Graffiti loving Chief Minister opens up buses to stencil art

perhaps bonfire believes what he posts ?

Then you are indeed that stupid. You keep on calling people criminals even though this is entirly legal and with the permission of the owners, what’s complicated about that?

perhaps bonfire believes what he posts ?

instead of the waringah experience, id point to the ainslie shops experience.

a tad more relevant.

Thanks to LukerGal for the friends comments

bonfire: -1 troll

No one could be as stupid and bull headed as he pretending to be, so I assume he’s just trolling.

Letting the press release answer that one:

“The Warringah experience showed that the incidence of illegal graffiti ‘tagging’ could be reduced if young people were given the opportunity to develop their artistic skills and engage with the broader community in a positive way.”

This may or may not be psychobabble, but if you’re going to criticise the idea, you might want to try actually addressing/attempting to refute its claims of positive results. Making graffiti/stencil art illegal doesn’t seem to have eradicated it, but some positive results have apparently been seen with this approach – hence it is at least an attempt at a positive step, and not totally without basis.

Whether or not it will actually work is another question, of course…

these criminals need retraining, at perhaps a sheltered workshop, rather than softhead govt support of criminal activity.

it amazes me that the govt want to ban a person walking freely in public from a harmless cigarette on the grounds that it sets a bad example for children, and should therefore be banned.

yet the following week supports a program and funds it, to encourage activity with its origins in criminal activity, which the children will no doubt see (and applying the same logic) and copy.

As i cant imagine the old action guy at the belco exchange who spends every afternoon harassing schoolkids allowing them to while their time away graffiting buses while waiting for the 312, explain to me how this great plan to promote criminal activity is a good idea ?

This is not my comment, but the comment of a friend of mine who is not registered:

I read RA every day and have seen discussions of graf in canberra over time.

I thought I would convey a few things to this discussion.

Here’s my two cents.

I am a practising Graf artist. I have been for over 20 years.

First point:

I am not one of those kids painting your back fences etc at night.

I have better things to to with my time, and can’t speak for those kids any more than you guys can.

I’m not interested in what they do.

They paint illegally, the cops get pi**ed off and hassle the people painting legally (ie me and my friends).

I have a job and career and don’t need that s**t when trying to just have a quiet paint and a few laffs with my mates.

For the record the two groups (legal and illegal) aren’t the same people. They don’t mix for the above reason.

I paint legally and don’t really give a damn what people think of the art in any case.

I’m expressing myself inb the manner that suits me best and f**k anyone who doesn’t like it.

Listened to NIMBY’s bitching about it for 20 years and am deaf to it now.

Second point:

As a group of artists, we are scrutinised, chastised, belittled, hassled and censored more than any other artist group in the city.

Read the recent media articles as proof of how were are viewed even though we act within the law.

The level of censorship imposed upon us by the government is ridiculous.

The list of things we aren’t allowed to depict in our art is long. See the grafitti strategy for the full list.

This list includes things you can see in any art gallery, movie, video game, magazine etc.

Apparently it’s only bad if we’re doing it.

This censorship isn’t imposed on us only by the government.

The anti-graf cleanup crew regularly visits legal spots and rolls over anything they don’t like with beige paint.

This is random, not open for discussion and applied inconsistently and often.

What they like one day may be considered offensive the next and destroyed.

There have been many works of art which have been destroyed depsite the fact that they meet the government’s criteria.

These works can cost up to $500 or more in materials to execute and can be destroyed in a matter of hours.

Third point:

One of the main reasons civic gets tagged (apaprt from being a high traffic area) is that the nearest legal spot on Barry Drive is a dangerous health hazard which can become a death trap when it rains. If you don’t believe me, go down there, enjoy the smell, and watch out for the discarded needles.

This same spot is also used as a shooting gallery by the city’s heroin addicts, so watch out for them while you’re down there.

Despite the cops and the potential criminal record, for younger kids especially, it’s easier and safer for to paint illegally in the city centre.

I challenge Mr Hanna to spend a saturday down there in that drain to see how much he likes it.

In summer the smell of the stagnant Sullivan’s creek water is so strong you gag and most of the time you’re painting with watering eyes.

Fourth point:

Stencil art is not graf or graf related. The only common ground is the medium.

Good luck to the kids doing it, but, they’re not even playing the same sport as I am, never mind being in the same game.

Hope this was able to fill some gaps for you guys.

It’s quite hilarious that I’m attempting to argue with Bonfire when it’s clear that he can’t actually read. But, hey, let’s continue the laughs, shall we?

If I was to say “Bonfire, come over and paint Fuck You” on my wall, fair enough, your comparision would hold water. But it doesn’t.

The government is allowing, and, indeed, positively encouraging people to stencil buses (presumably with some override to prevent offense being caused).

It’s sorta like when the Pope invited Michaelangelo over to paint the roof of the Sistine Chapel. Michaelangelo wasn’t doing grafitti, since he was invited to do so by the person who owned the place. Similar with our bus-bound stencil artist.

The expression “graffiti art” is, of course, a bit of a misnomer, since what’s actually going on isn’t graffiti at all (in the sense that the word “grafitti” means painting done without permission). But it’s art using techniques and styles often found in graffiti. Which might be where the confusion lies.

Art has no artistic merit.

art is not art

Yeah, and ill scrawl on a piece of canvas and hang it in the gallery – Pretty stupid rationale bonfire – just because its painted on canvas or cut out of a piece of cardboard does not make it art – Art by definition is the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium(www.dictionary.com) I think the stencils being talked of have some kind of artistic merit – not of the “fuck you” variety that you are so eager to plug. If you wish to have a look at a good example of stencil art ( graffiti or vandalism to someone such as yourself ) go to the corner of Mort street and Correnderk street in the City( on the SW corner ) and look for the switching box for the traffic lights. Stencils are more than “Fuck you”. they are either politically or artistically charged. Additionally – the general iq of people who spray fuck you on a wall would be so low that it would be a danger( let alone a damn timely process ) to them and people in the immediate area if they were to sieze a scalpel and cut the words out of cardboard. Tags are vandalism as well, proper graffiti productions are art but thats another story. Thats all i have to say.

sorry if I presumed that most people disprove of criminal activity. you caught me out. I feel bad.

Damn you’re a tool. Graff isn’t criminal, vandalism is, they ain’t the same bloody thing. Plus I’m not sure if most people do always disprove of criminal activity, apart from the ACT it is criminal to have or perform an abortion, but most Australians support a woman’s right to choose. But that’s not really the point as there’s nothing criminal going on here, but your either to bloody stupid to see that or choose not to because it doesn’t help your argument. I’d vote the former.

Stenciling is art, painting pictures with spray cans on public walls is art. Sometimes it is also vandalism depending on whether or not you have permission to do it. Just because you don’t want it to be there, doesn’t remove any artistic value.
Sorry to spoil your black and white world.

To me that would express the house telling all people who veiw to get fucked..

fair cop.

i’ll bring my ‘fuck you’ stencil over to your place and express myself artistically then.

i mean, since its art…

Additionally, just because you dont like bluepoles – it does not mean it is not art. Horses for courses

If stencilling was graffiti, then Tonia Todmann would be a vandal. Sweet…..

Further than that, it’s a proposal to allow stencil art in a controlled manner on an asset owned by the proposers, with the stated intent of reducing illegal graffiti. The only legitimate objection is on the grounds of aesthetics, and that’s a matter of personal taste.

There’s a difference between painting “fuck you” on a residence and stencil art. As anybody with half a brain would be able to tell. I have no idea whether that definition includes Bonfire.

This isn’t a proposal to allow grafitti. This is a proposal to allow stencil art. There’s a difference.

well caf lets look at it this way.

take a can of paint, go to any act burghers residence and paint ‘fuck you’ n their garage door.

see what reaction you get.

sorry if i presumed that most people disprove of criminal activity. you caught me out. i feel bad.

bonfire doesn’t prove things, he asks other people to do that.

when will the alp realise tha the general voting public regards all graffiti as vandalism.

Says you… can you prove it?

What about the murals in Civic? Or the even cooler “Over 40 – why not become Soylent Green” stencils down by the Art Gallery? I’ll hear nothing said against them, bonfire.

when i saw this media release i thought it was a spoof.

when will the alp realise tha the general voting public regards all graffiti as vandalism.

despite what your staffer believes…

im sure the soon to be closed schools will provide lots of stencil space as well.

talk about seriously bad policy.

That’d kick ass. One big wall as a mural and the other as the blackboard (transient mural). A couple of the Tom Seleck stencils seen around Lyneham shops would go down nicely too.

Ever considered having someone come and grafitti the walls of your lounge room???

Awsome. I love stencil art.

I think that is a great idea…

But yes he probably is just legitmising his staffer