Graffiti, Art or Vandalism?

[MsMe]

Originally Posted by matt602

and he'll be out there doing it again. and again. and again. and he'll laugh in the face of every officer that arrests him until he turns 18.

By the sounds of it, it will just be a matter of time before he goes onto bigger stuff. Graffiti will get boring after a while. What a waste of a life eh. Sad really.

[IronWarrior]

I actually spoke to the kid that did the graffiti on the club 77 building while I was at Chesters having a few beers last winter...he told me he always asks permission from the owners, and the people who are going around 'tagging' in the city give artists like him a bad name.

[Millstone]

What's the deal with the tags on London Tap House; looks like they were put up when the scaffolding was there?

[Metro-One]

My belief is there is a world of difference between graffiti art and Graffiti vandalism

Graffiti art is done with the property owner's permission and enhances the feel of a community or stops and makes one think. These often consist in the form of murals that depict social life in the surrounding neighborhood.

Graffiti vandalism is done without an owners permission and is a blight. Often it is simply tag scribbles that are plastered upon street furniture, store fronts, garage doors, transit stations, park signs/maps, on top of graffiti art, tree trunks, rocks, etc... and should be treated as a serious problem. It is a sign of no respect for property owners and the local community. It costs transit services, park boards, local governments, property owners and the community at large money and time to clean it up. I think there should be stricter enforcement against graffiti vandalism, but on the flip side more areas designated for graffiti art.

That is how i feel at least!

PS - Sorry to just jump into your thread from no where, but Graffiti vandalism is one of my largest pet peeves and it makes me sad to see it on so many facilities. There is a local park near my house and this summer some punks spray painted all of the maps and local wildlife information signs. It made me so mad that i spent an entire day cleaning it up with my girlfriend. I just could not handle walking through such a beautiful community area and seeing such disrespect. We had to clean it.

[FairHamilton]

^Thanks for jumping in Metro-One. We always appreciate additional input into conversations.

I agree the vandalism portion of graffiti is horrible and becoming increasingly prevalent in Hamilton. In the last 2 weeks, I've noticed a marked uptick in the amount of anti-police graffiti along King and Main Streets in the Wentworth - Sherman stretch.

Personally, if my property was hit by someone like 'Keenur', who's been caught a couple of times, I would be taking civil action (i.e. small claims court) against him to recover the expense of removal of his tag.

Money talks, and BS (unfortunately, apparently like the justice system) walks.......

[Millstone]

Can you believe there's a KEENUR scratched into the mirror in the men's room at the Burlington GO station? wtf

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by Millstone

Can you believe there's a KEENUR scratched into the mirror in the men's room at the Burlington GO station? wtf

I once rode home from Toronto on the GO Train with 'keenur' scratched into the window of the train. It was also scratched into the window of the HSR bus I rode downtown this morning.

IMO, the HSR (and GO Transit) should go after him for the price of replacing the window.

[flar]

Keenur is everywhere, nothing surprises me. I've seen his stuff in Greensville even.

[Metro-One]

I feel when caught this "keenur" guy should be forced to clean up all reported tags from him and cover the expenses, and if he bails on doing so then maybe a little jail time. There has to be consequence to such rampant property damage.

[highwater]

He was caught. I don't know if those are old tags, or if he's out and back to his old tricks.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by highwater

He was caught. I don't know if those are old tags, or if he's out and back to his old tricks.

Most likely old, but he was caught for at least a second time last week. So it continues.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the anti-police graffiti is his doing.

[oldcoote]

Originally Posted by Millstone

Can you believe there's a KEENUR scratched into the mirror in the men's room at the Burlington GO station? wtf

That's where he lives.

[crhayes]

Yeah the consequences really need to be upped. Right now it's almost like it's a slap on the wrist for a misdemeanor, meanwhile this is serious property damage.

[FairHamilton]

More Graffiti Arrests and I saw Graffiti was the topic on Crime Stoppers on the 6pm CH news on Monday night.

December 1 - 9, Police Blotter

Graffiti arrest
Dec. 8 - A forensic officer observes two youths spray painting the bridge support on Victoria Avenue South and Charlton Avenue at 3 p.m. The suspects tried to flee, but one was apprehended. A 15-year-old male is charged with mischief under $5,000.

Graffiti arrest
Dec. 6 - Plain clothes officers watch a lone woman spray painting a bus shelter with neon pink spray at 1 a.m. near Barton Street East at Strathearne Avenue. A 20-year-old female from Hamilton is charged with mischief under $5,000.

[Landon]

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[Millstone]

Originally Posted by Landon

,colors on a wall doesnt atract crime in hamilton,

Sure it does

mabey in Los angeles,but not here

Why?

if the city would make a public legalized place for graffiti artist to do there thing whenever they please,

The surrounding buildings at the 73 Hughson N parking lot did this kind of thing, as well as another on Rebecca

dont you think that would elimineight alot of the illegal graffiti in the city

It hasn't

or if they took some of these abandoned buildings that everyone bitches about,open the doors an tell the graffiti artists to do there work in there,

The City doesn't own these properties

i garenty that the inside of the place would be completly covered with graffiti,

Which they are already

and if u think about it all the graffiti thats in that legalized zone would be on someone eles property if there wasnt a legalized place.

Well, so far these 'legalized zones' are already other people's property anyway

[Landon]

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[matt602]

Can you please use paragraphs and proper sentences? I was going to examine and respond to your last post, but honestly I gave up after the first giant, run-on sentence.

[emge]

can we find more places for true graffiti artists? sure! does the city own a couple properties that might work in? probably.

but most graffiti in this city is not art: it's silly, simple one-colour names or gang tags or other rubbish. and that will NOT stop even if we open up a hundred buildings for graffiti artists.

I know that's not necessarily not what you're talking about, Landon, but the stats are in this thread (or maybe in a city report I was reading, somewhere close): most graffiti in this city is crap, not art.

and when its not cleaned off, people think "hey, that property owner doesn't give a **** about their property or the city, because they're letting it go to crap". It's not the only factor, but an otherwise mediocre-looking property can look downright shifty with a few lousy tags on it, especially when they're expletives, gang stuff, etc.

So who's going to want to open a business if they think people don't care about the surrounding properties or the city, or that the area's full of people whose mindset about the law is "FTP"? That kind of graffiti discourages property owners trying to keep it clean, scares away customers from spending money in the area, and altogether hurts business...

And that encourages illegal activity to happen instead of normal business... because illegal activities thrive in back alleys and decrepit properties where no legitimate business is possible....

Think about it: if someone covered the property next to mine in graffiti, that would send up a signal to the so-called "non-taxable business owners" in my neighbourhood that its probably a good place for them to skulk around and make some deals, wouldn't it?

[Landon]

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