Tacoma talks about graffiti and art
Weekly Volcano, Aug. 21, 2014
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| from left: David Schrodel, Lt. Leroy Standifer, Allyson Griffith, Traci Kelly |
There was quite a lively discussion at the Old Post Office
Wednesday night when the New Neighborhood Council sponsored a panel discussion
on graffiti with representatives from a good number of community groups. On the
panel were City Art Administrator Amy McBride; Judi Hyman, president of the
Downtown Merchant’s Group; David Schrodel from Business Improvement Area Lt.
Leroy Standifer from the Tacoma Police Department, and Allyson Griffith from
the city’s Community Based Services. Moderating the discussion was Traci Kelly,
chair of the Tacoma Arts Commission and representing the New Neighborhood
Council.
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| Amy McBride. Photos by Gabi Clayton |
Griffith talked about the city’s Rapid Removal Pilot program
focusing on eradicating graffiti as quickly as possible, noting that the longer
graffiti remains the more likely it is to invite more tagging. She said if your
property gets hit by graffiti you should call the police non-emergency number,
798.4721.
Much of the discussion, both from panel members and from
community participants, centered around the difference between graffiti and
street art. McBride said the difference is graffiti is done without permission.
She said street art has been an established art form since the early ’80s.
Famous artists such as Jean-Michael Basquait and Keith
Haring started out as graffiti artists, and Banksy’s illegal street art became
so famous that sections of walls he had painted on have been bought, removed
from buildings and displayed in museums.
McBride said she would like to see opportunities for street
artists to express themselves.
A number of community members also talked about wanting to
provide legal and less destructive ways for street artists to express
themselves. Both McBride and Kelly talked about the city’s mural program which
secures legitimate walls for graffiti-style artists to work on them and
provides training. Forty-four murals have been completed through the program
over the past four years, and only a couple of them have been tagged. Although
it was made clear by many on the panel and in the audience of approximately 40
citizens that tagging is a criminal act that is destructive and costly, one
interesting thing that was pointed out is that taggers tend to respect the work
of other street artists, which may account for the fact that so few of the city’s
murals have been tagged.
When asked how big the graffiti problem is, Lt. Standifer
said it is “out of control.” He said they have identified 44 taggers by their
markers. None of them are affiliated with violent gangs, most are high
school-aged males who are predominantly white, and they range across all
economic classes.
Standifer also stressed the importance of quick removal,
saying if it is not removed it sends the message that nobody cares. “It makes
us look like a war zone. Graffiti’s artistic value is not an issue.”
One woman in the audience identifying herself as being an
artist associated with the Spaceworks program asked for suggestions of positive
steps that can be taken, and a number of people talked about the benefits of
the mural program and Spaceworks. Several people expressed sadness and
frustration that the graffiti garage on Broadway has now been closed to street
artists by the owners, probably due to liability issues. Hyman said she has
heard from people as far away as Los Angeles asking about the graffiti garage,
and local merchants talked about how it was an attraction that brought people
downtown who then explored other offerings there.
A representative from Washington Department of
Transportation said they clean up graffiti from bridges and signs when it
becomes a safety issue and said that racial slurs and obscenities take priority
over other forms of tagging.
Hyman said there is now an app for reaching Tacoma First 311
for reporting graffiti or potholes or other non-emergency issues. More
information is available at http://www.exit133.com.
Street art can be beautiful and exciting and can enhance the
business and culture of the community. Tagging is illegal, often ugly, and can
be harmful to business and culture. Often the line between the two can be hard
to recognize. Hopefully this New
Neighborhood Council discussion will be a step toward finding ways to encourage
the good and do away with the bad.
Photos: Graffiti talk.png - from left: David Schrodel, Lt.
Leroy Standifer, Allyson Griffith, Traci Kelly
Amy.png – Amy McBride
Photos by Gabi Clayton
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