Doorway on Drake

Tagging is probably the simplest form of graffiti, it takes, maybe, a second and a half to draw and can be done discretely. What is the reason for tagging though? According to Emma Russell (2008) the functions are as follows…

• A voice against oppression
• Gang related activity
• Being a part of hip hop culture

Generally I agree with this assessment of tagging, but as we will see it fails to convey the entirety of tagging. Here is where we come to my picture, you would think that this was taken somewhere a bit seedier than Yaletown. The neighborhood known for upscale restaurants, salons, and dog jackets is not a place that has a particularly high amount of gang activity, nor are yuppies particularly oppressed. So that leaves one conceivable function, which would be identification with the hip hop culture. Still though, does this really account for the entire remainder of tagging, I think not. What is at work here is the idea of personal identification, usually associated marking territory in some form, be that physical, ideological, or mental space. This is not the marking of ‘turf’ by gangs, but perhaps a more benign feeling of making a personal mark on your neighborhood or the feeling of doing something illegal. Regardless, tagging has become larger than its once simple associations, it has jumped into cultures with little or no association to the original and proliferated.

~ Thomas

Source:

Russell, Emma

2008 Writing on the Wall: The form, function and meaning of tagging. Journal of Occupational Science. Vol. 15(2): 87-97