ZORA Redux

One of the more common Tags along Robie Street and around Central Halifax is ZORA. As I reviewed some of the pieces that I had gone up to New Glasgow to see, I noticed the Tag ZORA there. Sure enough, even the Tags matched. Is Zora a student who came from the Antigonish area, and now goes to school here? One of the pieces there, done by PAX says "I write...for my Cru - ZORA, PUZO, PEZ, WELLU - PAX of AOD" (Army of Darkness). Sure enough - the ZORA Tag in Halifax also has the Crew Tag AOD with it on occasion - one and the same ZORA? - I think so.

Under The Bridge - Northwest Arm Drive

A quiet spot with concrete walls makes a great place to both make find good graffiti. Underneath the bridge on Northwest Arm Drive in Halifax is such a place, and the graffiti is great - as is the setting on Long Lake. Some of the usual Halifax Crew(s) are here - ADICT, FYPT, HEU5, ENDER and SLUGS, as well as many tags that are likely more local. To judge by the number of paint cans and rollers around, the site is dynamic, and wil be interesting to watch in warmer weather as the year passes by.

Wax On, Wax Off

Just like Mr Miyagi's instructions to his pupil in the Karate Kid, the lessons in fighting graffiti can seem pointless, repetitive, and not particularly rewarding on an individual level. It is suggested that graffiti should be removed or covered up as fast as possible to discourage the Tagger from continuing to vandalise. Of course to some Taggers, this likely represents a challenge - one person's obscured graffiti, may well be another's blank slate.

Help Me Thursday #4

Last week helpful comments decoded "SIAMER" from unrecognizable squiggles into a discrete and legible tag. This week I need help with one of the most common, and first tags I came across. It's the very loopy Tag I refer to as YOOPZ. I just can't shake the feeling that I'm misreading this one in a big way - What are your thoughts on what it actually says - let me know by leaving a comment.



And for those of you who breathlessly wait for new posts to appear (LOL) - check back Saturday - I'll have a spectacular new site for you.

Maynard and Gottigen Street Walk

Previously, I had reposted a letter from The Coast - bemoaning the vandalising of a neighborhood by the Tagger SAME. At the time I wondered where the author lived, as I had not noticed SAME vandalising personal private property too much. However, after a walk through the neighborhood around Creighton, Maynard, Cunard and Gottigen Streets, tucked in beside Citadel Hill, I think I know where the author of "More of the SAME" lives.

Although there is alot of very good graffiti - nice Pieces, witty Stencilling, and boldly coloured Outline Tags; BUT there is an amazing amount of tagging on houses, which is just plain old vandalism. This would be unfortunate anywhere, but is all the more so in this beautiful neighborhood, with its lovely, unique, coloured houses. The main offenders are the VA Crew (SAME, HEUS et al), ENDER, BOS, and the artless JEM (who is a pure vandal in the true sense of the word, without any apparent redeeming qualities in his/her graffiti).

Graffiti can brighten up dreary post-industrial landscapes, but defacing homes? - I have to agree with the Coast letter-writer - "Don't paint my neighbors' homes, fucking green bins, local businesses, sidewalks...any of it. Just don't. We are a COMMUNITY and one that is sick and tired of your shit" (Actually I thought the sidewalk pieces I saw were lovely...)

March Break Madness

Obviously I've been spending too much time with graffiti. This past week was March break in Nova Scotia, and after my wife and I had abandoned the kids while we worked all week, we had the opportunity to take them to
Clay Café to glaze some pottery. What did I make? A platter. The theme of the paint job? You guessed it - graffiti. A GRAFFITI PLATTER!

Mind you, I am pretty happy with how it turned out. A fun time was had by all.

Scratchiti

scratchiti (skra.CHEE.tee) n. A form of graffiti in marks are etched into windows and other glass surfaces (scratch + graffiti). Also: scratchitti.



Earliest Citation: "It is costing the Transit Authority upwards of $ 20 million yearly to combat the "scratchiti" inflicted on us by a new generation of defacers. The money is spent replacing scratched glass and on cleaning crews who can wipe off the lighter scratches."
—Dennis Duggan, "A New War on 'Scratchiti'," Newsday, April 6, 1995

Gouged into a surface - glass or plexiglas windows, scratchiti is a fairly crude form of graffiti, which in Halifax is most commonly found defacing bus shelters. It's certainly my least favorite form of graffiti - unartistic, not particularly nice to look at, and decidedly a pain in the ass to photograph (Tip - High speed lens, dark background for contrast, shot wide open (fast shutter speed) to throw the background out of focus).

Graffiti Archaeology

Of the many sites I've seen devoted to Graffiti, this one stands in a league by itself. The author has collected photos of graffiti from specific sites, on specific dates and stitched them into panoramas that can be peeled back or replaced over time. The result is a beautiful website, that allows one to see the evolution of various sites in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and of course New York over time.

It's a pity the software isn't made available - even though it would likely require a high bandwidth server to set up on a website - it is simply an amazing way to document a site over time - truly Graffiti Archaeology.

Tuesday's Tag - BDC

BDC, (almost always with the Crown signifier and often with a question mark), is found mainly near the intersection of Quinpool and Robie streets. Presumably BDC knows SNUBS, since their tags are often co-located and they both use the Crown symbol (A Crew symbol perhaps?) With the exception of the Skate Park, BDC uses magic marker rather than paint and works in fairly small scale.

Mailbox Mapping

Mailboxes throughout Halifax provide a tempting target for graffiti. I have been mapping out on a Flickr map, adding the locations of each tagged mailbox I photograph. If the police can find serial killers through geomapping, surely there is something to be learned about taggers by mapping the locations of the mailboxes they tag (or at least my movements around the city).

Explore the map - and let me know via the comments what you discover.

Help Me Thursday #3

OK, I really need some help on this one - this tag has been showing up regularly around the downtown core - and I have no idea what it says - let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment - thanks in advance for all the help.

APT - Tuesday's Tag

apt:
1: unusually fitted or qualified : ready
2 a: having a tendency : likely 'plants apt to suffer from drought' b: ordinarily disposed : inclined 'apt to accept what is plausible as true'
3: suited to a purpose; especially : being to the point 'an apt quotation'
4: keenly intelligent and responsive 'an apt pupil'

Some things just don't live up to the expectations created by their names - APT is one of them. Clearly, APT is a vandal - I have not yet seen APT scrawled on anything except buildings and even a panel van. The tag itself is not particularly artistic or stylish - about the best thing that can be said for APT is that by spraying a black APT on a blue wall near a neon sign - the makings of a nice photo were created (see "Damn with faint praise")

Water and Morris Street Parking Lot Pieces

Hidden from view, the parking lot at Water and Morris Streets (the site of the old Irving Oil Tanks) makes an ideal place for large pieces to be made and displayed. This area is much like the Trans-Canada Tunnel site near New Glasgow, and similar, excellent works flourish here.

Next time you go for a walk on the waterfront, take a right at the Power Station and check out the parking lot - It's well worth the detour. And if you are a fan of graffiti - it's the 'must-see' site in downtown Halifax.



Addendum March 4, 2007

Clearly this location is dynamic - when I revisited it a day later there had been 2 paintovers in the ensuing 24 hours. I had the privilege of meeting SWAY(the creator of the new pieces), who was photographing his own work with a friend.

HMT (Help Me Thursday) Number Two

OK - here's another challenge after last weeks success - I've previously suggested (established conclusively) that VA is a Crew Tag of the "Visual Assasins". This sticker is a VA tag but what do the stylized letters say?

Comment and let me know your opinion.