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NY graffiti underworld writes its future
2009-09-07
NEW YORK (AFP) - Artists usually crave light. Robert, 25, chose the dead of night. "It's safer that way," he said. Muzi.com News 10093123-1 (muzi.com) Working on a rough Brooklyn street, he had only 10 minutes to paint before he fled, mistaking an approaching car for the police. Muzi.com News 10093123-2 (muzi.com) Left behind him on a brick wall: two large, dainty seahorses. Muzi.com News 10093123-3 (muzi.com) "I think it's actually rather beautiful," Robert said. Muzi.com News 10093123-4 (muzi.com) Despite efforts by New York's gentrifying mayor, Michael Bloomberg, graffiti has not only survived, but is reinventing itself in the city that created the modern urban phenomenon. Muzi.com News 10093123-5 (muzi.com) The 1970s, 1980s era of subway trains flooded in spray paint may be over. Muzi.com News 10093123-6 (muzi.com) Yet tags, as signatures are known, and paintings still cover bridges, rail platforms and storefronts. Graffiti chic is even making forays into the swanky Manhattan art scene. Muzi.com News 10093123-7 (muzi.com) Bloomberg, who stakes his reputation on preventing the city from returning to its grimy past, has declared war on the vandals. Muzi.com News 10093123-8 (muzi.com) Every day, a task force equipped with 27 power-hose trucks attempts to force back the tide of aerosol paint. Muzi.com News 10093123-9 (muzi.com) Last year they cleared 8,496 pieces of graffiti, up from 5,990 the year before, a City Hall official said, asking not to be named. This year, the teams are on track to clear 8,500 items. Muzi.com News 10093123-10 (muzi.com) The law requires property owners either to clean graffiti themselves, call the city to clean it, or declare they want the painting to remain. Now, new legislation is planned to shorten the time between graffiti appearing and the power hoses being deployed. Muzi.com News 10093123-11 (muzi.com) "We are very aggressive," the official said. Muzi.com News 10093123-12 (muzi.com) Yet the city is fighting an uphill battle. Even determining the extent of the problem is difficult, since graffiti pops up overnight. Muzi.com News 10093123-13 (muzi.com) "We just keep trying our best," the official said. "No matter what the economy we're not letting the city go back to the '70s." Muzi.com News 10093123-14 (muzi.com) Eric Felisbret, a veteran graffiti artist and historian, said the practice is too vibrant to wash away. Muzi.com News 10093123-15 (muzi.com) "Graffiti's been around since the start of man. Soon as we could scratch on something we did," he said. Muzi.com News 10093123-16 (muzi.com) Felisbret, author of a book called "graffiti NEW YORK" due out this year, reckons there's as much graffiti as ever, only spread across the city, instead of being concentrated on trains as it was 20 years ago. Muzi.com News 10093123-17 (muzi.com) "When they cleaned up the trains, they didn't eliminate graffiti writers, but dispersed them," he said. Muzi.com News 10093123-18 (muzi.com) And in a globalized society, New York has even become a magnet for ambitious taggers from cities as far away as Berlin and Sao Paolo. Muzi.com News 10093123-19 (muzi.com) "Many make pilgrimages," Felisbret, 46, said. "New York is very valuable for a writer's resume." Muzi.com News 10093123-20 (muzi.com) New York officials consider graffiti a menace that lowers house prices and deters business. At best, many residents would agree, graffiti is a mess. Muzi.com News 10093123-21 (muzi.com) But behind that swirling, aerosol calligraphy hides an entire subculture. Muzi.com News 10093123-22 (muzi.com) Graffiti has its own laws, cliques and heroes -- enigmatic figures like the late Iz the Whiz in New York, long elusive JA, or Britain's globe-trotting, incognito Banksy. Muzi.com News 10093123-23 (muzi.com) There is a separate language. Muzi.com News 10093123-24 (muzi.com) "Tags" are scrawled signatures that take a couple seconds to execute. "Throw-ups" are more complex, using colored bubble letters and needing two to three minutes. Muzi.com News 10093123-25 (muzi.com) Then there are "pieces," shorthand for masterpieces, which are full blown murals and require hours to complete. Muzi.com News 10093123-26 (muzi.com) Some writers are only interested in "bombing," which means putting up as many tags as possible. Others have an artistic bent. "They might have been oil painters or sculptors," Felisbret said. Muzi.com News 10093123-27 (muzi.com) The greatest respect is traditionally earned by those spraying trains, subway tunnels, high bridges or walls -- anywhere involving physical danger. Muzi.com News 10093123-28 (muzi.com) But the motive is always the same. "People do it for recognition, to become famous," Felisbret said. Muzi.com News 10093123-29 (muzi.com) Penalties are often light. Graffiti is mostly classed as a misdemeanor, punishable by fines of maximum 1,000 dollars or a year in jail. Possibly both. Muzi.com News 10093123-30 (muzi.com) And even serious felony charges aren't always considered the end of the world: hardened taggers adore the notoriety. Muzi.com News 10093123-31 (muzi.com) -- Kinder, gentler graffiti -- Meanwhile, the same economic forces transforming crime-ridden, artistic hothouses like Chelsea into millionaire's retreats are creeping into the world of graffiti. Muzi.com News 10093123-32 (muzi.com) When Dash Snow, a hell-raising artist, died from a drug overdose this July, his memorial took place not at some fetid squat, but at Deitch Projects, a cutting edge gallery in SoHo. Muzi.com News 10093123-33 (muzi.com) Snow's tag, a curly, multi-colored "SACER," was painted by one of the late artist's friends over the entire front of the building. But that was just part of the show, not vandalism. Muzi.com News 10093123-34 (muzi.com) Don Pablo Pedro, a gangly artist with colored finger nails and the sides of his head shaved, said the memorial demonstrated how borders are blurring. Muzi.com News 10093123-35 (muzi.com) "Graffiti's getting capitalized," he said, recounting how he'd just done a big mural -- with the building owner's authorization -- to promote his upcoming art exhibition. Muzi.com News 10093123-36 (muzi.com) Others who started on the streets have gone on to lucrative collaboration with clothes designers, video game makers, and even big corporate advertising campaigns. Muzi.com News 10093123-37 (muzi.com) Hardcore writers mistrust the commercialization and the growing practice of seeking permission to paint. Muzi.com News 10093123-38 (muzi.com) "You would have absolutely no respect," Felisbret said. "You would be considered a toy, even if you were very talented at your craft." Muzi.com News 10093123-39 (muzi.com)
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