4 ms·

> the colorful paint job There may be a discussion about whether painting on someone else's things is justified or not, and in which cases. But another thing i

> the colorful paint job There may be a discussion about whether painting on someone else's things is justified or not, and in which cases. But another thing is that tagging is really the lowest form of graffiti, barely any "art" in it, certainly no creativity. It's usually the same low effort, low complexity "stamp" repeated over and over again by the same group. Where's the art in that? Because there's certainly vandalism.

bondarchuk 3y ago
Have a look at the article, they're actual pieces (I believe the kids call them).
- buran77 3y ago
  Of course I looked, I'm a big fan of (sanctioned) street art and was expecting to see 27 stories wonderfully engulfed in a creative dreamworld. Searching for "graffiti pieces" on your hint turned up some quite skillful pieces, nothing like 90+% of the tags in the article. Does anyone consider the words "SOUP" written in blue letters and pink contour (top left title picture), or "AKDE" in all black bold letters (top right), or plain white lettered "LOSTKA" (second picture middle), or the absolute jumble of plain green text right next to it as anything other than low effort spraying of paint on a wall? Nobody presumes some guy shouting in the park is a talented singer and the shouting is quality art. And someone kicking in your door wasn't actually a ballet dancer performing their art. Tagging your name or your crew on a wall is nothing different. People want their name on a wall because it makes them feel important or memorable. They are neither, and this "tag" art is in the same vein as someone drawing dicks on the side of library books. Low effort, low skill, just making the real artists look bad in the name of some short lived boost of ego and self-importance. Some decades ago I organized in my adoptive home town several yearly "celebrations" that were a combination of book-fest, food-fest, and street-art-fest. As a thank you for organizing this I was always invited to put my own "art" on the walls. Due to my distinct lack of talent in this area it was limited to a tag-style signature in a corner of some real art. So I managed to do the same level (albeit slightly smaller scale) of street art as these taggers with no preparation and two left hands. It was a punchline against the incredible art the others put on there. Random internet examples [0]. [0] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=graffiti+art&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=graffiti+art&iax=images&ia=images
  - Kon-Peki 3y ago
    > I'm a big fan of (sanctioned) street art Exactly. In my old neighborhood the local college organizes a matching service - building owners and artists. The building owner (and random people that make donations) pays artists to make public art on their buildings. It provides housing (if they are from out of town), lifts and safety gear (if needed), paint, etc. Some of them are huge [1] [2] [3] [4] but most are pretty small, that you would miss unless you are walking through the area [5] [6] [7] [1] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-ella-pitr/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-ella-... [2] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/diosa-jasmina-cazacu/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/diosa-jasmina-c... [3] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-kobra/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-kobra... [4] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/mad-c/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/mad-c/ [5] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-corri-doors-skellulite/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-cor... [6] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/tima-fatima-ezzahra-khilad/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/tima-fatima-ezz... [7] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-corr-doors-tara-hamilton/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-cor...
bko 3y ago
Call me crazy but I don't think there's any debate about whether painting on other people's things is justified.
- buran77 3y ago
  I was thinking more grey area like abandoned and completely derelict building or vehicles. They may be an eyesore but nobody can or will do anything about it, and the act of painting them will in no way diminish their value. I'm just saying I see why some people might believe there's a discussion to be had about that. Technically anything that is illegal is prohibited and yet we all find justifications for doing some of those things anyway. Sometimes because you believe the law is unjust, or because you believe some exceptions should be granted, etc.
  - zafka 3y ago
    While I think the concept is pretty cool, I do think this tagging will add extra cost to whomever takes over this project. On the other hand, if the graffiti rose to the level of "art" and the windows could be removed and sold, then it would help redevelopment efforts.
the_third_wave 3y ago
If humans had better noses these taggers would simply have urinated against those buildings to mark their territory but since this does not leave a recognisable mark (for humans) they use spray paint instead of urine. The purpose, effect and level of artistry are comparable to that of a dog lifting its leg next to a lamppost.

bondarchuk 3y ago

Have a look at the article, they're actual pieces (I believe the kids call them).

buran77 3y ago
Of course I looked, I'm a big fan of (sanctioned) street art and was expecting to see 27 stories wonderfully engulfed in a creative dreamworld. Searching for "graffiti pieces" on your hint turned up some quite skillful pieces, nothing like 90+% of the tags in the article. Does anyone consider the words "SOUP" written in blue letters and pink contour (top left title picture), or "AKDE" in all black bold letters (top right), or plain white lettered "LOSTKA" (second picture middle), or the absolute jumble of plain green text right next to it as anything other than low effort spraying of paint on a wall? Nobody presumes some guy shouting in the park is a talented singer and the shouting is quality art. And someone kicking in your door wasn't actually a ballet dancer performing their art. Tagging your name or your crew on a wall is nothing different. People want their name on a wall because it makes them feel important or memorable. They are neither, and this "tag" art is in the same vein as someone drawing dicks on the side of library books. Low effort, low skill, just making the real artists look bad in the name of some short lived boost of ego and self-importance. Some decades ago I organized in my adoptive home town several yearly "celebrations" that were a combination of book-fest, food-fest, and street-art-fest. As a thank you for organizing this I was always invited to put my own "art" on the walls. Due to my distinct lack of talent in this area it was limited to a tag-style signature in a corner of some real art. So I managed to do the same level (albeit slightly smaller scale) of street art as these taggers with no preparation and two left hands. It was a punchline against the incredible art the others put on there. Random internet examples [0]. [0] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=graffiti+art&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=graffiti+art&iax=images&ia=images
- Kon-Peki 3y ago
  > I'm a big fan of (sanctioned) street art Exactly. In my old neighborhood the local college organizes a matching service - building owners and artists. The building owner (and random people that make donations) pays artists to make public art on their buildings. It provides housing (if they are from out of town), lifts and safety gear (if needed), paint, etc. Some of them are huge [1] [2] [3] [4] but most are pretty small, that you would miss unless you are walking through the area [5] [6] [7] [1] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-ella-pitr/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-ella-... [2] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/diosa-jasmina-cazacu/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/diosa-jasmina-c... [3] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-kobra/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/big-walls-kobra... [4] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/mad-c/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/mad-c/ [5] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-corri-doors-skellulite/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-cor... [6] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/tima-fatima-ezzahra-khilad/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/tima-fatima-ezz... [7] http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-corr-doors-tara-hamilton/ http://wabashartscorridor.org/portfolio_page/wabash-arts-cor...

bko 3y ago

Call me crazy but I don't think there's any debate about whether painting on other people's things is justified.

buran77 3y ago
I was thinking more grey area like abandoned and completely derelict building or vehicles. They may be an eyesore but nobody can or will do anything about it, and the act of painting them will in no way diminish their value. I'm just saying I see why some people might believe there's a discussion to be had about that. Technically anything that is illegal is prohibited and yet we all find justifications for doing some of those things anyway. Sometimes because you believe the law is unjust, or because you believe some exceptions should be granted, etc.
- zafka 3y ago
  While I think the concept is pretty cool, I do think this tagging will add extra cost to whomever takes over this project. On the other hand, if the graffiti rose to the level of "art" and the windows could be removed and sold, then it would help redevelopment efforts.

the_third_wave 3y ago

If humans had better noses these taggers would simply have urinated against those buildings to mark their territory but since this does not leave a recognisable mark (for humans) they use spray paint instead of urine. The purpose, effect and level of artistry are comparable to that of a dog lifting its leg next to a lamppost.