What's Art and What's Not

I've been silent for some time. Sick, new job, and the things that life tends to add just keep getting in the way but there has been something percolating. This is short and to the point as I think I let it percolate too much: graffiti art.

A little while back I admonished an acquaintance for not understanding that art can be found where you least expect it. By giving people a place as a public outlet (public lands, government buildings, privately owned buildings, etc.) maybe we could work with "street artists" to help beautify run down areas and those with low esthetic value. In theory this is a good idea and many countries have put similar programs to work doing just that and it has done amazing things. That is however not the purpose of those. It is kinda more of an admitting I was wrong...in some aspects.

After wandering around town for the last few weeks I've noticed the growing trend of tagging on nearly every clean surface available. These tags, crude spray paint blobs that could never be called art, are an eye sore and is not done in the sense of the tradition but strictly because some young people have nothing better to do then deface people's personal property. There is a respect and art to good tagging. "Bombing" adds something while giving an outlet for teens and adults to express themselves. The ones I'm seeing however are clearly the lashing out of no-skill hacks that I will gladly turn in if I ever see them doing such.

So in the end...it takes one to ruin the bunch. This is one of those times I gladly cheer on local authorities to put these hoodlums away. I like the beauty of Bend...one of the few nice things here that is free...and you "kids" are clearly just a nuisance that needs to be nipped in the bud. If you want to improve your skills and try again then by all means...do it in your parent's garage.