Tagging Graffiti About La

Graffiti - Tagging Graffiti About La

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. sony - Wink
... on the star and tagging it. (Or use the Wink ... opinion, it's "hasta la vista, baby". 1 to 10 ... Draws Ire With PSP Graffiti 2005-12-06 www.wired ... Pictures Information about the large number of ...
http://www.wink.com/sony

2. How would you change Flickr? - The Social Software Weblog
... Perhaps keystrokes a-la gmail would help ... 10) startups(3) tagging(14) ubicomp(0) VCs(4 ... call-in talk show about cancer Subscribe with ... Wise (07/17/06) Graffiti Worldwide Bueller ...
http://socialsoftware.web ...try/1234000400070201/

3. »»Sports Reviews««
... tag. If you opt for graffiti mode, both players ... against each other by "tagging" objects while ... to learn. It took me about 10 minutes to figure ... Larry Zbysko Barberian La Parka Stevie Ray Chris ...
http://www.educational-child-toy.com/Sports/

4. yet2.com - Article Archive List - Tech of the Week - TechNeed Challenge - In...
... Coating Steams-Off Tagging Eastman Chemical This ... paint or marker graffiti with it. Apr 10 2005 ... Efficiency F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. Software ... leave residues. What about non-chemical insect ...
http://www.yet2.com/app/insight/archivelist

5. Drugstory | Feature | Tom O'Brien
... Gang Division in the LA County District ... kids who start out as graffiti taggers, carrying ... against rival tagging crews, develop into ... And when gangs talk about Controlling these ...
http://www.drugstory.net/feature/lada.asp

6. NBC 4 - News - 3 In Custody, 3 More Expected In School Tagging Incident
... Expected In School Tagging Incident Friday, September 1, 2006 ...
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9775582/detail.html

7. Las Vegas Artists: Insights on Artists
... Vegas, and it is all about class. Las Vegas Cheap ... Wireless Customers Tagging Las Vegas. Inside a ... life circle of urban graffiti artists At a time ... s Tony Melendez and the LA-based band Ozomatli are ...
http://lasvegasartists.icesartists.com/

8. Furdlog » 2005 » November
... operators to offer programs a la carte instead of in bundled ... then sell them to customers for about $15. Shoppers think of ... Amazon.coms tagging system into digital graffiti. [&] Last week ...
http://msl1.mit.edu/furdlog/?m=200511

9. View From a Height
... I'm sure that the ACLU and La Raza will want to attend to ... and the Post have run articles about Denver's growing graffiti ... sign indeed. Graffiti can either be a gang-tagging or individual ...
http://www.jsharf.com/view/general/

10. Gamer's Logik 4.0 - Jet Grind Radio (GBA) Review
... Columns Forums Search About Us Staff Profiles Join ... the good old Jet Grind tagging system in full effect ... complete, the Custom Graffiti Editor feature was ... Bah, PS3 for life! Vive la Revolution! View results
http://www.gamerslogik.com/review.php?RevID=93

11. Funny URLs and clever witticisms
... blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/2006/05/la ughing_yogi.mpeg I should play ... to control them. If you think about it, most all of the kids who ... I would love to graffiti things, but "tagging" is not where it's ...
http://haineux.livejournal.com/

12. CCSF Anarchist Library - Minutes
... composed of members of La Raza, Philiino Club P.E ... in the New Mission News about cleaning up the ... and people > tagging, the professional ... > Member, Mayor's Graffiti Advisory Board > ...
http://www.anarchistlibra ...php/20050711192337571

13. simpletrade.org
... Market The great thing about the dream mover is ... Grease, Oil, Grime, & Graffiti Removal Paint ... and team points by tagging the your opponents ... in the SFV. OC and LA areas only NEW CREDIT ...
http://simpletrade.org/specials.php

14. North Pakistan + Western China: a 1999 trip report
... along. Voila! I was tagging along with the pre ... Karimabad: Shangri-La Karimabad and Gilgit ... was also rather unhappy about it all. There was some ... population control graffiti painted onto cliffs ...
http://danny.oz.au/travel/1999/pakistan/

15. Fonts
... entertainers, it's all about fame, fortune - and ... a police vehicle with graffiti. The Crime Tracker 3 ... on the phrase-level tagging. One issue is TERM ... MuÒecos de Pilotos de la F1 F1ickr Gallery has a ...
http://fonts.lighthive.com/