Something I came across a few days ago:
Source: http://motorcitymuckraker.com/blog/2014/07/02/3-grosse-pointe-teens-busted-for-spray-painting-downtown-detroit-building/
First off, I’d like to say that Motor City Muckraker is an awesome Detroit news source because it isn’t afraid to push the envelope and be racy. They don’t pretend to act unbiased because everyone is a target in these investigative journalists’ eyes.
Recently, they’ve identified an interesting community issue that we usually don’t question when it comes to urban areas: graffiti.
While it is usually associated with urban youth, rebellion, abandoned buildings, and blight by most adults, a lot of youth consider it “cool” or “bad-ass”. It covers old abandoned buildings, walls, signs and even bathroom stalls. Somehow, we don’t really have a problem with defacing someone else’s or public property. Now you can barely even pass a picture in a textbook without noticing a mustache sketched on someone’s face.
On one hand I agree with the contemporary notion that graffiti can totally be considered an art form. We’ve all seen beautiful murals, sketches or words painted around town and how can we forget the works of underground graffiti artist Banksy? It can also totally be a way for urban residents to express to the authority or larger communities an issue or idea they want to spread. It can be a way for people to get their voice heard. When I see phrases graffitied on walls or signs like “white oppression” or “united we stand” or “corporate fascism” or even just simply “Detroit City”, I feel like it expresses some type of community thought–someone trying to, as they say, “stick it to the man”. I respect that.
But unfortunately and predictably, everything has its limits and everything can be abused inappropriately or overused, losing its meaning and purpose. When there’s an abandoned building or an empty unused wall, some actual creative and skillful graffiti could add some color, some liveliness and some unique character. Emphasis on skillful. I’ve always so surprised and amazed when I see graffiti that you can tell the person who did it was an actual artist or at least had an image and took his time to perfect his work. I actually came across a couple of tattoo artists from New York who were leaving this awesome at least 7 foot tag in that alleyway on Liberty St. in Ann Arbor and helped out a little.
On the other hand, when there’s stupid graffiti that is obviously very lazily, unskillfully and crudely done, I get irritated. Yes, I admit I’m a snob about my graffiti. But even worse than terribly done graffiti is terribly done graffiti on something that shouldn’t have graffiti on it. In my mind when I think of graffiti I think of it as a artistic craft. I don’t really think about or even realize that graffiti encompasses ALL types of vandalism and public defacement–including a stupid black line spray-painted on a ‘STOP’ sign or the word ‘pig’ scratched onto a desk or electrical generator. To me thats just plain disrespectful. The worst? When theres a word painted onto an otherwise clean/beautiful building or graffiti on a traffic sign. Today as I was driving on Vernor Highway in Southwest Detroit I saw a traffic sign that said to “prepare to st————” (the rest of the sign was covered in black writing. It was only after I crossed the sign under the overpass bridge that I realized that there was a red light hiding behind the overpass. Screeching to a halt halfway through this random intersection that actually came out of nowhere I realized that the sign was telling me to prepare to stop for the hidden intersection. Now, come on. This stupid graffiti almost cost me my life, some $$ or worst of all: a traffic violation.
This article on the difference between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” graffiti and the inappropriate tagging across Detroit highlights these same problems I have with graffiti. The beautiful and creative graffiti on a building facade is drowned out by silly and annoying graffiti of others. On a beautiful mural outside my office in Ferndale depicting a busy street with diverse people and scenery, someone had the audacity to write “Sick” in disgusting yellow spray paint faintly in the corner. Now was that really necessary?
I feel like nowadays people are just spray-painting just for the sake of spray-painting. This article talks about the recent discovery and arrest of 3 youth tagging an occupied building owned by Dan Gilbert with words such as “fuck” and “slut”. Now there’s two ridiculous and crazy things about this situation.
- Dan Gilbert sent an email to all of his staff at Quicken Loans with security camera images of the three teens. He promised to help any employee with some home improvement if they could help identify the vandals.
- The vandals were identified as three white suburban teenagers from Grosse Pointe.
I want to first say “Ha!” to everyone who assumes that colored inner city youth are always to blame. Also, whoa Dan Gilbert. You really know how much power and money you have and congrats on taking full advantage of that. Oh and bored suburban kids just trying to feel “bad-ass”? I SO feel that. Lol
This is just so entertaining. Come on girls, couldn’t you have at least tried? Also, Grosse Pointe? One of the wealthiest communities in the Midwest? Nice.
I imagine all inner city urban graffiti artists around the world shaking their heads and doubled over laughing at all of us naive and sheltered edgy, urban, hipster wanna-be’s.
