Halifax Harbour Walk .

[alps]

Originally Posted by Antigonish

As much as I appreciate graffiti pieces, I still love seeing a slimy flow pen or mop tag with proper handstyle on a Canada Post mail bin or a dumpster.

That grime from the city slime feel I know and love.

Since the city is actually my home the "grime" of tagging is more an eyesore and a nuisance. Regardless of whether or not we like the feel of gritty urban environments (which I often do) tagging contributes to a visual degradation that scares away people and investment and therefore runs counter to the sort of urban renaissance many of us want to see in Halifax.

Though I have zero problem with art done with permission.

[ILoveHalifax]

I too dislike graffiti, but have no problem with art in places where it is permitted. I really like some of the buildings with great scenes on them.

These people who do graffiti seem to have no respect for others property.

Some of our contributors have no respect for others opinions. Because somebody does not agree with you does not make them a troll. Because somebody does not agree with you does not mean they have no common sense. In a forum like this we should all show respect for others in our comments. Never should one attack another person.

[teddifax]

VERY well said!

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Hali87

People win Grammys for hip-hop and rap music. These genres grace (and often dominate) the Billboard charts. It's not uncommon to see rappers on the cover of Rolling Stone.

I'm well aware of that. It is a tragedy.

[MonctonRad]

I couldn't agree more ILoveHalifax. Very well said!!!

And for what it's worth, I also think graffiti is an urban blight that should be little tolerated.

Even if the property owner gives his permission for the "street art", this type of spray can expressionism can have a negative effect on neighbouring property values and also on the overall public perception of the neighbourhood.

[Drybrain]

Boy, I would love to know the ages of the pro- and anti-graffiti camps. I suspect a serious generation gap.

Anyway, one of the most effective proven ways to combat unsightly graffiti and gang tags is to have a city-sponsored mural program. It's a cornerstone of Halifax's, and, I think, most Canadian cities' anti-graffiti efforts.

And we can all agree that some graffiti is more desirable than others, right? This is terrible vandalism, perpetrated by dumbass teenagers, probably.

Whereas this or this are improvements on what would otherwise be blank, ugly walls. And are 100 percent not gang-related, and I doubt they're lowering anyone's property values.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Boy, I would love to know the ages of the pro- and anti-graffiti camps. I suspect a serious generation gap.

Maybe. Using the examples we have in this thread, I can imagine your suspicion being accurate. I personally know people in their 20s who would agree with the apparent 'old timers' who are posting oppositional comments.

I hypothesise that it is an education gap.

Though I have no doubt the older age group of this conversation is educated within their specialties -- it apparently hasn't been a field of study that at all graces any historical perspectives of art, and their political relevancies.

Graffiti has its place. I would love to arrange a landscaped graffiti park, and use various hues of plants to compliment the colours of the artistry. Graffiti isn't suppose to be vandalism.

[ILoveHalifax]

[QUOTE=RyeJay;6301457]Maybe. Using the examples we have in this thread, I can imagine your suspicion being accurate. I personally know people in their 20s who would agree with the apparent 'old timers' who are posting oppositional comments.

I hypothesise that it is an education gap.

Though I have no doubt the older age group of this conversation is educated within their specialties --

QUOTE]

I too am guessing there is a big education gap on this forum. Seems some of the younger posters have read a book or 2 and have formulated a position based on very limited knowledge. Further, some lack street smarts, and don't have a clue about how to discuss a subject. They assume their opinion is the only valid position and anybody with a different point of view should be attacked for who they are and not for their ideas.
Maybe someday they will learn respect for others, but I doubt it, not smart enough. We have all seen how poorly they argue their points of view, sometimes proving themselves wrong within the same sentence.

[someone123]

What does pro- or anti-graffiti mean? It seems there are a bunch of separate questions -- whether or not the visual style is appealing, whether or not it ought to be allowed, what ought to be done about it if there is a problem, etc.

It seems pretty clear that it is okay if the property owner wants it and not okay if the property owner doesn't want it.

What doesn't make much sense to me is the graffiti finger-wagging, since it is ineffective as a strategy for stopping unwanted graffiti (the whole point of the tagging is to flout authority). I think this is a common social theme; shaming and punishment don't seem to work nearly as well as trying to eliminate the root cause of problems or redirect them, while paying careful attention to make sure that strategies actually work (in terms of reducing the problem, not in terms of hurting the perpetrators).

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Boy, I would love to know the ages of the pro- and anti-graffiti camps. I suspect a serious generation gap.

Anyway, one of the most effective proven ways to combat unsightly graffiti and gang tags is to have a city-sponsored mural program. It's a cornerstone of Halifax's, and, I think, most Canadian cities' anti-graffiti efforts.

It seems pretty close to blackmail. I prefer to round the vandals up and throw them in jail.

And we can all agree that some graffiti is more desirable than others, right? This is terrible vandalism, perpetrated by dumbass teenagers, probably.

Whereas this or this are improvements on what would otherwise be blank, ugly walls. And are 100 percent not gang-related, and I doubt they're lowering anyone's property values.

It's all velvet Elvises from my point of view.

[W.Sobchak]

I'm going to use a phrase from my youth that seems to come close to how I feel Graffiti should be dealt with in this this city. If you don't want your city to be a skate park, build a skate park. If you don't want graffiti painted across your city, give them somewheres to paint. If we threw every person into jail that had a spray paint can in their hand, we would be just as bad as the States for over crowding, and the poor buggers would just come out better criminals.

Again, just how I view graffiti, because everything is Velvet Elvis' when you squint hard enough.

[halifaxboyns]

For me, graffiti will have an art like quality when it's obviously more than just simply tagging something. If it's nothing more than a gang tag; then it's willful destruction as far as I'm concerned.

I'm working on a mixed use project in one of Calgary's up and coming neighbourhoods and the lane the project uses for access has a lot of graffiti problems. So when I was reviewing the project and found it had a lot of long blank walls in the alley - my first thought was it was going to be a total graffiti magnet. So, I convinced the applicant to provide a community art wall. These walls can be seen from the street and so he's going to rotate artists (not just graffiti artists, but mural painters) every so often to paint really nice art on the walls.

Should be pretty cool!

[W.Sobchak]

Originally Posted by halifaxboyns

(snip)

Ya, that!