Originally posted by SCGushue DV,
I appreciate the art but was wondering what the legal aspects of this activity is. Here in the states it is illegal (yeah, right!
) and artist's caught are dealt with in one way or another.
How do the authorities and community view these activities?
Stephen
Well its certainly a touchy subject as far as the media influenced public goes. Street art or graffiti as it is more commonly referred to, is considered to be the defacement of public or private property. The local people from the outer suburbs of Melbourne stereotype the notion that it is anti-social behaviour and leads to bigger problems, like stealing, loitering and anything else that is illegal in this day and age,, to me,making the unsightly and already un-maintained side street walls into works of art is something positive. If someone feels the need to vent their feelings and thoughts through a paint can, then I say let them… the problem with this is simple.. its knowing where to draw the line.. whats classed as an improvement on something and whats considered a defacement of something. Everyone has their own opinion on street art, and my opinion is this….. graffing illegally on walls is a crime, plain and simple. When I was younger I used to do it a lot, without giving a single thought toward the repercussions , and I was arrested a few times because of it. I can look back now and realize how selfish, offensive and self absorbed I was, and I have learnt from it,. These days I paint on ‘council walls’. These are dedicated walls which the council fund for people who feel the need to paint. But in a controlled environment. Its almost like a workshop. We teach people how to paint and we teach them different techniques and styles. Naturally, ‘tagging’ is done by a lot of kids who spend a lot of their time out on the street . scribbling random crap on walls and basically being pests. Theres no art or skill in random tags in my opinion, - all it demonstrates is a lack of creativity and the desire to rebel against society and the government. What we try to do is to show these kids that there is a vent for their frustrations,… its just knowing when and where to do it..and doing it on random walls and private property, is certainly not the place to do it..
if the local councils and the community step up a level and recognize this, then mayb their wudnt be as much anti-social behaviour going on in our streets,.. graffiti is only a small percentage of the bigger problem, however it is still a problem to address ,none the less.
End of the day.. most people cant appreciate the work involved in street art,, and most people who slap up the art, don’t appreciate being labeled as a criminal. the police share a 0 tolerance in regards to getting caught in the act and more often than not you will be held under arrest. thats the way it should be might i add!
The outcome isn’t going to change, and street art will always be here. The day that the government stops wasting money on shitty ‘art sculptures’ worth tens of thousands of dollars, is the day that we will stop turning un-maintained,grotesque,sleezy alleyways into works of art,.. and we all know that is never going to happen…
Last edited by distorted_vision; 05-07-2008 at 08:27 PM.