Beautiful Crimes
Street Art: Codes, EthicsIntroduction
It is true the world over that the existing means of visual communication in our cities and townships are nearly completely dominated by corporate and governmental motifs. We are speaking specifically about contextual messaging throughout our urban and suburban fields of sight. The modern landscape of informative imagery within public space has become increasingly difficult to circumnavigate for the discerning citizen. This essay is a moral investigation into the tools & means of visual communications within public space, and also an ethical guideline for readers intending to create their own autonomous communications within the culture at large.
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Look around in your hometown. When you hit the streets begin to read. See the signs, and take them in. What are the prominent messages? Who put them there, and why?
If you are like most people in cities across the globe in the 21st Century, you will have seen two primary things: traffic signs and corporate advertisements. Billboards, signage, marquees, traffic lights, ad-covered buses, glowing gas station logos, golden arches, liquor store, left turn only, Starbucks, this is the aesthetic reality of our urban spaces.
Street artists of today are asking themselves and their communities, "Is this all we have to communicate to each other as human beings?" How depressing would it be if, ultimately, the only messages we had to offer each other as people were laws and sales pitches? And yet, these messages are so prevalent that a person is hard pressed to find any other ideas being expressed with visual symbols throughout our streets. This dilemma is one primary motivation for the modern artist to act in creative resistance to cultural hegemony. (There are other motives as well, as many as there are artists.)
Aerosol pieces (tags, throw-ups and burners), stencil art, posters and wheat-paste, projections of light, pirate radio, billboard liberation, adhesives and name tags, found objects & crazy glue, flags, murals, installations, and any other tool you can think of... these are all means to impress one's own message upon the urban landscape.
But what, if any, are the responsibilities of the artist?
The average cop, and some citizens, would consider all the above mentioned works to be criminal acts. They'd call it vandalism, graffiti, defacement, destruction of property, and other names. But where has the offense really taken place? The people who label public art as crime are the very same ones who would in all likelihood never even think to take offense to a Marlboro billboard standing across the street from a junior high school. They are blind to the actual crime, and have been conditioned to accept the commercial propaganda existing everywhere around them. And yet, the moment they witness a young person's work of self-expression on a wall they feel repelled. This, too, may be the result of a massive conditioning - to ignorantly believe that a piece of spray can art represents the territorial markings of gang warfare.
Yes, our youth has been criminalized as a result of the private prison industrial complex - and now any "defacement" of property costing more than $400 is considered a felony in California and can be punishable in conjunction with the "three strikes" law. Can you imagine a teenager being sent to a hi-security prison for creating a piece of aerosol artwork, or carving her name in a bench? These are the realities of our current police state.
Again, those who believe that individual acts of creative expression are criminally offensive are usually blind to the commercial imagery everywhere around them. Tobacco and alcohol post advertisements practically wall paper most urban neighborhoods, and yet this is not ordinarily viewed as an affront to the community.
The concept of community will be a central theme to this debate. Who has a say as to what types of imagery exist in your neighborhood? Who actually controls the means of communication within your community? Do you believe that Coca-Cola and Camel cigarettes should possess equal say as you do in regards to what occurs in your home? Why do they deserve to monopolize all of the visual space in your city?
Our argument is for and about citizen representation within community space. We do not advocate radical and unbalanced change or extreme measures; this is simply a call for balance. Why, for instance, is there no advertising space reserved for the free use of local non-profit groups? Even 10% would be a tremendous improvement. This is especially true at civic arenas and stadiums where corporate advertisements completely dominate the eye.
Some places, like Marin County, have eliminated post advertising all together. The area is a calmer, more serene environment as a result. We do not feel that print publications and television stations necessarily hold the same responsibility as the keepers of public ad space. After all, a person makes a conscious choice when they open a magazine or turn on the television. They do not similarly choose to expose themselves to commercial propaganda simply by leaving their home.
Currently there are close to zero free or legal locations for non-commercial messaging within public space. If, perhaps, there were a few designated "legal" surfaces for artistic use within a neighborhood, it would instantaneously reduce the illegal defacement of other property in the area. When a society makes even minimal allowances for such natural impulses, it alleviates the greater destructive instinct. This is an obvious fact that many cultures outside the U.S. have long since adapted to.
Permission to do artwork is always preferable. However, in today's civic environment there's so much red-tape and so many hoops to jump through in order to gain access to legal surfaces that it is nearly impossible for the average artist to do so. Until there are more accessible surfaces to utilize it is up to the individual to find their own canvas, however illicit.
This argument is not simply an aesthetic or legal one; it is political, sociological, ideological, and ethical. Consider this; for any significant movement to take hold in the culture at large there needs to be room for open communication and a fair exchange of information. How can any such movement take place in the populace if the means for open communication are totally dominated by commercial interests? Currently there is a veritable corporate lock on public modes of information exchange, practically insuring a stasis in the social and political order.
When contemplating action, other issues of use come into focus. For instance, which activities are currently permissible in civic area, and which are restricted? Commuting and shopping are the generally accepted activities, while gathering, performing, creating, displaying affection, conversing, and "peaceably assembly" are widely discouraged. Such activities are often punishable as loitering, unless you've just purchased a double latte. Even our public parks are highly regulated, where night use is usually restricted.
So, until some measures have been taken to alleviate the visual assault of corporate advertisers gone wild and to create a more cooperative ownership of community space, it has been left to the common villager to "repossess" our landscape. Don't be intimidated. Every change in this country has resulted from masses of people taking matters into their own hands, and conscientiously defying laws that no longer represent the democratic will of the people. This is true for all civil rights issues, labor laws, women's suffrage, the end of slavery, environmental protection - and practically every other measure of progress existing in the hidden turbulence of our national history. Know that it's your responsibility to act!
What follows is a list of ethical considerations that folks may want to contemplate before taking the city into their own hands. It is not a rule book, but only some principals to consider as you begin to make your own creative way. Comments & additions to: ethics@nonchalance.org.
Residential property is generally discouraged as a canvas for artwork, unless it is your own. Peoples homes are sacred and should not be altered without permission. Public property is exactly that, and you should view it as your own. Having said that, there are many considerations as to the choice of placement. Think seriously if you're beautifying or defacing. Is this a location where your piece will be appreciated? Be thoughtful. Gravitate toward "negative urban space". In other words, find an under-utilized surface, such as a freeway underpass in a non-residential neighborhood, or on the wall of a vacant business. Billboards and other post-advertisements are always fair game. They are the mark of the beast and should not be regarded with the same respect as other local property. Do not hesitate to cover corporate advertising. Newspaper vending machines are also fine surfaces. Graffiti and aerosol artwork is cool. Simply tagging your name on everything is not. If you are going to "tag", you'd better make it interesting, both aesthetically and conceptually. And again, be selective in your placement. Obviously trees, rocks, and other natural elements are to be left untarnished. Respect the work of other artists. Do not cover another piece, unless it has already significantly eroded. When producing a "guerrilla event" that may bring a crowd, have respect for the neighborhood and location. Perhaps your event is a planned "intervention", where disturbing the peace is part of the work. That's fine in a commercial or civic area (or in negative urban space). But it isn't right to make tons of noise late at night where there are nearby residents trying to sleep. If you do it right - you will gain the interest and support of your community. As a public artist, this is invaluable. Breaking the law is okay - just have a conscious about your work. If your work is good and finds resonance with an audience, you will begin to gain acceptance and respect as an artist, which are generally rather dubious achievements. There are benefits, however: eventually doors will open for you to create artwork in permitted contexts, ideas may be exchanged as a result of your art, and you will have played a minute role in loosening the social controls that currently restrict the use of public spaces. It will be a slow and tedious process, but such is the path.
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