Iceland + Graffiti

Graffiti occurs everywhere, it is part of every city around the world, even the frozen places! Every city dweller deals with graffiti on a regular basis...To show you that graffiti is everywhere, here is some courtesy of Iceland...

Broken Windows + Graffiti!

The "Broken Window Theory" states that disorder and crime are linked. If a window is left broken, soon the all the other windows will be broken. A window left unrepaired creates the impression that no one cares, so it is okay to break another. One act of vandalism can lead to more crime. Vandalism leads to an environment where the people in the vandalized neighborhood feel unsafe. They may think that more serious crimes are occurring when they are not. Vandalism is connected with urban decay, if unruly people (rowdy teenagers and drunks) and vandalism in the neighborhood are left unchecked. The general idea is that if bad behavior goes unchecked, it will lead to more serious crimes. In cities like Edmonton, all graffiti is considered an act of vandalism. The general public may not see the reality of graffiti, and many misconceptions occur. Graffiti can be vandalism and it can be frightening for those who are faced with it, but not all graffiti should be considered vandalism. Graffiti can be more than simple vandalism, as we have seen with graffiti artists like Banksy. Could the City of Edmonton better educate themselves and the public about the realities of graffiti?

Cityspace + Vancouver = Debate!

Review of City Space-A Documentary by Craig Noble, 2004
Graffiti Ideas from Vancouver, BC

From the point of view of the artist:

• public space should be a public forum
• buffing all graffiti is sterilizing the city
• no artist wants to be seen doing graffiti, anonymous fame!
• art and adventure in the city, in doing graffiti you see the city in a different way
• experience the space as you paint, the space becomes tied to memory
• graffiti=resistance=subculture=artists don't want to fit in, they want to resist
  
• the thought of getting caught, the risk is part of the excitement of graffiti for the youth who participate
• the most dangerous thing about graffiti is actually inhaling paint!
• graffiti is for other graffiti artists, an artist wants to impress his fellow artists, it is suppose to be misunderstood
• people should not be afraid of graffiti artists all they do is paint on walls!
• graffiti art is all about being original
• graffiti art is about destabilization, angles, resisting the grid of the city streets and the law
• artists do not always hate the buff, it gives them a fresh new walls to paint, and weeds out the artists who do not keep up
• young graffiti artists may want to mess up a society that they do not feel a part of
• artists in Vancouver are frustrated, the city is not very tolerant and is only taking away walls
• artists feel they have right to public space, they feel public space should be free, artists are questioning the use of public space. Who gets to decide how public space is used?
• graffiti that is supported can be nice, graffiti that is done quickly in fear of the police is ugly!
  
• artists feel they contribute to the city. graffiti part of what makes a city a city, it brings out the nooks and crannies, it adds texture, it is real not sterile, graffiti adds to the rich variety of the city
• graffiti resists and is the opposite of advertising, although graffiti pulls ideas from advertising
• what makes advertising allowed and graffiti not? graffiti artists are not allowed to decorate public space, but corporations can advertise? local vs corporations
• there is advertising everywhere now, in places where graffiti once was, like trains and subway stations
• "fuck the rich, fuck the polished"
• graffiti is real interaction with your environment
• artists ask, why do the wealthy and those in power get to dictate how our public space looks, why should their opinion be the only one that matters? are they going to push everything underground until all that exists is institutional public art?
• artists ask why the city keeps those down want to create public art for free?
• to deny graffiti shows a lack of culture, since graffiti has existed since ancient times it is ignorant to think that any city could wipe it away completely
• graffiti has positive influence as well, it has taught some artists to work hard and study, it has taught them things they did not learn in the school system
• graffiti creates a dialogue, it shows another side of society, it shows that society is not one dimensional
• graffiti can raise questions. communities communicate in different ways and can differ on how they use public space. how should a community respond when there are different opinions on how to use public space? tolerance? should it be one-sided?

From the point of view of the authorities, business owners and the city:

• business owners in Vancouver are responsible for the removal of the graffiti that is illegally painted on their property, it must be removed at the expense of the business owner within ten business days. if a business does not remove graffiti they can not renew their license with the city! business owners are forced to remove graffiti, even if they do not want to they will get fined
  
• the city sees graffiti as a black and white issue. graffiti is a crime, even if it looks good. but there are some mural programs
  
• a clean beautiful city is a "selling point" to the rich who want to invest their money in business and advertising
• graffiti is feared by the general public, but the police understand there are many misconceptions about graffiti and its relation to crime
• removing graffiti shows that city cares and is maintaining the streets
  

City Space is basically filmed as one long interview. although this film leans towards the side of the graffiti artist, the director does let those opposed to graffiti speak their opinion freely. artists, business owners, city employees, and police in Vancouver all speak about what graffiti means to them and the institutions they represent. this film opens a debate and raises questions, for example, who gets to decide how public space is used? it is clear the two sides have very different opinions, but should it be an ongoing war or a compromise that attempts to solve the problem?

Graffiti Artist = Banksy

Banksy is a graffiti artist. His true identity is a mystery, because some of what he does is illegal after all. His pieces are easily recognizable on the streets...his stencils appear on the streets, in zoos and he sometimes takes his own work in to museums (undercover of course). Some of his street graffiti (not all of it) is covered over by the authorities, just like any other graffiti, but he fights back hitting these spots again and possibly again! He is a professional artist with successful gallery shows and commercial jobs.
Artist + Graffiti = Banksy. Banksy demonstrates that graffiti can be art, and that this art can convey an assortment of ideas to the masses. Banksy's art in public spaces is accessible, simple, humorous, and political, not elitist and convoluted. While the authorities removing his art from the streets call it vandalism and say that his images will breed an atmosphere where crime will thrive, there are those who appreciate his art and are willing to pay for it...Banksy proves that graffiti can be more than just mischief, it can enrich our public spaces. The fact the the those in charge do not remove all of his work sends a strong message. Would Edmonton benefit from an artist who works in public spaces, bringing his or her wit and sophistication to them? I keep going back to the Giants of Edmonton...our public art is so safe and unwilling to offend, because of this it is hard to say anything of importance. Controversy can breed conversation and debate, while murals of Lois Hole with her sunflowers do nothing (except embarrass)...

Toronto = Edmonton's Role Model?

Toronto has a Public Space Committee dedicated to defending and celebrating their public spaces. Whether that means creating public art done by the public or rallying against advertising in public space, it is a grassroots not for profit group of volunteers. This group could be a great benefit to the graffiti artist who wants to create work in a public space... I could find no evidence of such a group in Edmonton. If they do exist here, they are well hidden! Should Edmonton follow in Toronto's footsteps? Could a group like this help create public spaces that are less institutionalized (think Churchill Square with its hospital-like atmosphere)? If anything, Edmonton needs a role model to help improve its public art situation...The giant shoes at the Southgate Mall Transit Station make me sad...

Sao Paulo, Brazil + Graffiti = Pixacao!

Article Review: Choque Photos, Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine. Issue #102, July 2009.

"Pixacao" is a form of graffiti that began in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was developed 30 years ago separate from other graffiti movements, the "pixadores" simply did not have outside references. Pixacao consists of sophisticated calligraphic letter forms that only other pixadores can understand. Some pixacao letters have evolved to the point of becoming completely illegible. Pixacao attacks the vertical space within the city. Sao Paulo is a city of 20 million people, so vertical space is abundant. Pixacao covers the city space from top to bottom. Pixacao has been compared to the graffiti movement NY in the 1970s, but while New York graffiti writers mainly bombed the subway stations and trains, pixacao covers every abandoned space of the city. There are abandoned spaces where you can find pixacao that is 20 years old! The photos taken by Choque Photos show whole highrises covered in pixacao.

So, why do people create pixacao? They do it for social recognition, entertainment, the adrenalin rush and protest. Pixadores have created their own language that only they can understand. It is a closed community that is difficult to join. The guys involved in the scene often do not have good relationships with their own families, so the pixo groups become the family that the pixadores strive to gain recognition from. The pixadores are outsiders within Sao Paulo. Their unique visual langauge makes them visible to others in the city.The pixadores are not speaking to Sao Paulo, they are speaking to each other, but their angst is clear. They are making visible that which no one wants to see. The circumstances (drugs, poverty, boredom) that lead guys to pixacao are made visible by the aggressive letterforms found all over the city, there is not one street that does not have pixacao on it. Like NY in the 1970s, Sao Paulo has been bombed! The pixadores have successfully changed the visual environment of their city. It is estimated that there are at least five thousand active pixadores in Sao Paulo. Pixacao is also very dangerous, guys fall of off roofs to their deaths on a monthly basis. So these pixadores are risking their lives to make themselves heard! They protest against the clean, safe white lives enjoyed by the bourgeoisie. In Sao Paulo there is a large gap between the wealthy and impoverished. The wealthy spends large amounts of money to live in clean safe buildings, but pixadores sometime enter these buildings and appropriate the space as their own with spray paint. Pixadores don't steal from these buildings, but they create an environment that questions the idea of beauty and safety for the wealthy. The wealthy cannot hide from the truth of Sao Paulo, the pixadores throw it right in their faces...

The pixacao of Sao Paulo is graffiti in its finest form. It changes the visual environment in a city of 20 million people, and it makes people question the world in which they live. Pixacao is an aggressive form of graffiti with writers risking death to make their mark on the city...a mark that is complex, sophisticated and admired by other artists. Pixacao in Sao Paulo is something to pay attention to as it evolves and is copied in other cities and countries...Think something similar to pixacao will ever make it to Edmonton?

Graffiti, Posters and Billboards

Cities like Edmonton and Toronto want to have a clean sanitary city in order to attract business, investors, and tourists. They do not want to reflect the messy reality of their cities; they want a clean polished image. A city with graffiti and posters is a place that is lived in, interacted with, used, and painted on as opposed to a sterile clean city. Toronto wants to limit the use of public posters, but these can inform locals and tourists of what to do in the city. It is a battle between local knowledge and consumer culture. Graffiti and posters are being discouraged, yet Toronto allows companies to buy advertising in and even rename public spaces. Do we want public spaces to lost in a sea of advertising? I would rather look at the worst graffiti in a public space than to be bombarded by billboards...BUY BUY BUY! Posters and graffiti are useful in disseminating local knowledge, while a billboards only purpose is to inform people about their products. Billboards are visual pollution just as much or more than graffiti or posters! Who gets to mark public spaces? Should it be the public or corporations? I say save public spaces for the public!!!

City of Toronto + Graffiti

The city of Toronto talks about “wiping out” graffiti on its website, but they also offer an alternative for local graffiti artists. Erase graffiti and create murals! The Graffiti Transformation Program in Toronto is a way for the city to solve several problems at once. Unemployed youth are given the job of removing graffiti and replacing it with colourful murals. Neighborhoods are improved with beautiful art! Would Edmonton benefit from a program like this? As I traveled through Edmonton searching for graffiti I saw a lot of bad cover-ups. Edmonton’s policy creates a patchwork of mismatched paint makes the graffiti problem more obvious. The City of Edmonton becomes like a bad graffiti artist itself! Toronto seems to understand that eradication alone cannot solve the graffiti problem…

Edmonton's Mural Program???

Edmonton has a mural program called “Giants of Edmonton”. A professional art studio creates these works, unlike The City of Toronto, who commission unemployed youth to paint murals. Edmonton’s murals are very institutionalized; so far the murals created are related to sports, volunteers and the military. The organizations involved even get to put their logos on the works. That is not public art, it is ADVERTISING! It seems like the City of Edmonton just wants to please local businesses by giving them an opportunity to advertise using public money! The program is supposed to deter graffiti by creating public murals, but the “Giants of Edmonton” does not give the graffiti artist any input. The mural program is completely removed from the graffiti scene in Edmonton. Shouldn’t a mural program that wants to deter graffiti involve the local graffiti artists that are looking for a legal outlet to beautify the city? The current murals look like something that would be hanging in a nursing home, complete with script font! Graffiti is a grassroots/underground movement. The “Giants of Edmonton” is the complete opposite of that. The city decides what to put up, not the local graffiti artist, or even local people (well, except for listeners of 630 CHED). I hope Edmonton will realize that a mural program that is far removed from the local graffiti scene will probably not be able to deter graffiti…

Edmonton Arts Council + Graffiti

The Edmonton Arts Council offers an alternative to the strict "graffiti is vandalism" stance of Edmonton politicians. The Arts Council understands the contribution that graffiti can make to the public art of Edmonton. Graffiti Zones Program wants to increase the number of legal graffiti sites in Edmonton. Their goal is not to eliminate graffiti, but to bring quality graffiti to the attention of the masses. Helping the public better understand graffiti could change the notion that all graffiti is vandalism. The council wants to encourage artists, and give them an environment where they can legally and freely express their ideas, not matter what they are...ruffle some feathers!

What is Public Space?

Here is a quick definition to help you understand public space...Public space is the ideal place for graffiti...

This is Vandalism

When talking about graffiti, there are examples where it is obviously vandalism! Acts like this makes it more difficult for many people to understand how graffiti can be an important and beautiful form of public art!

Graffiti Glossary

This will help you with graffiti lingo...

Edmonton's Solution

This is a photo I took in a Jasper Avenue back alley. This is Edmonton's Graffiti Management Program at work. Is this how we want Edmonton to look?

An Opinion Expressed with Graffiti...

Do you agree?