[Acrylic-bob]

Happily, here in Hyndburn, we appear to have escaped the worst of the Spray Graffiti Craze that has cost taxpayers untold millions to efface. Having lived in London, Paris, and Amsterdam, I have seen at first hand the environmental degradation caused by this form of wilful vandalism. I have also heard and read, at some length, the spurious arguments put forward in support of this abberant activity, by it's PC apologists.

They are, without exception, flawed and many of them are strained to the point of ridicule. The notion that making a mark of whatever kind, in whatever material, on any surface, immediatley qualifies the person making the mark as an "Artist" and the mark itself as "Art" is laughably untrue. The Duchampian paradigm "I am an artist, therefore everything I do is art." was discredited years ago.
The making of Art is a studied and considered response to, and comment on the human condition. It is an attemt to express feelings and emotions, inexpressible in any other media. While it is true that all human beings can draw and paint and sculpt, it is given to very few to create Art. The signal distinction that most commentators and apologists fail to appreciate is that of attainment of a skill in a craft, which most, if not all, people can accomplish in time, and the considered application of that skill in conjunction with the emotions and the intellect.

Spraying a "tag" on a wall, or other public structure, no matter how decoratively or skilfully done, fulfills none of these criteria. Thus it is anti-social and ought not to be encouraged.

As a graduate in Fine Art I naturally would wish to encourage all efforts intended to produce a greater appreciation of, and participation in, the arts. But not at the cost of encouraging delinquent underachievers to deface the built environment. If an outlet for the boundless energy and inventiveness of youth is required, would it not be better directed at seeking a solution to the damage caused by their peers?