Graffiti can be used to make a social or political statement, a simple image, or even useless scribbling. The form of graffiti known as “ tagging” is a way for graffiti artists to literally leave their mark, by having a symbol or word that represents them. The purpose of these tags is somewhat controversial, however according to Gross 1997 “the tags used by contemporary graffiti writers distinguish signatures that identify the individuals who write them.”

The curiosity behind these tags is that many of them make it very difficult for the general public to read and understand. According to Gross 1993, “The words both reveal and conceal their identity. They reveal themselves to the insider or initiated but conceal themselves from the uninitiated.” In this case, the insider usually includes other graffiti artists in that geographical area or in some instances gang related groups. It is clear that the purpose of these tags is much different from graffiti art that is meant to display messages or argue viewpoints, in that it does not make the effort to be legible to the majority of the audience. Individual tag graffiti, as seen in the photograph, seems to serve no meaningful  function other than the defacing of public property. It seems that in some cases, such as the one on the dumpster, it starts as one person leaving their mark, followed by others mimicking the action. In my opinion, this sort of mindless tagging of public property has no place on our streets.

By Andrew Ledger

References

Gross, D. Daniel., Barbara Walkosz and Timothy D. Gross. 1997. ” Language Boundaries and Discourse Stability: “Tagging as a Form of Graffiti Spanning International Borders.” Et Cettera. 275-285. 

Gross, D. Daniel, and Timothy D. Gross. 1993. ” Tagging: Changing Visual Patterns and the Rhetorical Implications of a New Form of Graffiti.” Et Cettera. 251-264.

If the above is used as advertising, is it truly graffiti? This tag, found next to the Buchanan Tower sign at UBC, asks such a question. Advertising inherently links a product to a creator, while graffiti is characterized by anonymity and resistance to authority. As such, they seem like veritable opposites. However, the intent of both can coincide, such as with this piece, as seen in the chosen text and placement.

Discorder is the magazine for the UBC Student Radio Society, named after a portmanteau of disorder and recorder, which reflects the magazine’s independence and focus on music dissemination. Tags traditionally emphasize the writer’s identity as a way of demanding power and attention (Carrington 2009: 417), but this tag advertises the radio station and society. Does its lack of true anonymity negate its status as graffiti? I argue that it does not. The group might be officially associated with UBC, but the university certainly would not have wanted them to graffiti Buchanan Tower. This tag is small enough to slip under the radar of UBC’s cleaning crews, but is still evokes lawlessness and disorder in form and text on a building that is famously industrial-looking. Also, tags of gang names are similarly advertise a local group. As such, its placement sub-textually advertises this magazine as opposing the mainstream, even of the UBC system itself. Discorder benefits from this aura, without experiencing stigmatization, due to the technically-if-not-practically anonymous tag itself.

References

Carrington, Victoria
2009 I write, therefore I am: texts in the city. Visual Communication 8(4):409-425.

Dickinson, Maggie
2008 The Making of Space, Race, and Place : New York City’s War on Graffiti, 1970 — the Present. Critique of Anthropology 28(1):27-45.

Rafferty, Pat
1991 Discourse on Difference: Street Art/ Graffiti Youth. Visual Anthropology Review 7(2):77-84.

The practice of painting graffiti on freight trains as a medium to send images away from their points of production into a system of wider circulation has become widespread within graffiti practice (Ferrell 1998). Graffiti, when engulfing whole buildings or a part of a wall, has the ability to become a marketing tool for artists to promote themselves via the streets either openly or anonymously (Rafferty 1991); however, tags and images on freight trains provides a different avenue where artists are able to promote themselves across wide geographical and cultural areas.

This form has significant value to the artists and their work. An advantage to posting on freight trains comes with the ability to expand one’s art spatial. It appears that the trains work as a conveyer belt for the promotion of artists, their work and cultural meaning. The circulation reflects the liminal space for the graffiti; a transitional phase before reaching potential viewers. The wider circulation of art may also broaden the graffiti community due to how quickly it spreads geographically acting as a communications network. As Ferrell (1998) notes, freight work allows graffiti writers to communicate with one another and with their audience by sending images and identities into areas outside of their immediate reach. It is not to say that mobile art via trains is more valuable than stable art. Each form of art has its own added value for artists and viewers. Train art allows a broad network for communication and expression of ideas and culture due to art being sent into wider circulation.

Sources:
Ferrell, Jeff
1998  Freight Train Graffiti: Subculture, Crime, Dislocation. Justice quarterly 15(4):587-608.

Rafferty, Pat
1991  Discourse on Difference: Street Art/Graffiti Youth. Visual Anthropology Review 7(2):77-84.

By Kayla Morley

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. This saying still holds true now, especially in the context of graffiti. As is the case with all traditional artists, graffiti artists too thrive for a sense of permanence in their work – to have their art remembered through time. Graffiti in public spaces are generally considered a form of vandalism, so many of these artworks are cleaned up by the community in an attempt to suppress the voices of the artists. Since they are mostly used as a medium to present political and social beliefs that deviate from the perceived norm, Graffiti lack mainstream acceptance. Thus, under the social pressures that constantly act against them, the graffiti artists have a much harder time achieving a sense of permanence in their work, especially when compared to more traditional art forms.

Despite the social stigmatization, graffiti artists nevertheless continue their efforts to thrive for permanence in their artwork. Even through vandalistic graffiti, the actions of most of these artists are driven by their desire to leave a permanent mark in the world, which becomes a part of their identity (Pani and Sagliaschi 2009: 1035). This prospect of permanence is central to graffiti. As such, when a particular graffiti remains visible over long periods of time, despite all the opposing social forces that seek to eliminate its existence, it further strengthens the impact of the artwork – thereby making it more permanent.

In a sense, what doesn’t kill you does indeed only make you stronger!

By (Tony) Meng Zhai

Pani, R., and S. Sagliaschi                                                                                              2009     Psychopathology of excitatory and compulsive aspects of vandalistic graffiti. Psychological Reports 105(3):1027-1038.

Graffiti on Granville by Kimi Yoshino

Graffiti or ‘street art’ has come a long way from being marginalized as the ‘graffiti problem’ in the ‘70s – ‘80s, to recently, where it has been elevated to the status of ‘normalized art.’ Behind this phenomenon is the ascension of corporate power/culture and restructuring of networks in the public and private sectors. Street art has been gaining momentum as it is seen by the mainstream media as the manifestation of the ‘creative class,’ expressing their identity in juxtaposition to their environment (whether this be in regards to capitalism or anti-immigration policies) in the form of sanctioned art. In regards to this specific piece that I discovered on my way to Granville Island in Vancouver, because it resembles First Nations’ artwork its significance may lie in the issues of regaining the sense of ‘belonging’ in the contested areas of Vancouver. As described by Banet-Weiser, graffiti often reflects “subcultural energy and artistry” (Banet-Weiser 2011), celebrating the urban cities’ grit and character. Its value lies between the real, material world (to the residents and workers), and an “abstract space for capital investment” (ibid). Artists operate between these binaries, as this art becomes a way for them to craft individual identity by gaining self-agency and distinguishing himself/herself from the collective, to establish entrepreneurialism. This, in turn, contributes to the tourist revenues and the city’s reputation. As this graffiti was situated at the entrance of Granville Island (a hot tourist destination), this could relate to the corporate elites’ attempt to converge the economic with the cultural sphere, creating a new discourse –a trend- that paves way for more innovative concepts to discuss what it means to be ‘creative,’ or even ‘authentic’ today.

References:

• Banet-Weiser, S. (2011). CONVERGENCE ON THE STREET. Cultural Studies, 25(4/5), 641-658
• Kramer, R. (2010). Moral Panics and Urban Growth Machines: Official Reactions to Graffiti in New York City, 1990–2005. Qualitative Sociology, 33(3), 297-311.
• Taylor, M. (2012). Addicted to the Risk, Recognition and Respect that the Graffiti Lifestyle Provides: Towards an Understanding of the Reasons for Graffiti Engagement. International Journal Of Mental Health & Addiction, 10(1), 54-68.

 This photograph of “latrinalia” (Cole 1991:403) was taken in a women’s washroom stall in Buchanan. The privacy that this location provides has contributed to the formation of a community who, although strangers, communicate via the stall door. The privacy of the stall allows for an increased anonymity, and due to the gender-specific location, women are “able to share interests and experiences they may not generally share with men” (Cole 1991:403). Entitled the “SEX DOOR,” this particular graffiti contains a frank commentary about sex that might be considered inappropriate if verbalized. One comment reads, “Nothing wrong with anal.” Another asks, “Does sex actually feel good? Because fingering doesn’t feel like anything. Is that normal?”
The responses form the community. Some people offer contrary opinions: one person suggests that people who engage in anal sex are “confused about where it should go.” Others answer queries and provide support. Responding to the question above, someone writes, “It’s normal for fingering not to feel like regular sex. It’s a finger, not a penis/strap-on/fist/whatever you’re into. Sometimes fingering is better than sex, sometimes it isn’t. It depends on you. :)” Another suggests, “Try to get him/her to do stuff w/your clit.” Cole likens similar communities to consciousness-raising groups, whose primary purpose is to allow women to discuss issues that affect their gender (Cole 1991:403). Ultimately, the anonymity offered by the location and the informal nature of graffiti allow women to express themselves to one another more freely than would be expected in a face-to-face situation.

Cole, Caroline M.
1991  ‘Oh wise women of the stalls . . .’ Discourse & Society 2(4):401-411.

These two pictures were taken underneath the Granville Bridge on 4^th and Anderson Ave. The first one can be classified as typical graffiti, whereas the second one could be viewed as something more respected and classified under art. The second one is also sponsored by the Bill Reid art gallery, leading us to think that it has a more prestigious background. Both are part of a Vancouver community program trying to eliminate unwanted graffiti showing up in Vancouver neighborhoods. It is thought that having legal art displayed on public walls, otherwise known as ‘murals’, deters graffiti artists from tagging or spray painting on top of the mural. “Once art goes up on a wall it’s generally respected by the community. It’s just kind of a street level law where you don’t tag art.” (Darren Trach, Vancouver Mural Competition Video) It is interesting that Vancouver has found this way of helping the artists showcase their talents, while dealing with the graffiti problem in the city. However, with this program there are conditions and limitations. The city states which walls around town can be painted on and what the art can depict. Art featuring logos, advertising, or religious and political statements is not allowed. So although this program aims to address issues with graffiti artists and the architecture of the city, it seems that what is considered ‘art’ is still being classified and defined by the government.

By Jennika Efford

GVTV.ca
N.D. Graffiti Mural Competition. City of Vancouver. http://vancouver.ca/Greaterdot/video/05-GraffitiMuralComp.wmv/, accessed on February 6, 2012.

I love the temporality and changing accessibility of this location. In order to write here, you would have to time your arrival at low tide, and it is only visible either from the beach at low tide or out on the water. The only way to view it from above, and therefore from the million dollar Kitsilano homes under which the pieces appear, would be to exit your backyard, perch on the foot-wide seawall and look straight down. This is not somewhere that you pass by each day on your way to school or work, this is a place that you have to seek out.

“Pasoe” tags are very common in Kits and Point Grey. As is often the case with any distinct and replicated graffiti art, once I was shown a “Pasoe” tag I began to see them everywhere. I’m fascinated by the idea of how well known an artist can be in an area or neighborhood (notorious) without necessarily being known as a person (anonymous). Halsey and Young talk about the act of writing graffiti as a way of connecting “self” to the “world”, and about the impact of recognition within the graffiti community as impetus to continue participating (Halsey and Young 2006:278). While “world” in this context can, and does, refer to shared public space, it can also be interpreted as the graffiti writing community. Within that world, the simultaneous existence of notoriety and anonymity contributes significantly to the uniqueness of graffiti art and its systems of recognition, reoccurrence and replication.

By Sj Kerr-Lapsley

Halsey, M and A. Young.
2006   ‘Our desires are ungovernable’: Writing graffiti in urban space. Theoretical     Criminology 10(3):275-306