Graffiti and Tagging

K.Flyer

I appreciate a certain amount of street art, especially if its done well and in an appropriate place.
But what is really starting to annoy me, and I am sure others as well, is this huge upsurge in tagging, the random single name or word scrawl. Its everywhere now!
Its making a mess of parts of Dublin City not to mention the damage to people's property and the cost involved in cleaning the walls, especially when its been done on a granite wall.
How would the people who do this feel, if someone took their laptop or smartphone and covered it in spray paint and handed it back to them?
Is there nothing that can be done about it, or are people loosing whatever bit of pride they had left of their City and accepting this subtle form of vandalism.

hfallada

Are we living in the same Dublin? I have never seen Dublin so graffiti free in 20 years. It's almost gone from the suburbs and the walls in town that were covered with it are street art and no one sprays over that ( a lot of it is incredible and better than a white wall).

If you phone up Dublin city council and report it. It's gone within 24 Hours. I same graffiti is like the broken glass theory. Which is if one pane of glass is broken in a building, people think it's grand to smash the other panes. But if the panes are constantly replaced. People eventually don't break them anymore. If graffiti is constantly removed, people won't do it anymore.

You don't see graffiti on buses anyway. You don't see it on bus stops or on bins. For a major city. Dublin has like graffiti. Go to cologne in Germany and its like NYC in late 80s.

K.Flyer

hfallada wrote: »

You don't see it on bus stops or on bins. For a major city. Dublin has like graffiti. Go to cologne in Germany and its like NYC in late 80s.

I know its not as bad as other cities, thankfully, but I am seeing it on bus stops, bins, lamposts etc.
A typical eyesore area would be on the city side of the Grand Canal from Harcourt Terrace down to Leeson St and sporadic further on in each direction.
Certainly a big increaae in some Suburban areas, especially the word Evoke popping up all over the place.
A lot of my work is in and around the city and its only the last while I've really noticed the increase in this.

Teyla Emmagan

hfallada wrote: »

Are we living in the same Dublin? I have never seen Dublin so graffiti free in 20 years. It's almost gone from the suburbs and the walls in town that were covered with it are street art and no one sprays over that ( a lot of it is incredible and better than a white wall).

If you phone up Dublin city council and report it. It's gone within 24 Hours. I same graffiti is like the broken glass theory. Which is if one pane of glass is broken in a building, people think it's grand to smash the other panes. But if the panes are constantly replaced. People eventually don't break them anymore. If graffiti is constantly removed, people won't do it anymore.

You don't see graffiti on buses anyway. You don't see it on bus stops or on bins. For a major city. Dublin has like graffiti. Go to cologne in Germany and its like NYC in late 80s.

What are you on about? DCC don't have a cent to clean off graffiti that isn't racist or personally offensive. They certainly don't come out and clean things off immediately because someone reports it. I know because I spend half my life dealing with them about the massive amount of tagging in our area (which, as the OP said has got considerably worse in the last few months).

It's all over the bins, it's all over lamp posts, service boxes, private property. There is some group going all over the city/burbs tagging everything that isn't tied down with 'Evoke'. There are literally hundreds of examples of this tag all over South Co Dublin at the moment. If I could get the *&((( doing it I would break all their fingers. The amount of destruction and expense caused by one group of a&& holes breaks my heart.

bluefinger

i love street art. but tagging is a narcissistic and unimaginative pastime that gives proper graffiti a bad name. some dunce called evoke pissed his idotic scribbling up recently on a massive stretch around bluebell and drimnagh. it is absolute crap and I just hope someone catches him in the act.

bennyx_o

A number of DARTs sitting up in Fairview have been 'tagged' in the last couple of months, seems to wasteful to me

hfallada

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

What are you on about? DCC don't have a cent to clean off graffiti that isn't racist or personally offensive. They certainly don't come out and clean things off immediately because someone reports it. I know because I spend half my life dealing with them about the massive amount of tagging in our area (which, as the OP said has got considerably worse in the last few months).

It's all over the bins, it's all over lamp posts, service boxes, private property. There is some group going all over the city/burbs tagging everything that isn't tied down with 'Evoke'. There are literally hundreds of examples of this tag all over South Co Dublin at the moment. If I could get the *&((( doing it I would break all their fingers. The amount of destruction and expense caused by one group of a&& holes breaks my heart.

I have called DCC several times and its removed within 24 hours. They have a special department who just remove graffiti. It takes a few mins to remove a tag.

K.Flyer

hfallada wrote: »

I have called DCC several times and its removed within 24 hours. They have a special department who just remove graffiti. It takes a few mins to remove a tag.

I think it is fairly easy to get them off concrete surfaces with a power washer, its a different problem when they are on painted sufaces, shop front shutters, lamp posts, bus stops, utilities service boxes, street signage, peoples homes, high up on private property and thats just some of what I saw today on a straight run into town from Templeogue to Dame St and back.
Anyway, phoning DCC, SDCC, DLRCC or FCC to go out and clean things up costs money, Tax Payers Money, just because these people have no respect for public or private property.

chopper6

It's an eyesore.

Pang

'Evoke!' is all along the Luas line from Rialto and just there on Friday, I noticed the canal beside me around North Strand/Summerhill is covered in this tag.

It's all over the place. It's pure vandalism. Alot of the lamp posts have been destroyed with his/her/their pink spray paint.

On Facebook, I notice Dublin City Bid frequently putting up pictures of themselves removing graffiti, but there is no way they have the resources to deal with the crazy amount of tagging that is appearing.

Teyla Emmagan

hfallada wrote: »

I have called DCC several times and its removed within 24 hours. They have a special department who just remove graffiti. It takes a few mins to remove a tag.

I don't understand this. I have been told time and time again that they will only remove racist or offensive stuff and that they don't have the money for everything else. Who were you speaking to (seriously), because if there is a magic department with money in DCC then I would like to know about it! All I get told is that the city council spent 80k last year removing graffiti and with all the other pressures there just isn't the money there. And I am speaking directly to the lady in charge of our area who is responsible for this stuff.

I hope these 'Evoke' guys are caught, because the damage they are causing is just horrific. I don't think these people even understand the distress it causes an older person (say) to go out some morning and find a huge tag on the side of their house. They feel targeted, and helpless about it. It really infuriates me.

Travel is good

I agree, I hate the fact that tax payers money has to be used to remove this graffiti. It breaks my hear to see it all over granite surfaces and some lovely public buildings. I don't think that so much money (via the councils) should have to be used in this way, the money could be better spent elsewhere, on housing the homeless for example. I wish these people causing the damage would just cop on to themselves.

AnonoBoy

hfallada wrote: »

I have called DCC several times and its removed within 24 hours. They have a special department who just remove graffiti. It takes a few mins to remove a tag.

Where do you live as a matter of interest?

In Dublin 7 there's graffiti that's been there for months in some areas.

Is there a specific number to call or do you just call the DCC offices?

Teyla Emmagan

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Where do you live as a matter of interest?

In Dublin 7 there's graffiti that's been there for months in some areas.

Is there a specific number to call or do you just call the DCC offices?

I'm imagining the quick response squad has been disbanded in recent years.

Give them a call though and let us know how you get on

K.Flyer

Over the last week or so I have noticed that the tagging epidemic is far more prevalent on the southside of the river. Rathmines in particular, some parts are covered with it. But its not alone, a few suburban neighbourhoods are falling victim to this scourge, and now they are spraying over traffic signs.
Samuel Beckett bridge even suffers with a red tag on one of the main spars.
The most annoying part is where private property, peoples homes, are falling victim to it and the mess it creates and the cost / time to get it removed.

deinvisibleman

I agree. This is not art at all. This is a bunch of teenagers who think they are really unique. Idiots. I admire graffiti and really like some of the art around the streets. But the likes of “Evoke” and “crave” are just mindless fools seeking attention.

Anyone see this morons “crave” signature around Dublin 2 under, what I can only describe as spray can chaos ?! This guy/gal should be ashamed of themselves and should at least practice at home on a A4 before putting their rubbish up on the walls of our streets. Pathetic !!

endacl

deinvisibleman wrote: »

I agree. This is not art at all. This is a bunch of teenagers who think they are really unique. Idiots. I admire graffiti and really like some of the art around the streets. But the likes of “Evoke” and “crave” are just mindless fools seeking attention.

Anyone see this morons “crave” signature around Dublin 2 under, what I can only describe as spray can chaos ?! This guy/gal should be ashamed of themselves and should at least practice at home on a A4 before putting their rubbish up on the walls of our streets. Pathetic !!

The silly little tosser was through the courts with another of his silly little tosser pals (robit) some years ago.

http://www.herald.ie/news/courts/pair-thought-of-graffiti-as-works-of-art-29430971.html

Most of the Evoke scrawls are years old and simply haven't been cleaned off yet. He's a little older now, and hopefully has grown up a little. Probably about time he went around and cleaned up after himself? At least I'd hope he has gained the maturity to recognize what a silly little tosser he was at the time.

At the time the poor little fella thought he had some sort of 'talent' and that people would be interested in his 'art'.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3bCB2zZ6zy0

Don't get me wrong. Good street art can look amazing and is often incredibly powerful. The problem with the likes of Evoke et al is that they haven't even the small amount if talent necessary to recognize that they don't in fact have any talent at all.

hfallada

hfallada wrote: »

You don't see graffiti on buses anyway. You don't see it on bus stops or on bins. For a major city. Dublin has like graffiti. Go to cologne in Germany and its like NYC in late 80s.

Old CIÉ train in 1980. Just saw this earlier and was shocked:

kaiserdog

Evoke has been scribbled all over kcr, templeogue and walkinstown recently. This pest is clearly still active. It really makes areas look bad. Would love to catch him in action. I would spray paint him!

endacl

kaiserdog wrote: »

Evoke has been scribbled all over kcr, templeogue and walkinstown recently. This pest is clearly still active. It really makes areas look bad. Would love to catch him in action. I would spray paint him!

Report the twat. He's already been done for it. Who he is is a matter of public record. It's in the linked court report above.

Teyla Emmagan

endacl wrote: »

Most of the Evoke scrawls are years old and simply haven't been cleaned off yet. He's a little older now, and hopefully has grown up a little. Probably about time he went around and cleaned up after himself? At least I'd hope he has gained the maturity to recognize what a silly little tosser he was at the time.

He'd still at it, or at least someone is using the same tag if it's not him. There were literally dozens of new 'Evoke' tags put up around here over the summer. Every single lamppost and service box in the area seems to have been hit. Little SCR&TES!!!!!

chopper6

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

He'd still at it, or at least someone is using the same tag if it's not him. There were literally dozens of new 'Evoke' tags put up around here over the summer. Every single lamppost and service box in the area seems to have been hit. Little SCR&TES!!!!!

His house got raided a few weeks ago by about 7 cops over a "tag" that was done on a shutter a while back.

If he is still active after all that attention he's even stupider than i thought.

Teyla Emmagan

chopper6 wrote: »

His house got raided a few weeks ago by about 7 cops over a "tag" that was done on a shutter a while back.

If he is still active after all that attention he's even stupider than i thought.

Great. Because tagging drives me insane. From memory, DCC spent 80k removing tags from the city last year (or rather, contractors paid by DCC did). There is basically a business where you get permission from An Post, the ESB, Eircom (or whatever they are now) to remove tags from their property, so you can use the approved paint and whatever on their service boxes. But DCC will only pay for this to be done on 'primary' roads (i.e. the main roads through the village or whatever). And nothing will be done on secondary/residential roads. And they can't remove tags from private property without permission (which they only do in a very limited number of cases, where repeatedly requested). And it won't work on those white plastic boxes with lightbulbs in them at traffic lights (whatever those are called). So even if DCC will agree to come and 'do' your area, they will only really do the bins and light poles and service boxes. Which might be half of the tags that exist after a blitz (like we had here from good old 'Evoke' recently). I'm on a kind of Tidy Towns thing. That leaves us going begging houses and business owners to remove their tags themselves (and loads of them are reluctant, either because they think it's pointless because they will be targeted again, or because they don't actually see the issue). As far as I'm concerned though graffiti begets graffiti, when it's not removed it generally just escalates. There are loads of studies to prove that if you keep removing it the perpetrators get bored and move on. I hate it because it's basically destruction and massively unfair on the people of a community who have to live with it on a daily basis and deal with these defacing scrawls.

As you may have guessed this is a bugbear of mine :pac:

endacl

^^

Mine too. I actually live about ten minutes walk from the 'artist' in question. I've often been tempted recently to knock on his door and ask him what it is he thinks he's doing. What's the value in it?

Teyla Emmagan

endacl wrote: »

^^

Mine too. I actually live about ten minutes walk from the 'artist' in question. I've often been tempted recently to knock on his door and ask him what it is he thinks he's doing. What's the value in it?

I will go up with you. We will bring our pitchforks

He has a huge area destroyed though. And it will be years and years before some of the latests tags are gone. And there is no meaning in them other that he can wander around and feel proud that he's defaced a tonne of property that doesn't belong to him. He should be made clear each and every one of his stupid tags off.

john_dunne2727

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I will go up with you. We will bring our pitchforks

He has a huge area destroyed though. And it will be years and years before some of the latests tags are gone. And there is no meaning in them other that he can wander around and feel proud that he's defaced a tonne of property that doesn't belong to him. He should be made clear each and every one of his stupid tags off.

Hey Teyla i have to say you are very quick to just go ahead and say on the internet that you want to go to this human beings house, but if he was a drug dealer i don't think you would be going on the internet and throwing out threats, so i have to ask you will you please take your threats and hatred and go chase the real criminals in this city!

endacl

john_dunne2727 wrote: »

Hey Teyla i have to say you are very quick to just go ahead and say on the internet that you want to go to this human beings house, but if he was a drug dealer i don't think you would be going on the internet and throwing out threats, so i have to ask you will you please take your threats and hatred and go chase the real criminals in this city!

You opened an account just to say that? To respond to an endorsement of a 'threat' (you're inaccurate choice of word, btw) to ask a question?

Did you read it at all? You're not very good at Internet....

Oh. Welcome to boards.

Teyla Emmagan

john_dunne2727 wrote: »

Hey Teyla i have to say you are very quick to just go ahead and say on the internet that you want to go to this human beings house, but if he was a drug dealer i don't think you would be going on the internet and throwing out threats, so i have to ask you will you please take your threats and hatred and go chase the real criminals in this city!

What?!

For a start it was a joke, not a threat. You can tell by the smiley face beside the comment, which is the little picture of a face smiling. Secondly I happen to think graffiti is a real crime. It degrades property and makes the environment more unpleasant for everyone who has to live in it. Also it triggers more crime and litter in an area. This guy has done tens and tens of thousands in damage - that is a 'real crime'.

endacl

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

What?!

For a start it was a joke, not a threat. You can tell by the smiley face beside the comment, which is the little picture of a face smiling. Secondly I happen to think graffiti is a real crime. It degrades property and makes the environment more unpleasant for everyone who has to live in it. Also it triggers more crime and litter in an area. This guy has done tens and tens of thousands in damage - that is a 'real crime'.

The real crime, of course, is the crapness of his scrawls. Good graffiti it ain't. I like good graffiti. It's very much part of the urban landscape. Makes you stop and think sometimes. Makes you stop and admire the sheer skill sometimes. If you ever get the chance spend a day strolling the streets of several suburbs in Melbourne. You'll see what I mean. 'Evoke', unfortunately, doesn't even have the little talent necessary to recognise his own lack of talent. That's kind of tragic, very ironic, and strangely fitting. The artistic version of absolute tone deafness.