small Biz
... kids who are blogging today, and how those blogs will likely ... 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 |
6. PDX Graffiti Like Ummm... - Portland, OR : citynoise.org
... pioneered grafitti in this city! Shit just ain't how it used to be. PESTY: 20th Jun 2006 - 07:15 GMT ... ... to say to all you newjack graffiti writers if i ever catch you tagging on another piece of public ...
http://www.citynoise.org/article/953 |
7. Bridget Prentice - News
... Dawkins and his staff. They talked to me about how they deal with the serious cases and the ... ... we can do more to clear up and prevent graffiti and tagging. I am fed up of seeing 'tags' and ...
http://www.bridgetprenticemp.org.uk/news.asp |
8. New Page 3
... from U.S. popular culture? How is abortion portayed when it is ... Stencil Pirates places street graffiti within the larger pantheon ... Post No Bills, anyone) - from tagging to public announcements ...
http://www.standforjustice.com/radio_past.htm |
9. Knowing Art by PJ Brunet » Interview
... but to do it with no class. PB: How do you decide where you want to ... Interview Library Metadata Tagging Music Privacy Process ... mp3 to myspace" ( Google ) graffiti myspace layouts ( Google ...
http://interview.knowingart.com/ |
10. Alleviate Poverty - Volunteer Opportunities
... an Eyeglasses Collection Drive Reduce Graffiti Tagging and Defacement Make Hygiene Kits for ... ... Child Feed the Hungry at a Food Bank Find out how to reduce poverty and homelessness during a ...
http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/poverty.htm |
11. Art Crimes: The Bombing of Babylon: Graffiti in Japan
... urban and suburban Tokyo to see how this urge to differentiate ... music or graffiti. The graffiti writer Dopesac has described ... convention. (Okazaki Manami, "Tagging in Mito Galleries," Japan ...
http://www.graffiti.org/faq/stanchfield.html |
12. Up Your Ego
... microsoft, online, opinion, tagging, tags, xbox, yahoomicrosoft ... The report goes on to say how although the BPI can identify ... gmail google government graffiti graphics guardian ...
http://www.upyourego.com/blog/ |
13. dvGarage Product - graf
... The CD includes characters, tagging, colorful wall murals, reference images and a tutorial to get you started. Make sure to watch the sample movies to see how The Graffiti Collection can bring your ...
http://www.dvgarage.com/prod/prod.php?prod=graf |
14. newtimesbpb.com | News | Not Normel
... in garish hues. As in the graffiti bomber who drove cops and ... lives in Chicago) and related how "he holds doors open for people ... staking out what it called a "tagging crew." Within days ...
http://www.newtimesbrowar ...-15/news/feature.html |
15. torrey pine golf course | resources for torrey pine golf course
... Dog Alarms ... loss diets, miniature golf course, how to stop a barking dog, alliance mortgage ... ... de/buy-car-ebay.html Graffiti art hip hop tagging ... certification course army ...
http://www.2.improve-your ...torreypinegolfcourse/ |
16. Mobile Avant Garde - MobileRadicals
... or space. ÄòSprayCanÄô graffiti that appeared in the 1970s ... and generations in terms of how it should be dealt with in ... writers with a means of tagging their environment, using ...
http://www.mobileradicals ...hp/Mobile_Avant_Garde |
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