pcm: yeah man, that whole roadsworth thing is kinda crazy, it just goes to show how popular the whole street art phenomenon has become, and how people sometimes wanna back certain people or movements to be down. I like his work, but really, If he got caught rocking freights, nobody would give a shit cause it is not in a visably fashionable spot for graffiti, which is kind of hypocritical, when the public comes to the rescue of someone just because it has a visable artistic merit. Graffiti is illegal. People get caught they should be willing to deal with the consequences of thier actions.
I think for the most part it all has very little to do with quality (although I certainly appreciate seeing good clean work) or style. It is an act first and foremost, whether it is a little kid writing "fuck scool" or a dood flying from NY to LA to cap another guy.
As to getting into the rules and all that, I think it is really personal and subjective. you can't really generalize it at all, because peoples motivations are just too big for that kind of thing... some people I know got into it from being ex-junkies, others because they could afford paint.
Most people that have been up for a while figure out how not to blow up thier own spots, which is some cases means being respectful of peoples property, cleaning up other peoples mess, regulating spots or just making it a dont-shit-where-you-eat kinda thing.... but a lot of times that logical thing gets overridden by the need to just get over, and to just destroy other peoples shit.
Myself, personally, I never gave property ownership much thought. Ill never be able to afford a house, and can barely pay bills on most months. I consider myself to be in a position of 1st world privilege, but it doesn't really mean very much to me... I dont really value it. when I'm done with music I will move to another place, one not in North America, and probably will be very poor.
The whole idea of ownership is so temporary that for me, its not even worth getting into, you own it today, tomorrow is floods, you aint got shit, and people are starving somewhere else. I dont have insurance, someone breaks into my crib, takes my shit, its gone, so I protect the things I have with tooth and nail.
Pretty fatalistic outlook, but personal and somewhat justified by my own ignorance and by deep rooted feeling of not belonging to anything, which I think is the case for a lot of writers. Crews become dysfuntcional families and take the space that some people take for granted in thier lives.
I never painted on anyones house, and have tried to steer clear of moms and pops stores, and love to fuck up big chain buisnesses... but not because I have a huge respect for the idea of ownership.
If someone comes to paint on my house that i did own... I'd try to knock thier teeth out, which is something that some people dont really think about when they get into the idea of class in graffiti.... no matter where you are from, someone comes and finds you painting thier shit, 9/10 times you are gonna fight, poor, rich, black, white, arty, not arty, whatever.
If you think about any of this stuff long enough you eventually get down to the idea of a class or social war, and regardless of what class you live in it is hard to justify on any level other than just being a self indulgent dick act driven by whatever motivation you find closest... for me, I just never felt like I am a part of a society that I really want to be involved in, but I don't wanna kill myself either.... so fuck it, just tear it down, piss on the wall, pass the time... write my name, take the rush, start over, take up some space. Im willing to pay for those actions until they threaten other parts of my life.
graffiti is fucking dumb, but its a fun way to pass the time.
pcm: yeah man, that whole roadsworth thing is kinda crazy, it just goes to show how popular the whole street art phenomenon has become, and how people sometimes wanna back certain people or movements to be down. I like his work, but really, If he got caught rocking freights, nobody would give a shit cause it is not in a visably fashionable spot for graffiti, which is kind of hypocritical, when the public comes to the rescue of someone just because it has a visable artistic merit. Graffiti is illegal. People get caught they should be willing to deal with the consequences of thier actions.
I think for the most part it all has very little to do with quality (although I certainly appreciate seeing good clean work) or style. It is an act first and foremost, whether it is a little kid writing "fuck scool" or a dood flying from NY to LA to cap another guy.
As to getting into the rules and all that, I think it is really personal and subjective. you can't really generalize it at all, because peoples motivations are just too big for that kind of thing... some people I know got into it from being ex-junkies, others because they could afford paint.
Most people that have been up for a while figure out how not to blow up thier own spots, which is some cases means being respectful of peoples property, cleaning up other peoples mess, regulating spots or just making it a dont-shit-where-you-eat kinda thing.... but a lot of times that logical thing gets overridden by the need to just get over, and to just destroy other peoples shit.
Myself, personally, I never gave property ownership much thought. Ill never be able to afford a house, and can barely pay bills on most months. I consider myself to be in a position of 1st world privilege, but it doesn't really mean very much to me... I dont really value it. when I'm done with music I will move to another place, one not in North America, and probably will be very poor.
The whole idea of ownership is so temporary that for me, its not even worth getting into, you own it today, tomorrow is floods, you aint got shit, and people are starving somewhere else. I dont have insurance, someone breaks into my crib, takes my shit, its gone, so I protect the things I have with tooth and nail.
Pretty fatalistic outlook, but personal and somewhat justified by my own ignorance and by deep rooted feeling of not belonging to anything, which I think is the case for a lot of writers. Crews become dysfuntcional families and take the space that some people take for granted in thier lives.
I never painted on anyones house, and have tried to steer clear of moms and pops stores, and love to fuck up big chain buisnesses... but not because I have a huge respect for the idea of ownership.
If someone comes to paint on my house that i did own... I'd try to knock thier teeth out, which is something that some people dont really think about when they get into the idea of class in graffiti.... no matter where you are from, someone comes and finds you painting thier shit, 9/10 times you are gonna fight, poor, rich, black, white, arty, not arty, whatever.
If you think about any of this stuff long enough you eventually get down to the idea of a class or social war, and regardless of what class you live in it is hard to justify on any level other than just being a self indulgent dick act driven by whatever motivation you find closest... for me, I just never felt like I am a part of a society that I really want to be involved in, but I don't wanna kill myself either.... so fuck it, just tear it down, piss on the wall, pass the time... write my name, take the rush, start over, take up some space. Im willing to pay for those actions until they threaten other parts of my life.
graffiti is fucking dumb, but its a fun way to pass the time.
Probably the most interesting and honest post I have read here in a long time. Thanks for breaking your perspective down.
here's the thing though, regarding some of the negative comments about borf being the cute suburban upper/middle-class kid that just wanted to get up and graf/bomb the streets. The fact that my man gave all that up just to write is something to be said all on it's own.
What are you talking about?
Seriously?
He hasn't given up his race or class privilege by any stretch.
he drew inspiration from the children's author Shel Silverstein and from something called situationism, an obscure avant-garde movement popularized in 1960s France.[/b]
obscure?
The journal Internationale Situationniste defined situationist as "having to do with the theory or practical activity of constructing situations." The same journal defined situationism as "a meaningless term improperly derived from the above. There is no such thing as situationism, which would mean a doctrine of interpretation of existing facts. The notion of situationism is obviously devised by antisituationists."
Comments
cosign
I think for the most part it all has very little to do with quality (although I certainly appreciate seeing good clean work) or style. It is an act first and foremost, whether it is a little kid writing "fuck scool" or a dood flying from NY to LA to cap another guy.
As to getting into the rules and all that, I think it is really personal and subjective. you can't really generalize it at all, because peoples motivations are just too big for that kind of thing... some people I know got into it from being ex-junkies, others because they could afford paint.
Most people that have been up for a while figure out how not to blow up thier own spots, which is some cases means being respectful of peoples property, cleaning up other peoples mess, regulating spots or just making it a dont-shit-where-you-eat kinda thing.... but a lot of times that logical thing gets overridden by the need to just get over, and to just destroy other peoples shit.
Myself, personally, I never gave property ownership much thought. Ill never be able to afford a house, and can barely pay bills on most months. I consider myself to be in a position of 1st world privilege, but it doesn't really mean very much to me... I dont really value it. when I'm done with music I will move to another place, one not in North America, and probably will be very poor.
The whole idea of ownership is so temporary that for me, its not even worth getting into, you own it today, tomorrow is floods, you aint got shit, and people are starving somewhere else. I dont have insurance, someone breaks into my crib, takes my shit, its gone, so I protect the things I have with tooth and nail.
Pretty fatalistic outlook, but personal and somewhat justified by my own ignorance and by deep rooted feeling of not belonging to anything, which I think is the case for a lot of writers. Crews become dysfuntcional families and take the space that some people take for granted in thier lives.
I never painted on anyones house, and have tried to steer clear of moms and pops stores, and love to fuck up big chain buisnesses... but not because I have a huge respect for the idea of ownership.
If someone comes to paint on my house that i did own... I'd try to knock thier teeth out, which is something that some people dont really think about when they get into the idea of class in graffiti.... no matter where you are from, someone comes and finds you painting thier shit, 9/10 times you are gonna fight, poor, rich, black, white, arty, not arty, whatever.
If you think about any of this stuff long enough you eventually get down to the idea of a class or social war, and regardless of what class you live in it is hard to justify on any level other than just being a self indulgent dick act driven by whatever motivation you find closest... for me, I just never felt like I am a part of a society that I really want to be involved in, but I don't wanna kill myself either.... so fuck it, just tear it down, piss on the wall, pass the time... write my name, take the rush, start over, take up some space. Im willing to pay for those actions until they threaten other parts of my life.
graffiti is fucking dumb, but its a fun way to pass the time.
Probably the most interesting and honest post I have read here in a long time. Thanks for breaking your perspective down.
What are you talking about?
Seriously?
He hasn't given up his race or class privilege by any stretch.
The journal Internationale Situationniste defined situationist as "having to do with the theory or practical activity of constructing situations." The same journal defined situationism as "a meaningless term improperly derived from the above. There is no such thing as situationism, which would mean a doctrine of interpretation of existing facts. The notion of situationism is obviously devised by antisituationists."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist
Does this look like the guy on the news? I think this Borf.
Huh???
And this just made me laugh...