How bad is the graffiti in Limerick city?

zoobizoo

Was reading in the Leader about the graffiti problem in the city.

How bad is it there - is it worse than other cities?

Kess73

I think it is certainly more visible than some of the other cities. I don't think there is any of the main approach roads to Limerick that do not have graffiti on show, and there is a lot of tagging within the city centre.

One bit outside of the city limits that did annoy me was the flyover bridge near the Crescent shopping centre. It had graffiti on it from almost day one and it just looks shoddier as a result.

I really don't get why we don't see more people doing community service for crimes being put scrubbing graffiti and litter picking. It would be a good way to help clean up the city and the surrounding areas.

CiaranMT

Kess73 wrote: »

One bit outside of the city limits that did annoy me was the flyover bridge near the Crescent shopping centre. It had graffiti on it from almost day one and it just looks shoddier as a result.

That bridge doesn't even need graffiti to look shoddy..

On the tagging around town, the worst thing about the vast majority of it is that it's so poorly done. 90% of it is 'Johnners 2k9 wz ERE' etc.

If ya want to see some cool graffiti take a walk along the canal by Grove Island, it's wicked.

Personally, I don't think there's a problem with graffiti in Limerick. The place looks poorly enough these days that some head scrawling on a wall isn't going to make a difference.

zoobizoo

Do you think that if they cleaned up the tagging that the city would look better?

Might it encourage people to improve some other things?

redron74

Personally, I don't think there is enough graffiti around town! The slight increase in recent years has made it more noticeable to Limerick's business and political elites, but I'd say prevalence is still less than other cities and big towns.

I'm not a big fan of tagging, but sometimes good quality tags can be almost as interesting to look at as other small scale graffiti art.
I think the issue which causes most concern among the business community is the graffitiing of shop shutters. If a premises does not have any business going on there, then there can't be too many complaints. Obviously, if business is going on there, then the business owner doesn't want to give the impression after hours that they might be shut down.

Most of the upset from the Chamber of Commerce and City Hall is that it gives a bad impression of the place. But if commercial units have been empty for considerable time, then this 'bad impression' is merely the truth! Graffiti in such situations only reveals the truth that some are trying to hide.

In general, my opinion on graffiti is that, as long as it serves some purpose other than the simple self-satisfaction of the artist/tagger, then I'm not too upset at seeing it around, as long as it's not done in inappropriate* places.


*My definition of inappropriate may differ considerably from that of others.

kilburn

The Pa Healy link road in Corbally is destroyed with tagging.

What I dont understand is when Zoner was caught why did he only have to clean one tag of the roundabout sign , why didnt he have to clean all his tags off.

TEMPLAR KNIGHT

if I was in the council I would give a bunch of graffiti artists* plenty of supplies and tell them go mad with the "opera centre" might brighten up the city a bit!


*and when I say artists I mean artists and not some dope that " luvs Linzy for eva 2k12"

In paris by the river they erect empty canvas' for graffiti artists its one of the coolest things ive ever seen and makes the walk along the river even nicer!

ian87

Sitting in traffic and looking into the big yard beside John moloneys is not an unpleasant experience. Some of the stuff there unreal

NinjaK

bad, very bad. some would say its so bad its unbearable

Mc Love

TEMPLAR KNIGHT wrote: »

if I was in the council I would give a bunch of graffiti artists* plenty of supplies and tell them go mad with the "opera centre" might brighten up the city a bit!


*and when I say artists I mean artists and not some dope that " luvs Linzy for eva 2k12"

In paris by the river they erect empty canvas' for graffiti artists its one of the coolest things ive ever seen and makes the walk along the river even nicer!

All well and good TK until some jumped up scrote decides to destroy their art work with luvs li8nzy 4eva etc etc

Kess73

kilburn wrote: »

The Pa Healy link road in Corbally is destroyed with tagging.

What I dont understand is when Zoner was caught why did he only have to clean one tag of the roundabout sign , why didnt he have to clean all his tags off.

Exactly. He should have been made scrub them all off instead of leaving all save one in place.

MrLaurel

redron74 wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of tagging, but sometimes good quality tags can be almost as interesting to look at as other small scale graffiti art.

Why don't you PM your address or your parents address to me and I'll ensure that some little git will cover your property in ink and then we'll see if you like "tagging" then.

TEMPLAR KNIGHT

MrLaurel wrote: »

Why don't you PM your address or your parents address to me and I'll ensure that some little git will cover your property in ink and then we'll see if you like "tagging" then.

He said "sometimes" and "almost", relax he didn't say every tag on private property looks unreal and brightens up the place!

MrLaurel

TEMPLAR KNIGHT wrote: »

He said "sometimes" and "almost", relax he didn't say every tag on private property looks unreal and brightens up the place!

There is no such thing as a "good quality tag". Scrawl your logo / name on your own property or where you have the owners permission, don't do it on an ESB box or a wall in Limerick that you don't own.

Insect Overlord

MrLaurel wrote: »

There is no such thing as a "good quality tag". Scrawl your logo / name on your own property or where you have the owners permission, don't do it on an ESB box or a wall in Limerick that you don't own.

The Geko-Baqs logo by the rowing club building at Shannon Bridge looks pretty good, in fairness. It's been there for years as well.

peckerhead

I was in Galway over the weekend and saw some amazing wall art/graffiti on the hoardings along the Dock Road.

By comparison, the stuff on the Dock road in Limerick (near the disused lot at the back of Mary I, opposite Courtbrack Avenue) looks like something my 10-year-old might have drawn on a bad day. Love ROG and POC as much as the next straight man, but Jaysus...

WTF, are there no decent graffiti artists (not moronic "taggers") in this town anymore?

TEMPLAR KNIGHT

MrLaurel wrote: »

There is no such thing as a "good quality tag". Scrawl your logo / name on your own property or where you have the owners permission, don't do it on an ESB box or a wall in Limerick that you don't own.

Well that's your opinion, I respect it no matter how wrong it is!

Tonyandthewhale

TEMPLAR KNIGHT wrote: »

Well that's your opinion, I respect it no matter how wrong it is!

To be fair, that's not really respect. That's more along the lines of fruitless acknowledgement.

TEMPLAR KNIGHT

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

To be fair, that's not really respect. That's more along the lines of fruitless acknowledgement.

That was the joke.

kilburn

Insect Overlord wrote: »

The Geko-Baqs logo by the rowing club building at Shannon Bridge looks pretty good, in fairness. It's been there for years as well.

If that is the one I am thinking of, scrawled on the side of Limerick Boat Club, that lad would want a boot in the hole that is a listed building, 130 years old, grand doing it in laneway's but don't ruin buildings like that

sceptre

Some of the tags on shop shutters around the city (William St, Catherine St) have been cleaned away. I assume that the city council organised that and the city centre looks rather better for it - as it was, parts of the city on Sunday were beginning to look abandoned (I realise that parts of the city effectively have been abandoned). Whatever about efforts at art work, taggers are doing little more than dogs urinating on corners and at least urine washes away.

Insect Overlord

kilburn wrote: »

If that is the one I am thinking of, scrawled on the side of Limerick Boat Club, that lad would want a boot in the hole that is a listed building, 130 years old, grand doing it in laneway's but don't ruin buildings like that

If I've done this properly, this link will show you the tag I'm talking about. It's not the awful one on the side of the building. You might have to zoom in to Street View.

http://goo.gl/maps/2jbZ9

Tully1986

Skate parks & designated sites I have no problem with these people painting, the culture seems to go hand in hand skateboarding & graffiti artists, and if it suits the environment & its clientele. i'm all for it.

But outside this context, buildings which have been designed for the general public should remain untouched, unless an artist is commissioned.

Boil it down and Graffiti artists are just the same as other sub cultures out there the "Paddy woz ere 2013" or the traveler parking his caravan on the side of public property.

roast

The random crappy tagging is very unsightly, but other than that, I like it. To a certain extent.

Listed buildings, shopfronts, shutters etc.... all these are no-go as far as I'm concerned, but alleyways, abandoned buildings and whatnot - go nuts!

I'd very much like to see a bit more color around the city. Grey gets a little bit boring after a while.

Kess73

There is a wall just beyond the filling station near Locke quay that has some very eye catching work on it.

Just go past the filling station as you drive out of the city, and the wall is beside St Lelia place.


Anyone who walks or drives along Clare street will most likely have spotted it.

fi314

Art is an incredibly subjective thing. Street art is a tricky one for many people - despite its popularity, there remains a lot of confusion about what is “acceptable”, or even, what is and what isn’t street art. Reading through this thread I see raise some very interesting points about the blurring between art, trash, right, wrong, good, bad, legal, illegal etc. Certainly there is no clear answer to this question….. look at a place like Berlin which is renowned for its street art/graffiti and you will find similar debates I think the graffiti conversation opens up a bigger conversation around the arts in Limerick or lack of?

My personal opinion is that some of the pieces of graffiti around Limerick are very interesting and I think it’s clear that street art can add a lot to an area.

seachto7

If people don't have permission to do it, it's vandalism, not "street art", no matter how pretty it is.

Itsdacraic

fi314 wrote: »

Art is an incredibly subjective thing. Street art is a tricky one for many people - despite its popularity, there remains a lot of confusion about what is “acceptable”, or even, what is and what isn’t street art. Reading through this thread I see raise some very interesting points about the blurring between art, trash, right, wrong, good, bad, legal, illegal etc. Certainly there is no clear answer to this question….. look at a place like Berlin which is renowned for its street art/graffiti and you will find similar debates I think the graffiti conversation opens up a bigger conversation around the arts in Limerick or lack of?

My personal opinion is that some of the pieces of graffiti around Limerick are very interesting and I think it’s clear that street art can add a lot to an area.

If art is subjective, then the people who don't like it shouldn't have to be subjected to it ala the street art murals.

Still it's better than the f**k***s tagging everywhere.

Insect Overlord

Itsdacraic wrote: »

then the people who don't like it shouldn't have to be subjected to it ala the street art murals.

What about advertising? Bunting for sports events? Music playing in shops, cafés and restaurants?

Rhetorical question, obviously. It's not intended that people be "subjected" to art. It's just another element in the street-scape that may or may not get people thinking.

fi314

Seachto, I respect your opinion and indeed it is an opinion that many share but then you look at the likes of Banksy who one of Britain's most-loved contemporary artists. If you’re not familiar with his work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy

Again one of the most common arguments for Banksy's work is that his works damage public and private property. However, other argue that he bring art to the masses, challenges the common perceptions and pushed the boundaries of what people perceive as art.

There will never be a consensus around this topic but with Limerick being city of Culture next year it must engage with its street artists as, from an arts and culture perspective, it'sone of the few things that is genuinely flourishing.

However, we must also be aware of it controversial elements and the legality surrounding it. More designated zones would be one example

fi314

While on the topic of art I think it would be interesting to gauge people’s opinions on art spaces/galleries in Limerick.

For example I walk past Ormston house almost every day and I am really unsure what its purpose. I have googled it and while the website isn’t very informative, it does seem to house some interesting exhibitions, cinema nights ect. However, I never see this advertised around town. I also don’t find it the most welcoming and I am never sure if I can actually walk in. for example even when we had the scorching hot weather they had their door closed.

http://www.ormstonhouse.com/