Generally I enjoy it, but there’s a lot of situations where I wish there was some sort of middleground between 
and 
Traincabs with windows covered make people feel so much more unsafe, since outside onlookers can’t see if something is happening inside.
I get sad when I see historical buildings with a bunch of tags on them. You might think that’s silly - I would imagine some do, since I’m personally cool with newer “uglier” buldings getting tagged. So if you feel like that about all buildings and can’t relate, try to take it to extreme examples: The pyramids with tags on them, terra-cotta soldiers with tags on them, cave paintings, nature reserves, animals… All of these have been tagged. If you find those apprehensive, then start from there and go as close to “pretty and old building” as you can get until you find it acceptable again. Hopefully you get where I’m coming from then.
I know graffiti and tagging is ancient - there’s 1000-year old tags in pompei (and on pyramids) but I think that’s a reductive argument. Our notion of history, culture, preservation and so on has changed a lot since the time of widespread slavery. Had the roman empire existed today, then I’d also be mad about a legionairy tagging the walls of Versailles.
On the other hand Brechts old theatre in Berlin, which used to be some big old royal theatre, has massive red X’s painted over the coat of arms that decorate the stage, and that’s cool as fuck. So it’s not something that can easily be categorized one way or the other.
But otherwise I love it. I love seeing the signs of an underground anti-authority art movement in the world around me. I love seeing the art. I love seeing how it develops. I love seeing advertisements covered. I love it when it’s pretty, I love it when it’s juvenile, I love it when it’s insightful, I love it when it’s political and I love it when it’s crude.
I wish there was some solution. I’d love to hear other peoples thoughts.
Just tagging to me is stupid selfish egotism.
If you’re going to take the risk why not scrawl a subversive message?
Graffiti is an amazing tool for public conversation, a forum for grievances. I’d love to see more of it and get a jolt of joy when there’s good radical stuff in highly trafficked areas. Lets us know we’re many and not crazy.
We’re barraged by predatory advertising to such a depressingly saturated degree almost everywhere we look (unless you train yourself to avert your eyes, which is a good thing to practice and learn). Defacing ads is highly noble too.
Suggestion: carry a Magnum Sharpie with you everywhere so you can at least scrawl short subversive messages.
Grafitti is art and can therefore be critiqued as art, and if all you have to say is your name over and over again you are not a very interesting artist.
If you’re laboring under the assumption that taggers tag for the art, you’ve missed the point entirely.
“I didn’t mean to make good art” does not change that it is art, and that the art is boring.
Tagging can be done for a variety of purposes, and oftentimes the point is more about where than what, but 90% of the time I see tags they’re on an easily accessible wall and there’s just tags and I think it’s fair in my ideologically imposed impotence (As I am ideologically in favor of their right to tag) to point out that that’s boring.
It’s not “I didn’t mean to make good art”
It’s “I don’t intend to make art”
Which also does not change that it is art
i think i could get around to writing your name somewhere isn’t art by default. some people have artistic signatures but when we sign a card at the office for someone who’s having surgery that’s mostly not art. or entirely not art if you’re accountants.
This is literally the point. As a general rule, bombers and taggers are out for fame. Piecers, not so much.
Here’s a couple tracks about graffiti from some leftist rappers
Out For Fame by KRS One
Nocturnal Terrorist Squad by Semi.Official
I found YouTube links in your comment. Here are links to the same videos on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Link 1:
Link 2:
It’s just Big Character Posters, poorly done.