The Legend of Bozo Texino

The true power of the internet is demonstrated daily, when someone Googles something that tickles their curiosity. So it was with the above graffiti for me - a quick Google search leading into the world of Hobos, Boxcar riding and the more than 100 year old tradition of Moniker Chalking on Freight cars (whose modern equivalent of Warchalking (the drawing of a symbol to denote the presence of a wireless network) brings us full circle back to the internet.


Bozo Texino was apparently two people, likely one following the others footsteps, who drew a smoking hatted cowboy on boxcars. And now, someone follows in the same footsteps in Halifax...

Mayor Kelly, the Keystone Kouncillors, and the SAME old thinking

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of tagging on personal/business private property, although I think mailboxes, lightposts and the like are reasonable targets. Tags on such things don't impinge on my eyes any more than the ridiculous numbers of logos everywhere nowadays. After all - it's all just branding, some corporate, some personal. SAME has been treating Halifax to a taggathon recently, and unfortunately has been targeting mostly private property to everyone's dismay.

So - what is the city council's response - perhaps increased enforcement? Cameras at likely targets? Increased fines/penalties for graffiti?

NO.

According to the Chronically Horrid - "Property owners who don’t remove graffiti in a timely fashion could be billed for the cleanup by Halifax Regional Municipality under a bylaw in the works at city hall.

"We’ve expressed our concern as a police department how important it is that this bylaw is put in place," Const. Jim Bennett, Halifax Regional Police’s community response officer, said Monday at a seminar on graffiti. "It’s not the be-all and end-all to graffiti, but it’s definitely a tool that will help us combat it."

Municipal staffers have been working on the bylaw since last year. It could be introduced at regional council as early as May 1. Const. Bennett said the bylaw would give property owners 10 days to clean up graffiti or face municipal action.

He said municipal policy calls for the removal of graffiti from city-owned property within three to five days, "so it’s not too much to ask private property owners to do it in twice that amount of time. If they fail to remove graffiti from their property, the city will come in and clean it up and we’ll bill them for it."

He said property owners could also be fined under the bylaw."

Ah yes, the hoary old "blame the victims cliché", (perhaps they should extend this brilliant idea and make the victims of assaults in the downtown pay for being beaten up while they are at it. And what about rape victims? Didn't they ask for it?)

In the cities defense "Statistics show that graffiti removed within 24 hours is rarely replaced, Const. Bennett said. If graffiti is left in place for 14 days before being removed, vandals will almost certainly tag that property again. Some private property owners refuse to remove graffiti and it just allows the person next to them to become a target, because graffiti vandals like to return to a location where they know they’re getting a return on their efforts."

By Googling 'Graffiti Removal 24 hours" all that I have been able to find is this statement repeated again and again, on different cities pages. I suspect the source is the fictional New York of Mayor Rudy Giuliani - you know, the one where they cleaned up graffiti, picked up litter, rousted the homeless and the crime rates dropped? Except if you read 'Freakonomics' you'll know that the crime rate dropped, because the proportion of people between 16-25 who commit most of the crimes dropped dramatically, due to the aging baby boom and bust. Cites that did nothing saw the same drop.

But don't worry - they also are considering "fines for people caught with graffiti paraphernalia such as spray paint and markers". I'm sure they will only charge those who are bad people, or with bad intent, not people who might possess paint or markers for innocent purposes (if there are any 'innocent purposes' for such obviously dangerous items) I'm sure the police in their zeal would never make mistakes - just ask Mahir Arar, James Driskell,Donald Marshall, Jr., David Milgaard or Guy Paul Morin. I mean, it's not like anyone will try to do something stupid like banning carry on liquids from airplanes, while (still) not screening the cargo on the same flight.

Hey - Mayor Kelly - it's called private property because it's PRIVATE. How about taking some of the 30% extra tax dollars you've collected from soaring house valuations (thank God the graffiti has kept valuations down, just imagine...) and put it into 1) Enforcement - Catch SAME, and punish him/her - 500 hours community service removing tags perhaps? 2) Clean-up (offer free clean-up to vandalised property owners if you think it is so critical pay for it with y(our) tax windfall)

And let's see how the city is doing with its own rules - seems to me the Spring Garden Library took longer than 10 days to clean up - didn't it Peter? In the next few weeks I'll try to document not only the coming, but the going of graffiti in our public spaces. But don't worry - I'm sure the city will fine itself if it failed to live up to it's own standards...

Comments?

The SAME Old, Same Old...

Once upon a time there was a tagger who used the tag SAME. Originally SAME seemed to tag the same old targets - mailboxes, green bins, alley walls etc...

Unfortunately for Halifax, SAME seems to enjoy vandalising private property most of all lately. Just drive anywhere on the peninsula and you will be hard pressed not to see SAME on every street. (At least it has a bit of style in the curlicue "E")

Sadly the police seem stymied. All those surveillance cameras are impotent, unable to spot the act of graffiti in action.

I suspect that even among those who tag - SAME has crossed a line. Hopefully it will not show others that they can cross the line with equal impunity - if it does - we may be in for a nasty summer of vandalism...

SAME is a vandal, pure and simple. Given his apparent need to paint every surface in town, you would think it might be possible to catch him. We need either some peer pressure, or some policing.

The tag actually says SIAME, I think, with the I hidden under the A, and the halo being the dot on the I. Given the stylistic similarities, I suspect that SAME is the same guy as SIAMER, and SAME seems to be a member of the VA Crew, though the private property vandalism rarely credits VA.

More Water Street Action

Much to the kids dismay, I checked out the Water Street lot Sunday morning - "Dad, we were just here yesterday - do you think anything has changed?" Luckily for me, I there was a new piece by SAYO - a face over WEST Piece from a couple of weeks ago. I took a picture with my phone, and headed home. Later in the afternoon, knowing the light would be on the wall, I returned with my camera - and found the wall overcoated with some new work going up.

This piece seems to be by a member of VA - AP3R or DTK. Note the props to SAME - "Big Ups SAME!, Hali's Most Wanted" More on SAME's Big Ups and Peter Kelly's tiny brain soon...

The Gentrifuckation of Brian Mackay-Lyons

The four Brian MacKay-Lyons condos on Maynard are nearing completion. The entrance to each is shielded by a 5x8 foot wall of concrete - given the neighborhood one would predict it might be a graffiti magnet. As in any neighborhood which is undergoing renewal there have been complaints and protests regarding 'gentrification'. The townhouses have been the targets of graffiti on many occasions previously (tip to owners - buy a couple of gallons of paint and keep it handy - especially if Halifax follows through on it's plan to force homeowners to cover graffiti up within a specific time or be fined (more on that, and other evidence of the miniscule brain of Peter Kelly later - I digress)).

MacKay-Lyons response has been to place a metal grid over the concrete on 3 of the 4 homes. Only one remains, with a recently made and partially erased comment from someone with a can of paint - welcome to the 'hood neighbor!

One should note for the record that Mackay-Lyons walks the walk, not just talks - he has lived and worked in the neighborhood for the past 10 years, and recently opened a new office space on Gottigen Street.

ENDER

ENDER is one of the more prolific Taggers in Halifax. (S)He appearas to be a member of the FYPT Crew, given that ENDER and FYTP are often written together in the same material, and the presence of ENDER as a tag on larger FYPT pieces. The most prominent of these is at the old Infirmary parking lot on Queen Street, which seems to be the neighborhood with the highest concentration of ENDER tags.

ENDER as a tag is quite variable, Caps, lower case, angular and rounded are all common - more than one person, or a subgroup within the FYPT crew - who knows? Maybe time will reveal all...

Oops it's not YOOPZ (Time+Knowledge=PopStarz)

One of the more prolific tags around Halifax is what I have refferred to as YOOPZ - a consistently written, loopy tag which clearly contained the letters present.OPZ.

I found what seems to be an older YOOPZ tag, which on inspection, is POP*Z, ie 'PopStarz'. Sure enough, in hindsight, the little mark for the star remains present, if diminished. As always, once the meaning appears clear, I can't see in hindsight how I could have thought it was anything else.

Mystery solved - Goodbye YOOPZ, Hello POP*Z!

ADICT in Action - "SAY"

On Good Friday I went to the Water Street lot and found 3 of the panels freshly undercoated with pieces sketched in. Shortly thereafter 3 guys showed up and started working on them. They gave me permission to shoot them while they worked (no faces). Turns out they are 3 members of the ADICT crew (about 8 members in total).

I found them friendly, smart, TALENTED, committed (it was cold and took about 5-6 hours overall), generous, and informative (they answered all my questions, even the stupid ones). They have been writing (writing, not tagging) for several years. They sketch their work out in advance on paper. They use special nozzles (caps) for the spray paint, depending on the desired effect. They are mid-twenties, employed, articulate, and at least one with a family. It costs them $40-50 in materials for each large piece. From what I saw, if I wanted to have some work done - these would be the right guys for the job.

They also told me about BC Silver School - another 'Legal Wall' in town, which is spectacular - more to come soon.

This Flickr set shows the work by "SAY" from start to finish (actually FINISH to START as Flickr seems to insist on the reverse order). He also writes as "SENSAY", but this piece says "SAY"

Changes 2 - Water Street Parking Lot

Given the colder than normal weather of the last month, I might have thought it would be a slow time for new graffiti, but no, I was badly wrong. These 5 shots show changes to one panel at the Water Street Legal Wall previously shown here, with paintovers here).

As you can see it's been very busy the past month, and those of you with sharp eyes will notice that I missed at least one between March 18th and 27th. It's a popular place with writers - and I've had the chance to meet a few, and even watch them work - more on that later. Today seems to be a nice sunny day - I wonder what tomorrow will bring to the lot?


March 18/2007


March 27/2007


April 9/2007


April 12/2007


April 13/2007

Do I have a Graffiti ADICTion?

ADICT - Art Derived In Criminal Technique

OK, I admit it - maybe I'm getting (?am) a little obsessed with graffiti lately. I was therefor amused when I started to notice ADICT tags cropping up here and there, around town. I can relate to that. The tags, though relatively few, seem to show some variation and imagination. In my recent travels, I have noticed more ADICT pieces, and came to the conclusion that "ADICT" is a crew tag. Their work is well represented along the railcut, at the Water Street lot, and at the BC Silver School in Spryfield (along with Water Street - the only "legal" walls in Halifax.

In my opinion the pieces are spectacular - with each artist with a well developed style and sensibility. What do the pieces say? Many remain a mystery to me, but SPACE, SAY, SENSAY(a SAY Variant, and ADICT are among them.

If I had a graffiti problem with taggers/bombers at my business - I'd seriously think about hiring these guys to put up some pieces to discourage the vandalism - they truly are artists, producing excellent art.

ADICT - Art Derived In Criminal Technique - as good an acronym as any!

Exploring the Railway Cut

The peninsula that Halifax started on is bisected by a channel cut into the local bedrock. The rail lines run through it (freight and VIArail only, not the much needed light commuter rail, but don't get me started). My sharp eyed son saw a small area of graffiti that led to a family walk recently (5 km along the tracks, 10 km total for my daughter and I searching for a lost cell phone, but that's another story). The graffiti is spectacular - lots of tagging/bombing, but alot of big pieces as well. It's well worth the walk - the tracks can easily be accessed behind Olgive Towers, and there are (were) no, 'No Trespassing' signs to be seen, so presumably is not prohibited. Just keep a sharp eye out for trains, if you walk the tracks, but there is no need to as there is loads of space.

If you want to give the walk a miss - just enjoy the photos here. If you do walk, keep an eye for my cell phone - leave a comment for me if you find it (I'm not holding my breath though).

Berlin Wall

For those persons "d'un certain age" (ie over 30 or so) the Berlin Wall and it's fall remain a potent symbol of an age we (apparently wrongly) thought might be behind us. Little pieces of it are for sale on Ebay for $30-50. Imagine my surprise recently in Montreal to come face to face with a graffitied full slab on display at the Intercontinental Hotel.

What would it be worth? Much more than the perhaps $100-200 value of the slab of reinforced concrete. What adds the most value? My guess is that the rich graffiti on a piece of the wall is far more valuable than a bare portion of the wall. I remember full pieces selling for $5-10,000 as the wall came down - now who knows $50-100,000? (Or far more given this smallish piece on sale for $50,000)(No points for guessing which side was facing the West)

Changes - Water Street Parking Lot

Although paintovers are a normal part of a busy graffiti site, returning to the parking lot a day after my previous trip, I was surprised to find new areas painted over what had been there the day previously. A week or so l;ater there was more new paining. All the new stuff has been at the south end of the eastern wall - not over the fancier pieces elsewhere. Is there some sort of pecking order at work, or are some artists bigger than others, and enforce their territory more vigourously? I'm not sure, but here are the changes for your perusal.

Panel Three
______________________March 3 2007
______________________March 4 2007

Panel Two
______________________March 3 2007

______________________March 4 2007

______________________March 18 2007

Help Me Thursday #5

My kids and I walked the length of the railcut that runs through the Halifax peninsula last weekend. Needless to say, there is alot of graffiti along the length, especially on the underpasses (the rail cut is a popular spot for kids to hang around - as was in evidence even at 1 pm on a Saturday). This piece adorns the Coburg Road underpass near the Waegwoltic Club - it's clearly marked as a Crew name - but what does it say?

I need lots of help with this one - Opinions? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Banksy MIA

The "battle" against graffiti continues around the world - A large wall mural by "guerrilla artist" Banksy has been mistakenly painted over by a council's graffiti-removal contractors. The valuable 25ft-long artwork, on the side of garages in Bristol, was covered with a coat of thick black paint. Bristol City Council said it wanted an investigation into the blunder. The council has ordered all Banksy works in the city to be preserved. Someone has now sprayed the words "Wot no Banksy?" over the obscured work. Banksy has been accepted as a mainstream artist, and recently sold a piece for more than $200,000 Cdn. Adding insult to injury, the graffiti was on private, not public, property and the owner is 'exploring his options' with the town council.

It was not the first indignity inflicted on his work in 2007 - contractors in London covered up a pice showing a monkey blowing up a bunch of bananas in January. His popularity seems to peak Merseyside though, where several pieces have been liberated/chiselled free in Liverpool.
Before
After

FYPT - Tag, Crew, or Slogan?

I originally thought FYPT was a simple Tag, however it seems to be more likely a Crew Tag, as it exists in several styles, often with the Tags ENDER, GOER and SLUG. I have seen it at several sites with large pieces - the Water Street parking lot, the Underpass, and at the old Halifax Infirmary site. The two FYPT pieces at the Infirmary are tagged ENDER and SLUG.

What does it mean - 2/3 suggest FUCK YOU PARTY TIME, a third says FILTHY YELLOW PIRATE TEETH - given the nature of those who graffiti, I suspect the former is more likely than the latter.

A Google search further links FYPT and SLUG, a Halifax Tagger, although some images of FYPT are seen from further afield - such as Barcelona, but seem focussed on the HRM area. The work below, sold at the Khyber, seems to confirm that it is a Halifax Crew Tag, of which SLUG is a member.

Train Trouble

Everyone who has driven in a car with children of a certain age, knows the railway crossing ritual - everyone's feet off the car floor, chanting "Train trouble, oof!, OOF!". Likely the commonest spot in Halifax for this is on the road into the BLIP (Bayer's Lake Industrial Park). On the siding there, freight cars often unload/await some unknown cargo.

Rail cars offer an opportunity to exchange graffiti with parts unknown - mobile billboards circulating around Canada and the USA, seemingly at random - like a message in a bottle on the ocean. Some of Halifax's Taggers (ENDER, STARS) have painted a message in a bottle to whoever receives one of the boxcars currently on the siding. Enjoy the party!