Althouse: "Just because he is a well-known artist does not take away the fact that he is also a vandal."

June 24, 2015

"Just because he is a well-known artist does not take away the fact that he is also a vandal."

"And that's what we consider was done, in these instances, was vandalism."

35 comments:

Skyler said...: I've never understood the fame of these vandals.

The movie about Banksy was interesting because by the end you realize that the entire movie served, whether intentional or not, to highlight that the "art" involved required little talent and could be done by even the most obviously unintelligent and untalented.; 6/24/15, 8:23 PM
Joe said...: The story point out that the idiot even bragged about doing illegal art--i.e. vandalism. What a tool.; 6/24/15, 8:26 PM
David said...: Most of Detroit is an act of vandalism. Square mile after square mile of well built home in once proud neighborhoods are gone.

And now they notice this.; 6/24/15, 8:26 PM
Gahrie said...: Any dog does the same thing as tagging every time you take it for a walk. Dogs just use smell instead of sight.; 6/24/15, 8:34 PM
tim maguire said...: It's a fair description. A lot if these guys, some of whom are quite talented, think that what they are doing shouldn't be illegal because it's "art" and the "other people's property" aspect is part of the artistic statement.

Property is theft anyway.; 6/24/15, 8:38 PM
Gahrie said...: A lot if these guys, ...think that what they are doing shouldn't be illegal because it's "art" and the "other people's property" aspect is part of the artistic statement.

They are also the ones who get all protective of property rights when people try to remove or cover up their "art".; 6/24/15, 8:46 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: If you are able, put your feelings of inadequacy aside and appreciate the money Fairey will pull in from this episode.

Fame isn't for everyone, can you think of a corollary?; 6/24/15, 8:58 PM
The Godfather said...: Oh! How sad. He can never go back to Detroit.; 6/24/15, 9:10 PM
Etienne said...: Graffiti should be punished by removing the arms with a machete, and putting a carrot up their ass.; 6/24/15, 9:34 PM
Be said...: Ironic how people took him so seriously when he was "banned in Boston."; 6/24/15, 10:01 PM
William said...: Vandalizing Detroit is almost the exact opposite of gilding the lily. It takes a tremendous creative leap to even think of such a project......I'm vaguely reminded of the German guard in Vonnegut's novel who shot a POW for looting a teapot while cleaning up the Dresden wreckage.; 6/24/15, 10:48 PM
wildswan said...: Maybe he persuaded the stores to complain so as to reauthenticate himself. Who knows?; 6/24/15, 11:27 PM
Skyler said...: Vonnegut or Fairey? Even I'll take Fairey anytime over Vonnegut's garbage. At least courts will agree that he is a vandal, but few acknowledge how craven Vonnegut's work is.; 6/24/15, 11:38 PM
rcommal said...: Fairey's caught [himself] in a catch-22 (vernacular use).

So it goes (likewise).

; ); 6/24/15, 11:52 PM
rcommal said...: It's kinda analogical to a celluloid jam, if you can think of it from that point of view.; 6/25/15, 12:07 AM
rcommal said...: Skyler:

"Harrison Bergeron"?; 6/25/15, 12:31 AM
Paul said...: As long as the 'artist' helped Obama's political prospects he was untouchable.

Even with comments that were not so good for Obama.

But now that Obama is a lame duck and not so powerful, the local authorities have no use for the 'artist'.

He is about to find out his 'art' is needed no more and he is expendable.; 6/25/15, 2:35 AM
Robert Cook said...: "Vonnegut or Fairey? Even I'll take Fairey anytime over Vonnegut's garbage. At least courts will agree that he is a vandal, but few acknowledge how craven Vonnegut's work is."

Just curious: what is craven about Vonnegut's work?; 6/25/15, 7:05 AM
Robert Cook said...: I like Fairey's work. I also like seeing street art and posters and graphics wheat-pasted in public spaces. The impulse to leave one's mark, to assert one's voice or identity in the face of public indifference or official hostility is universal. Graffiti has been found in the Roman catacombs and at Pompeii. The early cave paintings can be considered graffiti.

I don't think any street artist really thinks what they are doing "...shouldn't be illegal because it's 'art' and the 'other people's property' aspect is part of the artistic statement." I think they're well aware what they're doing is in violation of the law, and I think this is part of the thrill of doing it, and part of why they do it.; 6/25/15, 7:15 AM
Paddy O said...: There are sometimes that "white privilege" is an apt description. This is one of those times.

The police are right to treat him the way they'd treat others.; 6/25/15, 7:31 AM
CWJ said...: Paddy O,

How is "white privilege" apt, when the police treat him the way they'd treat others?; 6/25/15, 7:42 AM
Known Unknown said...: I think they're well aware what they're doing is in violation of the law, and I think this is part of the thrill of doing it, and part of why they do it.

I don't mind if it's actual effort and looks like art. But most tagging is just stupid vandalism.; 6/25/15, 7:50 AM
Scott said...: If the act of vandalism is part of the art, then so is the jail time.

When Keith Haring was alive, he would tape his artwork to the inside of subway cars. He quit that when he became famous -- it was like taping up bundles of hundred dollar bills.; 6/25/15, 8:07 AM
Rick Lee said...: I always think I'd love to go paint on these guys' houses or their cars. Spray paint on their stereo systems. "Hey man... just expressing myself".; 6/25/15, 8:36 AM
Robert Cook said...: "I don't mind if it's actual effort and looks like art. But most tagging is just stupid vandalism."

Call it practice. It's a truism that an aspiring artist must paint a thousand bad pictures in order to eventually paint the first good one.

But Fairey's work, like much street art today, is not spray-painted but is comprised of printed images--handbills and posters--wheatpasted on walls and other public surfaces.

"When Keith Haring was alive, he would tape his artwork to the inside of subway cars. He quit that when he became famous -- it was like taping up bundles of hundred dollar bills."

I don't recall Haring "taping" any of his artwork inside subway cars...or anywhere. He became recognized by drawing his pictures with white chalk on the blank black advertising signage boards throughout the NYC subway system when old advertising posters had been taken down and before new ones had been put up. I well recall seeing his original chalk drawings all over the place. I have a dim memory--which may imaginary--of exiting a subway train and seeing Haring at work on a drawing.

He stopped when it became unnecessary; after having made himself visible and something of a sensation, he was able to have gallery shows and he received commissions to paint public murals all over the world. I recall seeing one show of his work, an early show, where Haring was sitting behind the desk at the door as one entered the gallery. It's hard to believe that was all so long ago.; 6/25/15, 8:37 AM
Anonymous said...: Meh. Fairey is an untalented hack who has made a career -- and oodles of money -- stealing from his betters. He started out as a plagiarist and he hasn't changed. See this article for the low down (in great detail) on him. He's a creep, a cheat, and a common thief.; 6/25/15, 8:47 AM
TrespassersW said...: Hitler is another well-known artist.

Just saying.; 6/25/15, 8:56 AM
cubanbob said...: Fairey should be whipped for inflicting his Stalinist Obama propaganda posters on us.; 6/25/15, 9:02 AM
Robert Cook said...: @Alan Speakman:

I've seen that article before, and, in fact, I like Mark Vallen's artwork. I first saw it--without knowing his name--when I bought the last published number of SLASH magazine over 30 years ago, which featured his drawing of the Germs' Darby Crash on the cover.

I don't think Fairey has ever asserted he is the originator of the images he uses in his works. I think most who see his work and other similar street artists assume they are using appropriated imagery. (More often than not it is quite apparently appropriated and even familiar imagery.) This is part of the function of such street art, one might say: it is the vomiting back up of images purveyed by mass media, ("repurposing it" as they say), utilizing it in new contexts for ironic or satirical or political purposes.

One may reject such art and such rationales for it, or one may accept it, according to one's own point of view and taste. Much street art, like much gallery and popular art, is shit; some of it, like any other art, is good.; 6/25/15, 9:17 AM
Robert Cook said...: By the way, I don't necessarily disagree with Vallen's critique of Fairey. However, I do like what Fairey does with his appropriated images, simply on an aesthetic level. I don't look to Fairey for political statements or critiques.

(That he did the HOPE poster for egregious phony populist--and loyal servant of the rich and powerful--Barack Obama suggests Fairey's lack of political discernment or concern, at the very least. While the extent of Obama's thorough rottenness and mendacity was not glaringly obvious prior to his election in 2008, that he would betray his promises and his supporters was certainly apparent, inasmuch as he had already betrayed a significant promise--regarding the revised FISA law--prior to his election.); 6/25/15, 10:15 AM
A to the C said...: In agreement with Robert Cook -- Fairey has great talent in terms of composition, design, and color. I read the article on his plagiarism a couple years ago. It's an interesting question, plagiarism vs appropriation. As an artist myself I know how much effort goes into making art and I don't care for Fairey using the work of anonymous artists in his own stuff. If he were just using stock photos, iconic photojournalism imagery, corporate graphics, etc, I wouldn't have a problem with it at all. Using the work of unknown artists, though, is a classless move, stealing the thunder of some poor shmuck out there who could probably use a little recognition.
As far as street art in general, there is a lot of worthless shit, no doubt. There are, though, many artists doing amazing work with spray cans. Search #streetart or #streetartnyc on instagram and you'll see a lot of great stuff.
Any body thinking about doing this kind of work better be okay with the idea of getting arrested. Most of these guys don't become rich & famous, and I've heard of a couple doing some real time, as in years. As a younger man I made a couple unwise decisions that lead to an opportunity to sample the cuisine at the Orange County jail. Ever since, I've felt just fine about painting on surfaces that I own.
I find it amusing to see avowed leftists in creative fields amass vast piles of wealth and fame (makes me a little envious as well, let's be honest). There's just sort of an incongruity there. Reminds me of reading an editorial in the NY Times lamenting the plight of the poor & disadvantaged, placed directly above a half-page advertisement for a $50,000 Bulgari wristwatch.; 6/25/15, 1:23 PM
Paddy O said...: "How is "white privilege" apt, when the police treat him the way they'd treat others?"

There's a whole article about it, as if it's some kind of scandal that he's arrested, he gets a whole art show,etc. and so on. It's not because of the police in this instance, it's the broader reaction that suggests somehow he's fine because he's an "artist."

And I should add, I find the "white privilege" label way overused and unhelpful in most circumstances.; 6/25/15, 1:26 PM
A to the C said...: A couple years ago a street artist I came in contact with through instagram asked me if I wanted to have some of my work included in a pop-up art show he was curating at a bar in Brooklyn. I was grateful for the opportunity & quickly agreed. I went to the opening with my wife, my sister, and a couple friends, and had a great time participating in the live painting event that was set up. The opening was a packed house,full of ridiculously beautiful young hip people of every ethnicity one could imagine. My sister jokingly said that she & I-- pasty white, slightly pudgy weirdos approaching middle-age -- brought the "hip" value of this crowd down by at least 20 points.
The show was up at the bar for a month. About a week before it came down I was informed that one of my paintings had sold, and that the buyer was the owner of a Manhattan gallery who had been so excited by my piece that he plunked down the money for it as soon as he saw it. When the night came for me to pick up the rest of my paintings and get paid for the sold piece, I was cautiously hopeful that I could have a good conversation with the buyer that could perhaps lead to further opportunities to exhibit my work. Eventually I was introduced to Phillipe. He looked me up and down, and with noticible disdain said, "Oh,you are 'A'?" I answered that I was indeed "A" and thanked him for purchasing my art. He says he liked the painting immediately, found it very exciting and vibrant. After a pause he looked me up and down again and asked if I'm from Brooklyn.I told him no, I'm from Southern California originally but live in New Jersey now. "Oh. New Jersey...." With clear disappointment, Phillipe went on to explain that he was expecting a young, exciting urban artist to have made the painting and was surprised to meet me instead. I tried unsuccessfully to get Phillipe to tell me the name of the Manhattan gallery he supposedly owned, but the best he would do was take my contact information and tell me he would get a hold of me at some point. He never did, the cock tease...; 6/25/15, 4:27 PM
Robert Cook said...: A to the C:

You need to hire some hip young reprobate to act as "you" to gallery owners and art buyers.; 6/25/15, 6:11 PM
Robert Cook said...: Apparently, back before Robert Quine was Robert Quine, he used to be mocked or snubbed in the downtown NYC scene because he was a bit older than everyone else, bald, and assertively square (looking). Is it possible that Quine's (and David Byrne's) coolness-in-spite-of-appearances-due-to-talent-and/or-public acclaim helped spur the fashion trend of hipsters trying to look like square doofuses some years after the initial heydays of these two CBGB pioneers?; 6/25/15, 6:19 PM