Urban embroidery

**Alpha** · 09-19-2010, 11:53 PM

Disclaimer: The subject and the title of this thread are not mine. I just read an interesting article in my university's student magazine. Have to get inspiration from somewhere. The rest of this post is my own. Unless I quote, clearly. Any quotes will be from the article.

Tagging and graffiti. What is the distinction? Do you admire them? Are you repulsed by them? Maybe you make them?

Assuming most of us live in cities, we've all seen it. Graffiti is about as synonymous with cities as roads and crappy McDonald's restaurants. But what is it? How do we differentiate between someone scribbling their name (oh-so-conveniently) over the bus timetable, and that sweet colourful cat that adorns the fifth floor of some historic building with the old fire escapes and ledges 'made for climbing'? How about political graffiti on that house with the anarchists who demand that indigenous land once again actually become indigenous land?

What kind of graffiti is 'dope'? What isn't? Does graffiti require skill? How does one discern the skill involved, when it so radically differs from conventional forms of art? Do we appreciate the inconvenience? The damage to private or public property? The artistic merit? The ability to reach inaccessible places? The ability to remain anonymous, and evade authority?

Who performs graffiti? Why do they do it?

“While it’s popular to think of taggers as youth who’ve gone off the rails and strayed from parental control, I know a tagger here in Wellington who is the child of an anarchist and clearly and articulately explains his tagging within a narrative of generational continuity, where he and his parent share a view that is anti-establishment. So for him, it is about a political stance (or a rejection of politics). But for others, it can purely be about falling in love with letters; the way they slope and curve and dance and lean.”

“What I think is so interesting about tagging and graffiti writers, is that it is a very different type of fame than what is sought by all these aspiring pop stars on idol shows, because it largely remains an anonymous fame. The writer’s marks acquire fame—or infamy. Their artistic nom de plume acquires a reputation, but they could walk down the street and no one would recognise them.”

Is to be a tagger to be a stereotype? Is it done by those with brown faces? Males, and not females? Those with no ambition?

“I’ve recorded stories from pakeha* writers who recount how police treat them leniently, and presume that they must have permission to be painting the wall, but the same police officers harass Maori and Pacific writers even when they do have permission… so the threat that people may feel when they encounter graffiti probably has some kind of relationship—whether people are conscious of it or not—to a set of racialised and class-based anxieties.”

Something I'd like to engage more with, is what it is about graffiti that offends our sensibilities. Why is it that we will tolerate advertising at the bus stop, or on a big ****-off billboard that I can literally see from by house, but not graffiti at the bus stop, or an empty, vandalised billboard?

Graffiti is predicated on the visibility of the art, but not the artist. It provokes a sense of anxiety. Where will it occur? Will I have to pay to 'clean' my property? It provides vulnerability that offends capitalist logic. If private property is meant to be protected and respected, graffiti represents social dysfunction. But need it be interpreted so?

One prominent example referred to in the article, but splashed across my newspaper for weeks was the case of Bruce Emery. In January 2008, this father came across two teenagers tagging his garage. He became enraged, and chased them with a knife. Somehow (he was really fat) he caught them, and a verbal altercation ensued, with the end result being the stabbing of one of the boys, aged 15, in the chest. He left the boy to die, returned home, and did not mention anything to his family.

During the trial, some supported his right to protect his property. Others said the reaction was out of proportion to paint on a door.

In typical New Zealand fashion, he was charged with manslaughter, sentenced to four years and three months, and was released on home detention less than a year into the sentence. He now lives a few blocks away from the teenager's family. Honestly, tell me it does not occur like that anywhere else.

What is it about graffiti that at once annoys and offends us, but also captivates and astounds us?

* 'New Zealander of European descent'.

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Also, I thought it would be interesting for us to perhaps showcase a few pieces of urban art/vandalism from our own cities, if it even exists in your city. Just Google search your city and 'street art' or something similar. It would be interesting to see the extent to which they differ stylistically, or, probably more likely, are influenced by global trends.

One of my favourite pieces in Wellington is the memorial to Joy Division singer, Ian Curtis.

The Council painted over it, though it had stood for over 20 years. This was followed by a public outcry, and a 'vandal' replaced the memorial:

Here's a cool one:

**Sinister** · 09-20-2010, 12:16 AM

I have to say that this really is more in the ID forum's line...but seeing as threads sent there seem to mysteriously die, I make no issue of it.

I happen to be a fan of graffiti. I'm also guilty of spraying a few quotes on a few overpasses. I know this sounds really unoriginal for me to say, but I really admire Banksy's works. I'd give anything to have one of his works in any city I settle into. As a matter of fact, that may be a determining factor in which city I do end up in.

The city I grew up in was littered with colorful paintings. They were always viewed as landmarks and part of the city's atmosphere. Many of them were photographed in displays in the city's libraries.

EDIT: This will sound odd, but I always look forward to being stopped at a train stop so I can see all the different works on the cars of the train.

-Sin

**GypsyElder** · 09-20-2010, 12:24 AM

Tagging is more gang affiliated, what they do to mark their territory (I guess), I think it gets confused with "graffiti" (just urban art) because people tend to tag in the "bubble" or designed text. Similar but not the same, though people just immediately categorize it all in one negative category.

The "cool one" you posted is most likely, just someone's art and the writing is their label. Come to our arts walk downtown and its everywhere.

We had this huge problem when I was in high school, our art department and the school were arguing over people getting in trouble for "tagging" in our personal sketchbooks. It was kinda silly imo.

Too bad I don't have all mine, they're in my flikcr and I haven't logged in, in ages so I'm not sure what my pass is. can't get pics till next month, I can take pics of all the different ones downtown.

"stickering" and stenciling kind of fall in the same category. Everyone sticker's around here, it's just like putting your name out there in creative ways, you make your own stickers and put theme everywhere. Fun until you get caught lolol.

EDIT: f*ck my spelling *is half asleep*
Oh, wait I can never spell ..er type

**Unknown Entity** · 09-20-2010, 12:56 AM

What is it about graffiti that at once annoys and offends us, but also captivates and astounds us?

I guess it depends on the artist for me. There's a difference between a vandal marking a gang tag everywhere they see fit or daring than an (usually) anonymous street artist. I have felt offended and/or threatened by gang tagging because I'm the innocent bystander who'll be penalized because of where I live. Nobody with a right mind knows or cares about who "Lady Entity" is, or when she "waz ere". Chances are it's in a place which will just get painted over anyway.

However, some tags are pretty astounding - location wise. I've walked/drove under countless bridges in my time, and someone has had the guts to leave a tag on the side of the bridge. You can see where a couple of people have left theirs right up near the edges, but others are right down into the middle. What's also astounding is that someone is willing to risk their life to leave their "mark" somewhere.

You won't catch me up there...

As for what I consider the real art, I could walk around London all day taking pictures of it. More planning was done and considered with such types of art, and portrays a better message or joke to the people who come across it, despite it all being illegal. How can you be threatened by a piece of Banksy or similar artists? People have gone to prison for defacing his work, despite his work being illegal in the first place. He remains as an anonymous urban legend, and when people mention his name, you know immediately who they're talking about.

A couple of my favourite pieces:

Longish:

**winterborn86** · 09-20-2010, 01:09 AM

I think that when graffiti is used to vandalize public things like, phone boxs, bus stops and even peoples property it look awful. It makes the place look untidy and it's horrible to see.
But when I was on holiday last week, there was a lot a graffti along the sea front wall, but it wasn't done by vandalism, it was done to bighten up the wall and make it look good, and it did look good. There were big boards along the wall and someone had used grafiti style writting and drawing to do pictures to kinda advertise the place we where (Mablethorpe seafront).

So I guess overall, depending on how the graffiti is done, it can have a positive or negative effect.

**Sinister** · 09-20-2010, 01:46 AM

Thanks for posting that, UE. I was too tired and couldn't be bothered to look up some Banksy classics. Those are some of my favorites of his, particularly the Pulp Fiction reference. His work is borderline graffiti and more appropriately, renegade art.

As for the difference between tagging and graffiti and all the other distinctions...etc... The only distinctions I really tend to make are whether it is "done with skill or thought and is it pleasing to look at" or simply another mark made by someone with no proper outlet for their time.

What is it about graffiti that at once annoys and offends us, but also captivates and astounds us?

I can't say I've ever caught myself being offended by graffiti. As a matter of fact, I'd like to take this opportunity to admit that I rarely allow myself to be offended. As far as graffiti captivating and astounding... I look at it kind of like a census. It shows me, if not the number of daring, artistic and rebellious people, at least the variety. There's also something...primal...like naive art...like cave paintings, about it.

There once was a famous calligrapher in ancient China. His works were known throughout the land as the finest and most exquisite. Even his most superficial scribblings sold for fortunes. But because he was crafty, he seldom practiced his calligraphy so as to control the market of his works. People who asked for his autograph or even those who offered to pay for a work, were denied.

One day a rich and wise sage asked the calligrapher to dinner. The man was recieved into the rich man's study, where he was told that the master was out but would return shortly. Left to himself in the study, the calligrapher noticed that great rolls of the freshest and most expensive paper were laid out on the table next to wells of fresh ink and pens.

The man waited nearly twenty minutes before he could no longer resist temptation and began writing upon the scrolls. The rich man returned to find that the calligrapher had filled the paper with beautiful works. The calligrapher was terribly embarrassed and appologized again and again to which the rich man smiled and told him "not to worry about it"

The truth is...It's just human nature to doodle.

-Sin

**Rocky** · 09-20-2010, 09:58 AM

I typed in my towns name and added urban art on the google images searchbar, and on the first page there was a picture of Red XIII. wat.

Since my town is lame and doesn't have any cool art besides the sticker names of people on trains and stuff, I can't really post any pics, sorry.

I am a big fan of Banksy though, his art is insane and the fact that he is kind of a mystical figure in society only adds to the badassery of his renegade art. People have gotten jail time for ruining his illegal art, which is backwards thinking in a way but still funny nonetheless.