Graffiti facing same issues as early skateboarding is the name of the article, to which I respond “Bullshit!”. The gist of the article is that just as communities provide public skateparks, so should they provide public art canvases. Hmm. That’s a pretty weak argument.
As an artist, you are always free to paint your own walls in your house or apartment, or buy some canvas or plywood, or even garbage pick some large sheets of cardboard. Not that I am against a public graffiti wall. It’s a trend that a lot of skateparks have been implementing in places like Colorado (Boulder and Carbondale), New Mexico, and as far away as the UK. A designated graffiti wall (or walls) sure beats the bone-headed alternative that happened in Durango Colorado the city council decided to close the skate park as a punishment for the graffiti that appeared at the skateparks. Makes a lot of sense right? Punish one group for the actions of a different group. So yeah, I can live with public graffiti galleries on public land, why not? Just don’t tell me I am obligated to let you paint wherever the hell you want, and keep your spray tips out of the parks. Graffiti can be an art form. The problem is, for every “artist” out there, there are a hundred jackasses like “lil Pimp” who are straight up bullshit taggers.
6 comments
Jaymeericle
New American Casuals, it was a store on MLK by Montage.
Clothing spraypaint they had partys and art shows their plus a couple legal permission art walls. I painted a mural there with others that was buffed by the city (saying it was graffiti)in 2003 and resulted in a city & Newspaper political debate and small suit which got the $1500 sign fee waived and a legal art wall created. It is gone now, bummer.
Those taggers! It is very popular with kids right now and advertisements firms trying to influence youth to buy their products similar to skateboarding it has been called Fad. Jocks are taggin lol.. its popularity will wane
over time, but real artists will still be painting & skateboarding long after the jocks and kids without real dedication are gone.
Yep the Portland Police sure have killed a few people over the past 10 years. Cuff them and suffocate them, Shoot people driving away, and Shoot people with cell phones saying it looked like a gun, scary.
Thanks for you positive outlook on it Kilwag! Word lol
Kilwag
What’s N.A.C. ?
I would think there would be more pressing issues for Portland police to spend their time at, like say, more training on how not to overreact to otherwise containable situations by shooting and killing people. Legal art walls sound like a good idea. I doubt they will deter the wannabe crappy taggers though.
Jaymeericle
Damn, is that my pro model? lol
I don’t like the extreme wackness either, The bummer is kids & weak toys that geek it for real artists by taggin crap everywhere in skateparks and otherwise ex. cite Joshs’ example.
Redmond and Woodnville in Washington have successfull legal art walls next to their skateparks & the parks stay relatively clean.
SKateboarders maby from the 80’s and Graf artists of generally the same era do have some things from the past in common (maybe not with youth nowadays as much as but): being called a vandal, renegade, and general hatred by the majority of society and/or politicians, getting tickets from police tresspassing no skateboarding, vigilante-anti haters of boarder/painters, even hanging out at pools & under bridges D.I.Y. skateboarding & painting.
Well at least Portland supports skateboarding, (now that is,) it wasn’t always the same in the past.
Regardless, kids/people in Prison, jail or juvy for spraypainting will not solve the problem and is not a good or permanent solution.
If anything why not have legal art walls on existing walls under bridges or somewhere where no one really goes anyway. It is unfortunate that their are not more legal places to practice and create positive expressions of artwork.
The Portland PD put a lot of pressure on the N.A.C. also when they carried spraypaint, I heard rumors of multiple threats from them on charges of conspiracy to insite vandalism, they would close the store down, and other charges of the like etc..
Kilwag
No, I guess I could ask.
Paige
Do you know if there has been any update with the pressure that Portland Police has been putting on The Office for their sale of spray paint?
Josh
Yeah, there are a couple of graffiti walls at one of the parks in my city, but it doesn’t really make a difference. People will still spray paint all over the park anyways, even if there are designated walls 50 feet away. Plus, in most cities around here, the city councils don’t give a shit at what happens at the skate park, so graffiti artists are constantly spray painting the park. Unless it was strictly enforced, I doubt having graffiti walls would make a noticeable difference.
Personally, I don’t mind having graffiti in the skate parks, as long as it looks half decent. Heck, here we even name certain ramps according to the graffiti on them. It is a form of art, just like skateboarding can be. It’s just when you have stupid little 12 year olds spraying gigantic cocks and stupid phrases all over the park that annoys the hell out of me.