Street Art Laws Varying Case to Case #nojustice
My passion for urban communities and street art very often leads to my questioning laws relating to public art. The lines are often incredibly blurry between ‘vandalism’, ‘graffiti’, and ‘street art’. For example, I have witnessed legal ‘street art’ with permissions considered ‘vandalism’ be white washed by neighboring property owners. Who is to make the ultimate decision as to what is ‘’art’’ and what is ‘’not art’’? Though I do not expect this topic to be addressed in this course, if time made itself available, I would certainly seize the opportunity to research this in more detail. With long-term goals of sharing and educating youth and society benefits of accessible public art, I must also have a thorough understanding of current laws, city ordinances, popular historical case studies, and evolution of tolerance/intolerance.
Graffiti has been on walls dating back to the Egyptians. It grew into the largest movement of popular culture in the ‘70s and 80s when NYC trains were covered in graffiti both in and out. This was NY writers’ way of telling train authorities that they were not in control. Roles of graffiti are constantly in debate as a value in cultural life, vehicle for the beautification of cities, and or as carriers of political messages and/or propaganda. However, there is much uncertainty in the world of street and public art: what is the difference between, for example, a wheat paste or sticker on the street vs. a painted image or a tag? How is one legal over the other? Who decides what is considered ‘art’ and ‘not art’? Why is advertising legal if promoting unhealthy habits in consumerism but, for example, a message to ‘keep painting’ could potentially score one writer a free trip to jail?
The following is a look at the basic key terms:
STREET ART
Street art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, “in the streets” — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives.
VANDALISM
Deliberately mischievous or malicious destruction or damage of property: vandalism of public buildings
GRAFITTI
An arrangement of institutionally illicit marks in which there has been an attempt to establish some sort of coherent composition: such marks are made by an individual or individuals upon a wall or other surface that is usually visually accessible to the public.
BOMB
Prolific painting or marking with ink. To cover an area with your tag, throw ups, etc.
BOMBING
To go out writing
BUFF
Any means employed by the transit authority to remove graffiti from trains. The more modern usage is when any graffiti is gone over or removed from any surface, not necessarily just from trains.
TO BUFF, BUFFED
To erase, erased.
GETTING UP
Originally, "getting up" meant to successfully hit a train. Now it means to hit up anything, anywhere, with any form of graffiti
MURAL
Huge work, often on a legal wall by an individual, an informal group, or a crew; a mural might depict a single scene, or it might be a series of standalone or loosely connected images or characters.
LEGAL WALL
Property owners and even entire neighborhoods have allowed artists to bomb their houses or buildings. Legal walls have helped bring about the transformation of graffiti into public art.
INSTALLATION
A site-specific work, often 3D or sculptural; temporary or permanent, an installation may combine several techniques
WHEATPASTE
An adhesive made from equal parts flour and water; also the name for a type of street art that relies on it.
Street Laws Vary from Case to Case
Sift through the news headlines and it’s not difficult to locate articles published regarding street art arrests or artists being charged with graffiti when actually they were not creating ‘’graff’’. The laws regarding public places and art vary from city to city. Though ‘’graffiti’ is most often illegal, it is heavily debated with more strict laws coming from larger cities. One who takes it very seriously is the city of Brooklyn, New York. Two years ago, for instance, a female water color artist was detained and charged with ‘graffiti’ when she was painting on purchased materials taped to a temporary construction wall. The artist reported her newly created fear of police and how she was treated maliciously. In contrast, French mosaic installation artist “Space Invader” was arrested in The Lower East Side of NYC after a call by the owner of an art gallery alerted police last fall. Instead of pressing charges, the owner removed the piece and explained that he would not sell it [though the piece could be estimated at a $5,000 value]. Invader reported the entire affair was simply a ‘waste of time’.
Is street art vandalism? Is street art illegal?
These questions are nearly impossible to answer. As demonstrated with the examples, one artist could ‘get away’ with an act while another known could be arrested. It truly is open to interpretation and unjust in many instances. Some street artists have become ‘glorified’ to the point where they are able to paint without permission. Then, consider a small scale artist who could be arrested and tried for the same act but are they not also making public art? Many ‘nondestructive’ forms of graffiti are overlooked [yarn bombing, installation, and video projections]. What makes yard bombing ‘’better’’ than a wheat paste or a stencil? These issues are all areas of law I will eventually explore in greater depth. I would also like to explore the charges and levels of persecution between varying forms of street art as defined above.
Example of Prime Time Legal Locations
Hoiser Lane Melbourne, Australia
Warsaw, Poland
Tesnov, Prague
Paris, France [a number of legal sites]
Taipei, Taiwan
Zurich, Switzerland [encouraged not just legal!]
Sydhaven, Copenhagen, Denmark
Burghausen, Germany
Venice Graffiti Pit in Venice Beach, CA
Wynwood, Miami Beach, Fl
How to locate legal walls – [currently over 1000 listed]
http://www.legal-walls.net/
Additional Reading & Case Studies
50 Biggest Street Art Arrests:
http://www.complex.com/art-design/2012/04/the-50-biggest-street-art-arrests/sla
Watercolor Outdoors Arrest:
http://hyperallergic.com/9301/nypd-watercolor-outdoors/
Space Invader Interview:
http://streetart101.blogspot.com/2013/11/space-invader-arrested-on-orchard.html#.U0Q2lPm-1EM
Is Graffiti Art Study?
http://www.crispinsartwell.com/graff.htm
Sidewalk Democracy:
http://www.buskersadvocates.org/sidewalkdemocracy.htm
Number of Interviews & Laws:
http://www.artcrimes.com/index/talk.html