This is a letter i wrote to the graffiti task force, they know i do graffiti workshops and supposedly were trying to get ahold of me. they did, sort of, but not much dialogue has happened. only these kinds of things. near pointless facebook messages and phone calls from me to an answering machine anyways, check it out. graffiti and public art and art in general are things i believe in a great deal. the letter speaks for itself.
"hi _______, i tried getting a hold of ronnie, no luck, again, the public art issue is out.
i think kamloops graffiti "problem" could be described in 3 ways.
there are taggers, who tag everywhere. like that's ever gonna stop?!
there are burners, who do those complex "wildstyle" pieces, that are actually REALLY hard to do, it takes a lot of time, money and patience to do those.
there are a people who do characters/mural type stuff. few and far between.
i think kamloops should promote murals and get graffiti artists doing them. even wildstyle pieces, there's a few around town that have never been hit, for example, the one by the BC lotto building was done 5 years ago, a legal wall and has never been buffed by other writers.
please go buy the new issue of Juxtapoz magazine, it's got some geezer playing guitar on the cover, it's the "public art" issues and has key interviews with people who organize street art festivals in norway and southern italy, both with interesting challenges and successes.
there's also an interview with 2 of my favourite artists Saber and Revok, from LA and they are incredibly sharp and insightful on their situation, as LA has declared war on graffiti. it's interesting to hear their point of view.
either way you look at it, art improves the quality of life in people. it's in hospitals, mental health institutions, prisons have artists programs, and so on.
when i drive around town and see many potential walls for murals and i just see the KGTF painting them over in battleship grey or monkeyshit brown, i get a little sad.
potential artists and creativity are being crushed and rolled over in a weirdly totalitarian way.
a great wall to hit would be the derelict building above the blue bridge, on the left hand side, above the car dealership, hell the canada games pool even, make on cohesive mural or do a lotto draw of squares to artists.
i find it ironic this town has tens of millions of dollars for sports, but fuck all for arts. you can apply for a $1500 dollar grant from the city? get with the times kamloops.
we are so indoctrinated into believing graffiti and street art is bad, and will be bad for business, it started in the 1980's in New York, and the mayor Guliani blabbing about his "broken window" theory. it's crap and been disproved many times over, but there's money in graffiti removal, not a lot in this town, but in a major metropolitan area, lots of money.
money for contractors, clean up crews, administrators and so on, and the demonization of graffiti creates a large bureaucracy that sucks money that could otherwise be going to schools or art programs.
all over some people with spray cans? come on.
the task force will never, ever win, it's like a war on jealousy, at no time with the task force ever be able to say, "well, that's it, we got'em all!ever.
i challenge the task force to pick up a can and try to do something with it. spend a couple hours or even an hour after your next meeting trying to do even a simple throwie. and not with cheap cans too, use the cans graffiti artists use, ironlak, fresh paint, or rusto. none of them are cheap.
i was a bit let down when i got the answering machine message at the task force, it seemed to me like 'business as usual. well, i'd rather meet and talk with you to be honest, i've got a feeling i'd just get a runaround.or we can dialogue like this if you like.
all the best,
Chris Bose.
well, there you have it, they wanted my opinion on the matter and i gave it to them. will they do anything with it? doubt it.
i love art.
it should never be criminalized.
or seen as a "nuisance."
or bad for business.
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