Jump to content

New York Cracks Down On Graffiti Artists


TrustUGN

Recommended Posts

Here's the link

 

 

Here's the story...

 

 

NEW YORK (AFP) - Having waged a long and largely successful war against its prolific graffiti artists, New York is seeking to disarm the city's holdout "spray-painting punks" once and for all.

 

Since January 1, a raft of new restrictions have come into force, including raising from 18 to 21 the age at which it is legal to possess "graffiti instruments," such as etching acid, aerosol paint cans and broad-tipped indelible markers.

 

More draconian is a statute making anyone deemed in possession of such instruments with the intent to "make graffiti" subject to arrest.

 

Newly re-elected mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said the new laws were "common sense measures" that would keep New York clean and beautiful.

 

The municipal council member behind the new restrictions, Peter Vallone, was less restrained in touting their importance.

 

"We realise these bills push the envelope. But it's time to get serious," Vallone told the Daily News. "We can no longer let these spray-painting punks use our city as their unmarked canvas."

 

The city initiative has reignited a long-running debate between the defenders of graffiti as legitimate street art and those who view its proponents as little more than vandals.

 

Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the bills were an "embarrassment" and an example of the city overeaching to criminalise a "perfectly lawful, protected, expressive activity."

 

"It's one thing to ban the unlawful marking of a building, but it's crazy to criminalise carrying around a pen!" Lieberman said.

 

Urban graffiti peaked in New York in the mid-1970s, most notably on the subway system, where large numbers of competing artists, or "writers," daubed the train exteriors with their elaborate, sprayed creations.

 

Increased transport security and the development of graffiti-resistant materials saw the underground movement dwindle away by the start of the 1990s and many writers either gave up or went mainstream, working for advertising companies or even championed by art dealers.

 

Their street work has not completely disappeared, with graffiti marks still popping up on sections of walls, bridges and abandoned factories, especially in the boroughs outside Manhattan.

 

"It's always been more of a hobby for most writers," said KET, a 35-year-old graffiti legend turned publisher, who prefers to be identified by his writer's "tag."

 

"It's something that we do or we did very much full time when we were kids and then later turns something that we do more as a form of recreation than a full time activity," he told AFP.

 

For KET, the new legislation is not only unfair, but also impractical because it focuses on punishment rather than prevention.

 

"None of it is going to stop graffiti, none of it is going to stop people from painting," he said. "No matter what laws you create there's still a need for people to express themselves publicly and that's never going to change."

 

He also echoed Lieberman in arguing that the measures went way too far.

 

"I don't think that everyone that carries around spray paint is a graffiti writer," he said. "It makes it a tough thing just for regular students, which I don't think is really fair.

 

KET believes a better initiative would be to begin treating graffiti as a genuine form of cultural expression.

 

"Then maybe more and more people would move towards the art form versus the vandalism side of it," he said.

 

One motivating factor behind the new bills is a slight resurgence in subway graffiti, with writers using etching acid to create indelible marks on the train windows.

 

"I think it's a very clever way for writers to introduce their names back into the subway which is where a lot of writers feel like their names belong," KET said.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This forum is supported by the 12ozProphet Shop, so go buy a shirt and help support!
This forum is brought to you by the 12ozProphet Shop.
This forum is brought to you by the 12oz Shop.

i think its madd bucked how how politicians always OD with graff laws. its just a political tactic to get them re-elected...they could focuse more on getting real crime down but people dont see that with their own two eyes as much as they see graffiti so theyd rather attempt to bring dow something more personally noticable than something statistical...my friend just got hasled for having a sharpie in his pocket and walking into a courthouse, it was mad funny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest imported_Europe

There has been several wars on graffiti - And now we all know there is no graffiti anymore.

Remember the war on drugs - Yeah, now there are no drugs anymore.

Hey, they are also fighting the war on terroism, Im sure that will be gone soon too...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Man, graffiti is a form of ocd for most serious writers. I think people need to look into that. graffiti is an addiction. Of course laws arent going to stop people, its just going to weed out the people that are in it for alterior motives, as much as i love it, graffiti is a sickness for a lot of people. I know people know what im talking about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i never quite understood the logic for graffiti increasing other crime rates.. do people see graffiti and go nutz? hmmm.. well yea.. maybe they see sense of lawlwessnes hey they got away with all that so we can with our shit, and negborhood seems neglected (from gaffiti) anyway.. ok yea i guess that kinda makes sense.. i dunno tho

Link to comment
Share on other sites

itll be pretty easy for them to say that, its a cops word against yours, and most cats dont have money to spend on lawyers, and are goign to get fucked for that shit, and if you dont think the broken window theory your hella naive and stupid and prolly are a firm believer in the 4 elements, aight, graffiti does increase crime rates, cause it subconciously lets people know that other people have gotten away with crimes at that area, so like people are more comfortable doing crime, also lets say you have a clean room, you leave a pair of pants on the ground, the next day your like fuck it, theres already clothes on the ground, i might as well just drop these clothes on the groudn to, it dont matter, and then its like 2 weeks later, and your room is hella messy. its the same theory think about it, and if a door gets tagged once, a million other writers are going to tag it, think about ti, like how many spots you see where theres just one tag on a big surace. graffiti spreads like cancer, the same way humans do, like i know you guys all want to be in denial, but really, graffiti is nothing more than us writing our names on walls, we like it cause it gives us adrenaline, people talk about you, it makes you bigger than you already are, it make us feel permanent in a very temporary world, gives you attention, you can feel tight for eluding the police, you cna brag to your boys about your spots, if your really into it for the art your a nerd, there is an art to it definitely, but the only reason theres an art, is because to many people started tagging, so they need a way to differentiate all the tags, and add another level of competition to it, and that just evolved and evolved, really every writer i ever met, who was "all about the art bra" has been a square, and they usually dont write that much, and there usually not that good, most cats who write graffiti, just starrt wtiting therre name on shit, when there hella young, and never stop, or its cats who had homies they do it, and then they got addicted, graffiti is tight i love graffiti, but lets not have any grand illusions about who we are or what we do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the art is also an excuse for the crime, what other crimes you know where people try to justify it by saying its pretty, or that its self expression, to some people violence is self expression and pretty, like cats need to stop acting hella surprised that people trip on them for doing crime, like most criminals are never surprised that they start gettign tougher ont hem, they either get a new hustle, go to jail or drop out the game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didnt read through the threas.. but i dont think there is a dissagreement in the broken window theory, grafiti breeds graffiti duh.. i was skeptical of it breeding crime then i wasnt, but i can hold contradictory views its normal.. anyway how the fuck does grafffiti express yourself that doesnt make any sense.. other than you like to o graffiti

Link to comment
Share on other sites

graffiti is a direct expression of the individual, the way your style is, is an expression of you, people that bite in graffiti, are generally people that bite in life,

 

people with angry tags are angry people

 

childish tags childish

 

sloppy are sloppy

 

 

theres alot more you can read into this, but knowing who does the graffiti, you'll understand alot more.

 

its the same as signatures. you can just tell alot about the individual by how they write, even if there biting, unless you dont know that there biting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i can see how having grafftiti on somwthing causes more graffit to be put on it , but thats onkly cause people figure that the own doesnt care enough to buff it. the thing about graffiti causing breakins and shit ithink is dumb, becasue if theres a shitload of graff in an area then the people prolly can afford to buff it, therefore they dont have any money, so why would you rob someone whos poor? and you usually dont see graff in nice hoods like the burbs anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suppose the impression of neglection can cause criminal minded individuals to feel safer to do crime.. fit in better with the atmosphere.. if your ina location where things are well maintained it leaves an impression that people care about the area enough.. enough to try and stop criminals from doing shit.... but usually poorer areas that are less buffed have more crime robbery casue poor.. both beacause of poverty and not the casue of each other.. wait a minute what ami saying why dont poor peple just go rob in richer negbourhoods? oh yea so i guess what i was originally asserting was right becaseu more mainatined can look like harder to pull off crime or that peopel care about crimes (at least one crime being graffiti) so mr. criminal minded assumes would care about other crimes too.. anyway this issue isnt particulary intersting

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...