"The Art of Graffitti Writing"
 

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http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/Your_Co...Logo_Small.gifWell, folks...what more can be said? This is where your council tax money is going...teaching kids one of the finer arts of vandalism. I really only though this loonacy was confined to some of the madder London Boroughs, but sadly I'm mistaken.

Never mind, Mez....when you eventually do get your new fence, just think of the wonderful free murals & decorations that the local children will be putting on there .

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not if i buy it myself they wont ha ha ha

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Think of it this way - perhaps they could make the ruined houses in the wake of Phoenix a joy to the eye! - then perhaps HBC can hire a Borough Poet at vast amounts of money to write about it.

Just so long as they don't do any murals of Tufty the Squirrel which, according to Lambeth Council, is racist.

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How the heck do they work that out? Sorry, I know it's a thread wander but I have to ask!

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Who knows how the collective minds of councils work? - particularly Lambeth, although Hyndburn are showing promise in the loony stakes.

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Well here we have it. Hyndburn leads the country, yet again. While everyone else has to put up with the insanities of 'loony-left' councils. We are the first to introduce the concept of the equally loony, 'raving-right'.

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What the bloody hell is racist Tufty the Squirrel prey tell? We grew up with Tufty "Who is I believe a Red Squirrel" Not the Communist type of Red I may had for the benefit of the younger element.

Is it the fact that Grey “America” Squirrels are immigrants therefore its racist not to have them represented? That point being made I must add “please be aware that our government is active culling Grays in the name of species conservation” maybe our European cousins should take note….

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I'm not quite sure what the problem is with the council doing this. If it gives kids something to do and helps them be creative, then it seems to be fine by me.

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Did you read the posts and if you did do you think a good bit of Graffitti will smarten up Accy or as long as the KIDS have got something to do and its creative then fine, hey why dont we have a workshop on how to break in to houses and we can let the kids come up with the most creative way to get in or even the most creative way to sell the stuff afterwards.

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Yes, I read the posts, and no, graffiti wouldn't smarten the town up. I wouldn't mind it in certain places, though, it looks quite smart when done well. Drawing with spraypaint is hardly something bad, if done in the appropriate places, and obviously not used as vandalism.

I don't appreciate people jumping to conclusions as to what I mean. If you don't understand, just ask. Would you rather the kids that are into graffiti to be doing it in other places than designated areas? How do you compare an event for kids to spraypaint to stealing from people? Let me guess...they get shown how to do it and (gasp!) they might just do it all over the place! Oh Dear! We'll have to stop showing them how to paint in school case they start becoming vandals. Maybe we'll have to stop them from learning how to throw balls in PE, in case they decide to throw stones and break windows, etc.

Or maybe not.

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Maybe you just missed the point that worries most people. This isn't a case of allowing children to use spray paint in designated areas on a permanent basis. (In fact I wonder how they could work that because once something is painted it's painted so would they then encourage someone else to paint over it which could result in the first 'artist' resenting the fact that their masterpiece has been ruined?)

The idea of a half term course is all very well but we are concerned about afterwards - where are they subsequently going to use these new found skills? It sounds like a problem in the making ie teaching children that it's OK to use graffiti so long as you've been on a course.

The only subsequent 'blank canvasses' they are going to find will be our walls and I don't care how artisticly aesthetic it is I do not want it on my walls nor do I wish to see it plastered all over town. I'm sure they could learn something far more useful.

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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?

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I take on board and understand all the previous points against yet there are a couple of things that I would like to add -

1. Graffiti when done properly ie. not just a tag, is in my view an art. I am against idiotic scrawlings of the form "I was 'ere Y2K+4" and all that but I have seen great pieces too.

2. It is a fact that graffiti has helped previously anti-social delinquents to acheive something in their lives.

3. I would have thought and 100% believe that whoever is delivering the course would stress that it is not acceptable to daub any old walls - an analogy would be a Karate master emphasising that the martial arts are not to be learnt just for kicking someones head in because you can but to be able to defend oneself and to gain some kind of karma/zen within.

Responsible and creative Graffiti is fine and I would rather have youngsters chanelling their energy into something creative rather than destructive, although I do appreciate peoples worries.

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So where would tey do this energy channelling once the course is over?

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Maybe buildings that are scheduled to be demolished could be used?

I am sure that many cities, maybe not in this county though, have schemes where artists can practise their form without any degradation to the surrounding environment. I dont think that the anti-social aspect of graffiti can be beaten and hence believe that the solution is to educate those who dabble in this art to express themselves in a responsible manner.