5 ms·

This might be an unpopular opinion, but fuck it. I'd replace billboards with graffiti in Portland any day. I can't stand that billboards are plastered all over

by vhost- 11y ago

This might be an unpopular opinion, but fuck it. I'd replace billboards with graffiti in Portland any day. I can't stand that billboards are plastered all over the place, but one streak of paint on a building left unscrubbed will result in the person owning that building getting fines from the city. I miss the feel of an real urban environment and having real graffiti on walls and over passes.

codyb 11y ago
I always thought that instituting a similar policy as was done at Five Points in Long Island City in Queens in New York City (a curator who allowed talentedt artists to contiually refresh the walls of an abandoned warehouse with beautiful pieces of art and graffiti) would be awesome for the subways here in NYC. They're just silver boxes with a tiny US flag as it stands now. They're pretty clean which is nice, they feature advertising although unless a company like Pepsi or Google buys the entire train's advertising and remakes their outsides as well it's generally not particularly intrusive (and to be fair, I found the Fanta train kind of neat). I'd like to see more art in general although in neighborhoods like Bushwick there is generally a fair amount, and if you keep your eyes peeled there's still quite a fair amount of illicit street art as well. I'm all for it and think there should be a concerted effort to provide and encourage those who'd like to try with places to practice and eventually when they're very good rotating spots around the city. In a city of 8.5 million in the five boroughs alone how could we not make use of our artists more effectively?
- yincrash 11y ago
  The subway trains used to be covered in graffiti. This changed in the mid 80s. I suspect the ridership would prefer them blank. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_in_New_York_City#Clean_Train_Movement_era https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_in_New_York_City#Cl...
  - peferron 11y ago
    I don't know about NYC, but in Paris most of the graffity are ugly, uninspired scribblings like this: http://iyftc1oqf704bytwz45ub151.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/RER-Train-Interior-Graffiti-Subway-Paris-France-Metro.jpg http://iyftc1oqf704bytwz45ub151.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-c... http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/files/includes/images/112-296304503_6eae712317.jpg-v-0.jpg http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/files/includes/images/112-2... (at least this one is mildly colorful) Similar things are scratched on subway windows. It's hard not to wish them gone.
    - yincrash 11y ago
      The window etchings are definitely the worst. Thanks for making the window basically unusable, taggers. edit: here's an example of an nyc subway car from the 70s https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_City_Subway#/media/File%3AGRAFFITI_ON_A_SUBWAY_CAR_ON_THE_LEXINGTON_AVENUE_LINE_IN_NEW_YORK_CITY._IN_1973_TRANSIT_AUTHORITY_POLICE_ARRESTED..._-_NARA_-_556811.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_City...
  - codyb 11y ago
    For reference, I did not mean unregulated graffiti but, as I mentioned, more along the regulated nature of Five Points NYC which looked like this before it was pointed over a few months ago. [0] [0] - http://inhabitat.com/nyc/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2012/01/5pointz-demolition-537x390.jpg http://inhabitat.com/nyc/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2012/0...
ocb 11y ago
The two aren't mutually exclusive if both are allowed. See Berlin.
wingerlang 11y ago
When you say graffiti, do you include the 90% of it that is basically shitty tags?
- Intermernet 11y ago
  Um, a lot of advertising is basically shitty tags as well.
  - wingerlang 11y ago
    I never said one is better than the other. Although I'd prefer shitty 'tags' with content that may be relevant to someone in 0.0001% of the cases over a shitty squiggle on the wall.
    - Intermernet 11y ago
      Graffiti tags are relevant to someone other than the "tagger" as well. "Tags can contain subtle and sometimes cryptic messages, and may incorporate the artist's crew initials or other letters."[1] Just because you and I don't get it, doesn't mean it's content free. I'm not defending tagging, I'm just decrying most advertising as being equally bad, or worse. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti#Tagging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti#Tagging

by vhost- 11y ago

codyb 11y ago

I always thought that instituting a similar policy as was done at Five Points in Long Island City in Queens in New York City (a curator who allowed talentedt artists to contiually refresh the walls of an abandoned warehouse with beautiful pieces of art and graffiti) would be awesome for the subways here in NYC. They're just silver boxes with a tiny US flag as it stands now. They're pretty clean which is nice, they feature advertising although unless a company like Pepsi or Google buys the entire train's advertising and remakes their outsides as well it's generally not particularly intrusive (and to be fair, I found the Fanta train kind of neat). I'd like to see more art in general although in neighborhoods like Bushwick there is generally a fair amount, and if you keep your eyes peeled there's still quite a fair amount of illicit street art as well. I'm all for it and think there should be a concerted effort to provide and encourage those who'd like to try with places to practice and eventually when they're very good rotating spots around the city. In a city of 8.5 million in the five boroughs alone how could we not make use of our artists more effectively?

yincrash 11y ago
The subway trains used to be covered in graffiti. This changed in the mid 80s. I suspect the ridership would prefer them blank. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_in_New_York_City#Clean_Train_Movement_era https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_in_New_York_City#Cl...
- peferron 11y ago
  I don't know about NYC, but in Paris most of the graffity are ugly, uninspired scribblings like this: http://iyftc1oqf704bytwz45ub151.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/RER-Train-Interior-Graffiti-Subway-Paris-France-Metro.jpg http://iyftc1oqf704bytwz45ub151.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-c... http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/files/includes/images/112-296304503_6eae712317.jpg-v-0.jpg http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/files/includes/images/112-2... (at least this one is mildly colorful) Similar things are scratched on subway windows. It's hard not to wish them gone.
  - yincrash 11y ago
    The window etchings are definitely the worst. Thanks for making the window basically unusable, taggers. edit: here's an example of an nyc subway car from the 70s https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_City_Subway#/media/File%3AGRAFFITI_ON_A_SUBWAY_CAR_ON_THE_LEXINGTON_AVENUE_LINE_IN_NEW_YORK_CITY._IN_1973_TRANSIT_AUTHORITY_POLICE_ARRESTED..._-_NARA_-_556811.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_City...
- codyb 11y ago
  For reference, I did not mean unregulated graffiti but, as I mentioned, more along the regulated nature of Five Points NYC which looked like this before it was pointed over a few months ago. [0] [0] - http://inhabitat.com/nyc/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2012/01/5pointz-demolition-537x390.jpg http://inhabitat.com/nyc/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2012/0...

ocb 11y ago

The two aren't mutually exclusive if both are allowed. See Berlin.

wingerlang 11y ago

When you say graffiti, do you include the 90% of it that is basically shitty tags?

Intermernet 11y ago
Um, a lot of advertising is basically shitty tags as well.
- wingerlang 11y ago
  I never said one is better than the other. Although I'd prefer shitty 'tags' with content that may be relevant to someone in 0.0001% of the cases over a shitty squiggle on the wall.
  - Intermernet 11y ago
    Graffiti tags are relevant to someone other than the "tagger" as well. "Tags can contain subtle and sometimes cryptic messages, and may incorporate the artist's crew initials or other letters."[1] Just because you and I don't get it, doesn't mean it's content free. I'm not defending tagging, I'm just decrying most advertising as being equally bad, or worse. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti#Tagging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti#Tagging