Tagging And Graffiti

Graffiti - Tagging And Graffiti

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. Skateboard Parks(tm) - Boulder Skate Park - Boulder - Colorado
... Tagging, graffiti or defacement of City property. Drugs or alcohol. Liquids other than natural precipitation on the riding surface. Food or drink on the riding surface. Modifications to the skating ...
http://www.skateboardparks.com/colorado/boulder/

2. livonia observer
http://livonia-observer.b6.maritime-central.com/

3. Neighbourhood Support
... Tagging and graffiti are huge and on-going problems in Manukau,î Mayor Sir Barry Curtis said. ìIt has resulted in the council spending more than $1.6 million in graffiti eradication and community ...
http://www.nsupport.co.nz ...y_news_july_2005.html

4. Letters - The Northwest Voice
... Posted by tloveanimals - Wed Feb 22, 2006 15:44:02 PST -- 2 comments Question of the Week: What to do about tagging Letters Q: I m a Rosedale homeowner and I ve noticed lots of tagging and graffiti ...
http://www.northwestvoice ...catview.php?cat_id=99

5. Pens, Markers - 12 Deco color paint markers decocolor graffiti tagging
... yascool.com 1 - 24 of 1484 results in: Crafts > Drawing > Pens, Markers 12 Deco color paint markers decocolor graffiti tagging $0.00 PIGMA MICRON pens sets-NEW-$50+ retail value!!!!! $0.00 Zig ...
http://yascool.com/Pens--Markers,c28109,p1.html

6. Brooklyn Museum: Graffiti
... sections of their neighborhoods by "tagging" them with stylized renditions of their names or the names of the groups they formed. The self-taught graffiti artists turned the walls of public (and ...
http://www.brooklynmuseum ...exhibitions/graffiti/

7. Happy Accidents
... It all started next with tagging/graffiti, while skateboarding around town... kept a sketchbook and all that. I took technical illustration in high school from grade 9 thru 12. I really enjoyed that ...
http://www.happyaccidents.ca/wellard.html

8. Graffiti
... There are laws prohibiting anyone under 18 from buying materials used for the writing of graffiti or tagging. Laws have also been passed regarding the possession of certain items for the purpose of ...
http://www.oceansidepolice.com/Graffiti.asp

9. Teens
... LA. She gained entry to tagging crews (graffiti artists/vandals depending on your viewpoint) and to party crews (kids who tried to distinguish themselves in a non-violent way by hosting wild parties ...
http://www.thearticleworks.com/teens.htm

10. Theorizing the Radical Potential of Location-Aware Mobiles
... system.[7] Geographiti on a public Wi-Fi network would create a kind of 3-D "virtual graffiti wall" only visible to those looking for it, however, unlike "tagging" this graffiti would not be invasive ...
http://www.gpster.net/potentialmobiles.html

11. Hiphop History - The Four Elements of Hiphop Culture
... Unfortunately much of the stigma behind graffiti stems from tagging. While tagging and Graffiti share some commonalities... The two are not the same. Tagging Up On A Wall Vs. Art Tagging was ...
http://www.djemir.com/hiphophistory.html

12. Dublin Graffiti Crew Hit The Streets -The Graffiti is on the Wall ñ Images -...
... ie/article/74360 The Tagging, Writing & Graffiti is on the Wall ñ Dublin City ñ Images http://www.indymedia.ie/article/74492 Links to February 2006 Links to March 2006 by Noise Hacker Sun Apr 02 ...
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/72958

13. What’s here? » Advisor Meetings
... Deliverables Market Matrix - Identified across technologies: wifi, cell, physical tagging (RFID, graffiti, anything else that comes to mind, (am I missing anything else?) Marketing Services ...
http://www.semiot.com/blog/?cat=4

14. Westway Project - enviromental art and design charity working
... during Autumn 2003 and can be found on Swinbrook Road, best viewed walking along Golborne Road in North Kensington. The idea was to transform a blank, featureless wall prone to tagging and graffiti.
http://www.westwayproject ...showcase_golborne.htm