Answering Questions Vol6-Final-

13．What is the most common place to do graffiti in Japan?

              I couldn’t find statistics or articles relating to this question. However, as I mentioned in the past posts, they are paints that are done basically on public properties, such as, trains and buildings, which doesn’t belong to an individual. I think I see them mainly under railway viaducts.

Picture of a graffiti that I took

14. Is there any graffiti museums?

              There are graffiti exhibitions in museums. For example, in 2014,“City as Canvas: Graffiti Art From the Martin Wong Collection” took place at the Museum of the City of New York. They showed the graffiti-related materials by Martin Wong.

              In Yamanashi, Japan, there is a museum of Keith Haring, who used to be a graffiti artist. It is the first museum in the world to show only his works.

Pictures of art works by Keith Haring that I took at the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection

15. What city is famous for graffiti in the United States?

              Big cities such as, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago are famous for graffiti. As I mentioned, New York is the city where graffiti became famous firstly. Also, in Los Angeles, you can see graffiti in all over the city.  

Bibliography

• Johnson, K. (2014, February 06). Writing Was on the Wall, and Some Still Remains. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/arts/design/graffiti-art-at-the-museum-of-the-city-of-new-york.html?_r=0

• Nakamura Keith Haring Collection. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.nakamura-haring.com/pg25.html

• Art Crimes: City Walls: United States. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2016, from https://www.graffiti.org/index/usa.html

Answering Questions Vol5

 I would answer questions No10 to 12 in this post.

10. Is there some communities that their public security became bad because of graffiti?

I couldn’t find a specific community that their public security became bad only because of graffiti. However, as I mentioned in the past posts, graffiti is basically paints that are done illegally, to protest the society that they live. Therefore, as the numbers of graffiti grows, the number of crimes would be high. I think that is why people think graffiti has an influence on public security.

11. What kind of measures are done by government or communities to prevent people from doing graffiti in Japan?

As I answered in Answering Questions vol2, there are places like Shimokitazawa Ichibangai or Miyashita Park in Tokyo that ask famous artists or students to paint their walls or shutters to prevent graffiti. I also asked these questions in a survey that I am doing right now. Two people answered that they have seen paints by elementary school students on the public walls.

12. When do people do graffiti?

I also couldn’t find the answer to this question. In my guess, I think they do it during night because they don’t want people to see their face since it is a crime.

Links to my past posts that I mentioned in this post

l  http://graffiti-controversial.blogspot.jp/2016/07/answering-questions-vol3.html

l  http://graffiti-controversial.blogspot.jp/2016/06/questions-regarding-to-graffiti-vol2.html

Answering Questions vol 4

In today’s post, I will answer questions 7 to 9.

7. Is there any country that graffiti is not illegalized?

I couldn’t find any country where graffiti is allowed in anyplace. However, I found places where people can do graffiti legally. One of the most famous places is Venice Beach in California, United States. There is also a legal place for graffiti in London. At Alexandra Palace’s skate park. People have permission to do so from the Alexandra Palace itself. One problem they have is that the wall space is limited.

8. What do you do if someone does graffiti on your house?

My reply to this question is if the graffiti is artistic, I will keep it, but it is for example, just spraying their names or bad words, I would erase it. I might also put a security camera.

9. How much does it cost to erase square meter graffiti?

I couldn’t get the answer by square meter but I got the answer for square foot. If you ask to do it to professional service, it would cost from a dollar to $3.5. If you do it by yourself, it would be $0.02 to $0.3. One another site said that it depends on the wall material, but it is about $1-$3 as well.

 

Bibliography

l  http://matadornetwork.com/trips/10-places-where-graffiti-is-legal/

l  http://blog.thelondonvandal.com/2013/05/legal-graffiti-walls-london/

l  http://www.howmuchisit.org/graffiti-removal-cost/

l  http://www.graffitisolutions.com/node/6

Answering Questions ⑤

I am going to anser to question 9 & 10 :)

9) If graffiti was legalized, would it still be considered as vandalism?

This is all just my opinion, but many people consider graffiti as vandalism because some graffiti artists paint on someone's property. Even if graffiti was legalized, I think it doesn't mean that they would allow them to continue damaging people’s property. It would probably only allow graffiti to be painted in certain public spaces or areas. Unless all artists follow the rules, even if it was legalized, I feel that many of the people would still consider it as vandalism.

 

 

10) How did graffiti spread around the world?

 

 

Modern graffiti, as Azusa explained in the earlier post, is said to have appeared in Philadelphia in early 1960s and reached to New York in the late sixties. As the tome goes on, graffiti gradually starts to get paid attention. In 1971, New York Times made an interview to "TAKI 183", a graffiti artist, which was the first time this subculture was introduced to the world. This article spread graffiti to the world and TAKI 183 got well-known as the first writer. 

 

Sorry for being a little short. There wasn't much information.

＜Bibliography＞

"Birth and Evolution." Birth and Evolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.

"グラフィティの歴史　history of Graffiti　web餓鬼の眼." グラフィティの歴史　history of Graffiti　web餓鬼の眼. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2016.






 

Answering Questions ④

I'd like to answer to question 7 & 8!



7) Why do graffiti artist paint over someone else's piece? Why do they accept that?


I always wondered why they accept it. There were no clear answer to this question but I'd like to introduce a possible answer.

Most of graffiti artists know that their piece of work is something that won't last forever. Battling and competition is part of graffiti culture. Artist could paint over someone else's piece only if they are certain to overcome its quality. It means that better you are, more accepted you become and piece remains longer. It also leads to the improvement of the whole graffiti quality.

However, not all go like this way. It was surprising to find out but many also hate to be painted over. This may be because many artists are an amateur. Also some graffiti has meanings. Such as gangs painting it to show it is their territory. In that case, the situation gets a little different. People get beaten up by bats, have someone broken into their house, or worse get hit by a car. Even with the culture, I felt that it is better not to draw on somebody's piece if it was in place you do not know much about. So as a result, it might be that it just seems to be accepted for us, but in reality isn't.

This got nothing to do with the question but it was very interesting when researching, that finding rules between graffiti artists in English sites was very difficult, but as soon as I changed into Japanese I found it straight away.



8) Do artists paint in groups or alone?


Many artists paint with 1~3 people. This is because it is easier for them to paint if they have someone who watches out for the police or gangs. When painting a big piece, it sometimes takes several hours for them to finish. Concentrating both on their painting and the police would be a great stress. Although, they do not bring too many people because then they get found more easily. so I thing they do not paint with more that 10 people.



＜Bibliography＞

"Graffiti Q & A." Graffiti Q & A. Ed. Susan Farrell. Art Crimes, n.d. Web. 10 July 2016.

"ヒップホップ・グラフィティの歴史と暗黙のルール～ヘタクソは上書き禁止." RSS. Global Information Site Silzou, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 July 2016.

"What's Graffiti?" What's Graffiti? WORLD OF STREET ART, n.d. Web. 10 July 2016. http://yachu-graf.com/street_art/what.html

Answering Questions ③

I would like to answer to question 5 & 6 this week!


5) Are there any laws for graffiti?

I found out that there are laws for graffiti in some countries.

In America for example, there are graffiti laws within different states.

In California, it is stated that…

“Every person who maliciously commits any of the following acts with respect to any real or personal property not his or her own, in cases other than those specified by state law, is guilty of vandalism: (1) Defaces with graffiti or other inscribed material (2) Damages  (3) Destroys.” It clearly mentions “graffiti” and in the law it also defined graffiti as any word, figure, mark, or design, that is written, marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on property. If the damage of destruction cost more than $400, the person had to pay a fine not more that $10000 or put in to jail for not more than a year.

In NY, it is stated that…

“Defacement of property, possession, sale and display of aerosol spray paint cans, [and] broad tipped markers and etching acid prohibited in certain instances.” And there were more specific laws. I was really surprised by it since New York is where graffiti has started, and I thought it would be more generous with graffiti. Not only does it ban people to draw on public and personal property, it also requires property owners to remove it (Call the city). It turned out to be much strict than I thought it would be.

But as a country, there are no laws specific to graffiti. However, an individual's right to free speech and expression is protected in The First Amendment to the US Constitution, which I think graffiti could be included in. It depends whether you consider graffiti as “ART” or “Vandalism”. I personally take it as a form of talent and a way of expression (if it wasn’t causing any trouble to people). I don’t want cities to be too strict with graffiti.

6) What is the definition of  "Graffiti"?


I searched throgh different dictionary to find an answer. It is a little similar to Azusa's post.

In Obunsha’s COMPREHENSIVE English-Japanese Dictionary, it defines graffito (graffiti) as “scratch, writing, drawing in public spaces”. I looked up few other dictionaries but most of them said the same thing. However Longman Dictionary of Cotemporary English LONGMAN was a little different and said “rude, humorous or political writing and pictures on the walls of buildings, trains etc.”

It is hard to say which is right, but one thing I found out is that there is no word that has exactly the same meaning as graffiti in Japanese. If you translate it to Japanese it would be “落書き(rakugaki)” which means scribble and does not necessarily mean drawings on walls. If you say “落書き(rakugaki)” to Japanese people I think only a few people would think of graffiti. Also, I personally felt that dictionary made in Japan tend to explain graffiti as in more negative way. So although the definition in English would be the one I have mentioned first, I thought that it is different within different countries.





＜Bibliography＞

California Penal Code - PEN § 594 | FindLaw." Findlaw. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 July 2016. http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-594.html

Anti-Graffiti City and State Legislation." Anti-Graffiti City and State Legislation. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 July 2016. http://www.nyc.gov/html/nograffiti/html/legislation.html

Takahashi, Genji, and Yoshio Ogawa, eds. Obunsha’s COMPREHENSIVE English-Japanese Dictionary. 8th ed. Shinjyuku: Oubunsha, 1975. Print.

Longman Dictionary of Cotemporary English LONGMAN. Vol. 4. Shinjyuku: Kiriharashoten, 2005. Print.

Answering Questions Vol3

In this post, I will answer questions No5 and 6.

5. What is the difference between Graffiti and Street Art?

To identify the difference between Graffiti and Street Art, I used 4 different dictionaries.

Firstly, I researched the definition of Graffiti. Webster’s Pocket Dictionary said that it is “a crudely drawn inscription”, and it is the plural form of “graffito”. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English said that it is “rude, humorous or political writing and pictures on the walls of buildings, trains, etc.” Oxford Dictionaries wrote that it is “Writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.” Only Oxford Dictionaries wrote clearly it is “illicit” which means illegal, but the other two dictionaries also mentioned they are crude or rude. Also, I can guess that they are done on the walls of buildings, trains or other surface in a public place.

              Secondly, I researched the meaning of street art. Urban Dictionary said it is “any art developed in public spaces - that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to art of an illicit nature (as opposed to, for instance, government or community art initiatives). The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, though it is often used to distinguish modern public-space artwork from traditional graffiti and the overtones of gang territoriality and vandalism associated with it.” From this definition, I can surmise that street art can be illicit, but it is not always vandalism or cruel.

              In my post “Answering Questions Vol1”, I mentioned that Art should basically be creative, impressive, imaginative or beautiful. From this definition, I think that it can be said that some graffiti arts, for example the art works by KAZZROCK or TOMI-E, who I introduced in the last post, can be included in street arts. Also, art works in Shimokitazawa Ichibangai are street arts because they are legal. However, there are many other graffiti on the street that is only writing their names or words on walls. They don’t meet any of the definition of art. Thus, they cannot be said street art.

               

6. What kind of legal actions are taken if you do it without permission in Japan?

              They will be usually charged for Property Damage (Article261 of the Criminal Law) or the Minor Offenses Act, Clause 33, Article 1. Property Damage is crimes those destruct or injure other people’s things except for documents, buildings, and warships and other vessels. Minor Offenses are for example, putting posters on somebody’s house or structures without any reasons. If you are charged for Property Damage, you will be sentenced for three years, or fined under three hundred thousand yen. For Minor Offenses Act you will be detained or have to pay a fine.

Bibliography

The new international Webster's pocket dictionary of the English language (2012 ed.). (2002). Naples, FL: Trident Press International.

Longman dictionary of contemporary English (5th ed.). (2009). Harlow: Pearson.

Definition of graffiti in English: Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/graffiti

Street art. (2013, December 11). Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=street art

壁にスプレーで描かれた絵って、かっこいいけど、ただの落書きとはどう違うの!? (2016, January 06). Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://news.mynavi.jp/news/2016/01/06/382/

汚れを落として描く「グラフィティ」 日本でやったら違法？. (2013). Retrieved July 06, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2013/12/29/eminem-reverse-graffiti-illegal-_n_4514014.html

Kamata, K. (2015). Daily Roppou: 2016. Tokyo: Sanseido.