JSO arrests "SIMON", major graffiti vandel.

[Dog Walker]

Cooly,  Annie Lytle is creepy and dangerous!  Stay out!

Stephen's point about the owner's years of neglect being a much worse crime than the graffiti inside is exactly right and anyone going in risks serious injury.

[Dog Walker]

You are dodging, Stephen!   

Shawn Thurston's work is fantastic and you know I think so.    He is also not spray painting on other peoples walls now.  He grew out of that phase both artistically and morally. 

I have no idea what kind of work was being done ten or twenty years ago.  The stuff being done by the vandals now IS crap and less than 5% of it (national average!) is pieces.  Guess our graffiti community has regressed.  I could show you pictures, but won't post them.

Well how do you think he got so good?

I am sure that he practiced on sheets of plywood in his parents' backyard.

[Dog Walker]

You are correct that one size legislation and enforcement is wrong at a number of levels.  Adolescent artists need guidance, adolescent acting adults who vandalize the property of others need deterrence.   

You still haven't addressed why it is so attractive for this kind of "budding artist" or tagger vandal to use other people's property as a canvas or why you think it is OK for them to do so.

The skateboarding community organized and got the city to build a couple of skateboard parks.  This greatly reduced the amount of "outlaw" skateboarding.  Why hasn't the graffiti community gotten together to have the city designate and maintain official graffiti wall parks?

I posit that there is an inherent attraction in the illegality of defacing some other person's property that is central to the attraction of doing everything from graffiti pieces to crude tags;  that it is a basic motivator for the acts.  For a few there is an artistic component as well, but for the vast majority there is not.  It is the attraction of vandalism and defiance of social norms and the recognition for doing so that is central to graffiti.

[Dog Walker]

Stephen, you are evading the main point.  There are lots of places available that are legal and that are not other people's property.  Your parent's house, a piece of plywood, permission from the owner of a vacant property, the courtyard of Underbelly's, your own bedroom, a piece of canvas spread on the ground, an invitation from a club owner.

The basic attraction of doing graffiti from the most artistic pieces to the crudest scribbles is that it is "forbidden fruit", wrong, illegal, frowned on, bad, pisses people off, shows that I am a bad ass dude.  The demographics just shout this.

Now, convince me that I am wrong about that.  Or, as we have before in this discussion, just agree to disagree, as friends can do.

[Dog Walker]

Since we have discussed the matter, I think I remember you saying that youve never met these kids before.  Perhaps that has changed.  Is your assumption based on any conversations youve had with street artists or even with vandals?

Yes, and the interviews taken by the Asst State's Attorney of those who have been arrested recently.  Of course all of them were taggers and not people throwing pieces so my sample is limited.

[Dog Walker]

Another budding fine artist has been punished for his artwork by an oppressive, unappreciative society:

Back in August, police say, someone went on a tagging spree on Southside Boulevard, painting buildings and poles with the phrase "I am Anonymous."

Turns out the tagger wasn't.

And as much as the Internet is the natural home of the decentralized online group Anonymous, it proved to be the suspect's downfall.

After an employee of Best Buy - one of the buildings adorned with the graffiti - searched YouTube for her store's name and the slogan, she turned up a video of a man bragging about doing the deed, police said.

In the video, since removed, the tagger said he'd return to the scene to take pictures of his handiwork, but never showed.

However, officers said they were able to link the YouTube user name with a Facebook account.

On Tuesday, police arrested 22-year-old Ryan Anano Jatindranath at the home of friends he was staying with.

Jatindranath is known as a member of Anonymous and as a graffiti artist, police said.

He's also someone who had outstanding warrants.

As well as charging him with criminal mischief for the graffiti exploits, police served warrants on the Mandarin High School graduate for trafficking in stolen property, accusing him of stealing 21 cell phones.

He's also been charged with disorderly conduct, violating parole and burglary.

Jatindranath, who has previously been convicted of domestic battery, possessing marijuana, is being held in jail with bail set at $171,529.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-10-23/story/police-turn-internet-arrest-anonymous-jacksonville-artist#ixzz1bi6pEoRo

[Dog Walker]

 Just pulling your chain, Stephen.      Knew this would get your blood flowing this morning.

My actual point is that we aren't seeing any real street artists in Jacksonville, just these losers with spray cans.

[Atari007]

This morning the JSO arrested Brett Robert Bell, 27, the older brother of Kenneth Bell (SIKE)

Brett Robert Bell's tag was ATARI which can be seen in almost as many places as his younger brother's tags.  He has been charged with one felony count of criminal mischief and sixteen counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Whew.... told you it wasnt me.... yeah......   

[I-10east]

We have another one on the prowl, the Riverside 'Graffiti Ghost'. Pretty cool name, I must admit.

www.actionnewsjax.com/content/actionlocal/story/Graffiti-ghost-plagues-Riverside-residents/6p2e2FjN9k6vHLAiWDxnuw.cspx

[TheCat]

Agreed, great name. I hope his art is better than what they showed. Jim Love explains graffiti doesn't give good "vibes."

[Dog Walker]

Agreed, great name. I hope his art is better than what they showed. Jim Love explains graffiti doesn't give good "vibes."

His stuff makes no pretense at being artistic at all; black or white spray paint and a poorly executed, sloppy tag.  Really crude and childish. 

He tagged the brick wall of Publix that faces Oak Street, if you want to see an example of his stuff.  It's going to be expensive and difficult to get off without damaging the brick.

[I-10east]

^^^Yall are preaching to the choir about that GG's 'art' being nothing more than scribble-scrabble. Hell, I grew up in NY although the 80's, the era of the real hip hop, and graffiti covered subway trains, he's definitely not NY graffiti artist material.

[Timkin]

Shoot him.

[kellypope]

Are you that bloodthirsty? Over some paint? What's your preferred punishment for those who instigate violence?

[acme54321]

Shoot them too.