Graffiti

[Hooter]

  I was waiting on a friend the other day in mid Michigan as a train went by real slow. Trains quit running in our town a bunch of years ago so I really don't see many.  We all see the painting on the cars, but have you ever really looked at the art? Ya, it's grafiti and leagally malicious destruction but some of the stuff minus the gang crap is really nicely done. Never paid much attention till then but I was quite impressed. Guess I'm just easily amused.

[Jess Tolbirt]

yep there are some good artist out there and can work miracles with a few cans of spray paint,,

[dreamaker]

Talent and fame doesn't give anyone the right to trash other peoples property, it maybe art to some, but destruction to others. It is a shame to waste the talent!

[solo1]

We have lots of trains with graffiti go through here since it's a main yard for Norfolk and Southern.

You're right, there is some real talent out there. You can also easily guess the average height of the painters. 

 Yeah, it's illegal and there should be a solution. Maybe a background check before purchase of spray cans. At least that's where some would start.

There are a lot more serious problems to spend time and resources on.

[Gavin_Sons]

i think it makes those ugly train cars look better. just if some of those kids put that work onto a canvas or paper. Probably all on welfare and use to having everything just handed to them. Never was taught to take their talent and get paid for it. I know a guy that repainted his fence several times a year because of all the graffiti that got put on it. Before he repainted he would take pictures of the work. Finally caught the kids doing it and hired them to paint the walls of his inground pool. It looks really neat.

[Jess from VA]

Back in '07 I took the Amtrak (Vermonter) from DC up the Eastern Seaboard to Springfield MA to buy a Valk and ride it home.  Most comfortable mass transit I ever took.  But the amount of massive urban decay and graffiti visible from the train yards (which used to service all city industry, now nearly all abandoned) thru Baltimore, Wilmington, Philly, Trenton, Newark, NYC is nearly beyond comprehension.  Many of the bridges, tunnels, culverts and retaining walls go back two hundred years.  Covered in paint.  While much was very artistic, I don't like any of it. 

 

[da prez]

  Several years ago , An older man was frustrated by the constant grafetti on his garage which the city would fine him for if he did not remove it right away.
  One night  , he caught the brats and held them at gunpoint. (he had a weapons card) He then proceded to spray paint the little darlings , and the turned them loose. He was arrested for holding them captive , causing harm to another person , and vandelism. In court , the judge tryed to control his laughter. I believe he got off with a warning and a small fine.  

                                     da prez

[Hook#3287]

Back in '07 I took the Amtrak (Vermonter) from DC up the Eastern Seaboard to Springfield MA to buy a Valk and ride it home.  Most comfortable mass transit I ever took.  But the amount of massive urban decay and graffiti visible from the train yards (which used to service all city industry, now nearly all abandoned) thru Baltimore, Wilmington, Philly, Trenton, Newark, NYC is nearly beyond comprehension.  Many of the bridges, tunnels, culverts and retaining walls go back two hundred years.  Covered in paint.  While much was very artistic, I don't like any of it. 

 

Jess, I just talked about my train ride in another post.  I took Amtrak from Springfield to DC and back and I enjoyed it very much.  I remember thinking the same you did about the graffiti & urban decay, it is overwhelming.  I remember thinking that everyone puts the crap they don't want and don't know how to get rid of, next to the railroad tracks.

[Jess from VA]

Back in '07 I took the Amtrak (Vermonter) from DC up the Eastern Seaboard to Springfield MA to buy a Valk and ride it home.  Most comfortable mass transit I ever took.  But the amount of massive urban decay and graffiti visible from the train yards (which used to service all city industry, now nearly all abandoned) thru Baltimore, Wilmington, Philly, Trenton, Newark, NYC is nearly beyond comprehension.  Many of the bridges, tunnels, culverts and retaining walls go back two hundred years.  Covered in paint.  While much was very artistic, I don't like any of it.  

 

Jess, I just talked about my train ride in another post.  I took Amtrak from Springfield to DC and back and I enjoyed it very much.  I remember thinking the same you did about the graffiti & urban decay, it is overwhelming.  I remember thinking that everyone puts the crap they don't want and don't know how to get rid of, next to the railroad tracks.

Yes, it's like some modern (only 200yo) archaeological dig.  I have referred to the view of these cities from the tracks as the view from the asshole. Urban industrial wastelands (of what made us a great nation during the industrial revolution).  It was very interesting, and if you looked closely, there were plaques and chisel-work honoring great American builders/engineers hidden in the carnage.

[Hooter]

i think it makes those ugly train cars look better. just if some of those kids put that work onto a canvas or paper. Probably all on welfare and use to having everything just handed to them. Never was taught to take their talent and get paid for it. I know a guy that repainted his fence several times a year because of all the graffiti that got put on it. Before he repainted he would take pictures of the work. Finally caught the kids doing it and hired them to paint the walls of his inground pool. It looks really neat.

That is cool about the pool.

[Hooter]

Talent and fame doesn't give anyone the right to trash other peoples property, it maybe art to some, but destruction to others. It is a shame to waste the talent!

   I don't condone MDP at all! This was a cargo train that I just happen to be near enough and it was going slow enough to get a good look at it. We don't have any trains and the graffiti is zilch here unlike other areas where it's on everything.
Just an observation is all.

[Skinhead]

I led a ride a couple years back out in California, we had a white Pie wagon (UPS style truck) and stopped for lunch near the Salton Sea area, we parked all of our vehicles together in a closed businesse parking lot and walked across the street for lunch.  When we got back some local gangbange had tagged the pie wagon.  Would liked to have caught the little bastard in the act.

I just can't imagine lugging a can of paint around all day, looking for some one else's property to use as a canvas.

[cokebottle10]

One of the things I thought of doing when I retire was to become a graffiti artist. I would use rolled paint to paint the walls back close to the original color. Mostly white, gray or beige. These are colors that you can get from a recycling center. I like the look of a blank wall. I would call myself “EL Blanko” and sign the wall afterward in small type with a sharpy. I would even take donations to help fund my art work.

Heck, If I could raise enought money then I could start doing my "art work" on stone and brick with a pressure washer.

As far as the train goes, I'm a model railroader. You can buy graffiti decals in any scale you want some model train cars now come with the graffiti already painted on them.

Thanks, David in Fletcher NC.

[Robert]

Some are very creative, I was thinking wouldn't it be great if someone could start graffiti centers around the city, that the people who are doing this could come and do all the work they wanted. Then get them recognized and get them into art programs or some kind of graphic arts to start them on their way to a legitimate money making career. What ever these centers are, call them connection centers the link between the emotion of the artists and the road to redirect their talents and ideas into something to benefit all those who like art or creativity.

[Valker]

Original idea here: I think there is a billion dollar industry going to waste. The railroads should sell advertising on the sides of their train cars. The advertisers should hire the graffiti artists to do the work.

[RP#62]

It is practically non-existent here compared to many cities in Europe.  In Madrid, and Amsterdam, it looks like painting graffiti is the national pastime.  I don't know if its that the youth have nothing else to do or nowhere to go, but just about every inch of space that's considered public property is covered in graffiti.  The locals have pretty much become numb to it.  And its not even artistic, it look like its almost graffiti for the sake of graffiti.  Its very sad.

-RP

[Oss]

NYC has a free program where the city sends a crew out to remove graffiti from buildings
at least on my avenue which is White Plains Rd   I give them a tip to make sure they do a good job and its always appreciated and their work is excellent.

Have not had any graffiti now on my storefront in about 4 yrs or more


Valker I love your idea, why dont you pitch it to the RR's

[Hooter]

But then it would be work and not "getting away with something". Would that be different? IF that was the case the graffiti would disappear, right?   

[Otus]

We have lots of trains with graffiti go through here since it's a main yard for Norfolk and Southern.

You're right, there is some real talent out there. You can also easily guess the average height of the painters. 

 Yeah, it's illegal and there should be a solution. Maybe a background check before purchase of spray cans. At least that's where some would start.

There are a lot more serious problems to spend time and resources on.

If you see that many trains I'd imagine that you are familiar with this guys work. I like how he dated and numbered each one. He obviously had way too much free time.

[czuch]

We ghad a graffitti start up out where I live. We're ruralish so it was a surprise. I made a couple of stencils, so it was readable, and I would take long to deface the defacers oiginal defacement.
It has the punks name, followed by, "Likes it Folsom style". and such.
It stopped. The kids said they know the perp and he was real pissed about the ensuing ridicule.

[Valkjerk]

What really pisses me off is how fast (even the most artistic ones) they can do billboard size renderings. Back when I painted billboards, a really nice one would take me two to three days to complete. A talented little tagger painted one of my 30 ft, billboards in three hours. That's frustrating.