"What if..." Research

1) Graffiti - BBC Inside Out

Graffiti writers may see themselves as artists, but there are many residents in Northampton who would disagree. With £55,000 a year spent on cleaning it up, Inside Out investigates the problem of graffiti.

Subways, underpasses and motorway bridges, to a graffiti writer, it’s a blank canvas, but there’s one man in Northampton who wishes it would stay that way. Bob Newcombe, a Probation Service Officer, along with his team of offenders, works tirelessly in an attempt to rid the town of vandalism. The team works for up to four days a week. In addition Northampton Council spends £55,000 each year cleaning up graffiti. Removing it is far from easy and sometimes even fruitless.

Vandalism or art?

Graffiti is becoming an increasing problem in Northampton. One subway, a particular favourite with graffiti writers, is no sooner cleaned, than covered in graffiti once more. But it doesn’t end with the subways - one man has had his own property vandalised not once, but twice, by the same writers. Vandalism it may be, but to the graffiti writers, it is art. One graffiti writer says;

"Some people are never going to get their art shown in a gallery, so the only way of showing it is on a wall… It is breaking the law, but I wouldn’t always class it as vandalism,"

If some of their work could be viewed in abstract, there would be many inclined to agree that there is a great skill and artistry involved. When viewed on a subway wall, or worse, a private wall - many would also agree - it is nothing but vandalism, no matter how much skill is involved. "I think it’s just sheer vandalism, it disgusts me," says Bob Newcombe.

Solution in sight

So is there a solution? One Northamptonshire policeman, PC Peter Wing, believes there is. The writers use a signature so their work can be recognised by other graffiti writers. This signature is known as a ‘tag’. "You do it for other writers to see… you see other writer’s work, that’s what it’s about," explains one writer.

In Wooton Fields, a new estate on the outskirts of Northampton, tags are becoming a increasing problem, but they may also provide the solution too. If individual writers can identify each other through tags, then so can the police. And their punishment? Bob believes their fine should cover the cost of removal and with expensive chemicals required, that could be pretty hefty!

Could tagging be the solution to catching the culprits? In London, a scheme to identify culprits through their tags has resulted in several arrests. But catching the culprits is not an easy task, particularly when you consider that the police are not just chasing mindless teenage vandal, but fully grown adults who are parents themselves.

So what is the solution? Whether it’s hefty fines, prison sentences or community service cleaning up their own work, one thing is for sure, in Northamptonshire at least, the writing is on the wall for graffiti writers.

Opinions from readers

90% of writers do not care about legal walls. Once a piece is on a permission wall, it ceases to be graffiti. We live in a world where images are forced on us every day by companies advertising, so why complain when you see mine? Most prolific writers don't destroy much private property, and have a couple of do's and dont's. - No writing on churches, houses or cars. Most graffiti is on publicly owned stuff like motorway bridges or walls along train lines, and I doubt a shop's turnover will be affected by a few tags on the wall outside. Writers that destroy private property ie houses and cars, are usually outside the scene, and harder punishments wont deter them.

Unknown

I'm doing gcse art and I think that it is an excellent example of true art. It just needs to be done in the right places with permission from the council or something.

Loo

I used to be an artist, as in canvases and paints. I sold a few paintings but when you're young its impossible to make it so I started to graff - it's much better than the other kinda art and it looks better. Don't go chatting about all this its not art stuff because it really is.

Ks Soldier

Why dont these so called "artists" stick to their own property to show off their "so called talents". One or two may be classed as artistic but what about the majority who just scrawll obscenities all over the place. Why should the taxpayer have to fork out to clear their rubbish. Real fines which reflect the cost of cleaning should be imposed.

Don Taskme

I agree that graffiti in northampton is high, and is too covered in tags every where. However, some of the graffiti artists in northampton are extremely skilled and do is as a passion. Some writers are in their 30's and have kids. Already writers have to resort to finding as many aboandoned warehouses etc in order to get their art done. The council should provide legal walls or legal areas. This might not be the solution to tags but will get rid of big dubs under canals etc.

Andrew Marnewick

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2) Four teenagers arrested over graffiti in Leeds Corn Exchange

Four teenagers – two aged 17 and two 13-year-olds – have been arrested for alleged graffiti attacks on one of Leeds's most historic buildings. A 17-year-old girl was given a final warning for the damage to the walls of Cuthbert Broderick's Corn Exchange and a 13-year-old girl was given an official police reprimand.

But a 17-year-old youth and another 13-year-old girl have been charged with causing criminal damage and will appear before Leeds Youth Court next week. They are prevented from entering the area around the Corn Exchange as part of the conditions of their bail.

The arrests follow increased police focus on the Corn Exchange area after a rise in antisocial behaviour recently. On Tuesday afternoon, staff at premises near the Corn Exchange reported four people spraying and writing graffiti on the walls of the historic building, and four people were arrested.

Chief Inspector Vernon Francis, responsible for policing in Leeds city centre, said: "We're putting in that little extra effort and attention in the area because of the local business community's concerns over antisocial behaviour and issues such as graffiti.

"Arrests like this show that this extra work is paying off and also shows that we take local issues seriously and deal with them as priorities."

(Article here)

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3) Graffiti artist looks to overcome art form’s negative stereotypes



Dusty Gilpin is a graffiti artist who abides by the law. Even so, he doesn’t think that illegal graffiti is a problem. In fact, it’s just the opposite. “Graffiti in its truest form is done illegally,” he said. Still, Gilpin feels that graffiti continues to have a negative reputation, even if it is done legally. Many people see graffiti in rap videos and gang documentaries, and this contributes to this mind-set, he said.

In addition to creating graffiti art, Gilpin, 24, from Oklahoma City, is also a screen printer. He’s the owner of Tree & Leaf Clothing and The Arbor Arts collective, both located on NW Expressway in Oklahoma City. He is passionate about his screen-printing business but that does not keep him away from what he considers the truest artistic expression: graffiti.

Graffiti was not Gilpin’s first trade or art; he started with drawing cartoons and had an interest in sculpture and ceramics during college. His father and grandfather were both graphic designers so his influence of fonts and letter styles has been with him since birth. He also attributes classical graphic design, when it was not “commercial art,” the evolution of graffiti and screen-printing as huge influences.

Gilpin did his first piece of graffiti his sophomore year of high school without knowing any other graffiti artists. He calls his first pieces “terrible.” “Not until three or four years ago did I actually start meeting other graffiti artists,” Gilpin said. “My technique, style and ability have gotten better at an exponential rate since I met other artists and watched people paint.”

Gilpin is paid for his graffiti work sometimes, even though he said, “Commission graffiti isn’t the most enjoyable, but sometimes you’ve got to pay the bills.” He has done graffiti on many church youth rooms, offices, houses, skateboards, hats and shirts and has also done graffiti for backdrops of the Baptist General Convention and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Gilpin feels that graffiti art is becoming more accepted by the general culture. "Like all things, graffiti has acquired positive and negative stereotypes. The negative mind-set will change as soon as the ambiguity is taken out of graffiti. Every time I’ve done a live paint demonstration I’ve been overwhelmed with the positive feedback. When graffiti is not threatening and in a safe location, people are very open to the idea.”

(Article here)