This is insane. Artist's being jailed for vandalism (non-violent) is just stupid. Here's a good article about TOX.. It's fine if someone wrecks something and then has to face punishment via restoration, or community service, but JAIL TIME? please. In TOX case, it's not even clear if he did the actual graffiti or not. eff that. It's right up there with putting drug users in prison.
Hey Pat:
ReplyDeleteAre you teaching any animation classes?
Maybe he was jailed for being a third rate tagger? You're right though. This is not only dumb in the extreme but more likely to help him achieve a life of crime then anything else.
ReplyDeletejamil: yes! i'm teaching at Tisch-Asia in Singapore! it's epic.
ReplyDeletepeter: ha, totally, especially the image i posted. lame. but, shouldn't be in the dang clink!
ReplyDeleteanyone know if Bansky or Os Gemeos brothers have gone to jail? seems to me that as long as the vandalism is pretty or at least looks like "art" it's ok to make. Here in Puerto Rico you don't go to jail for graffiti or murals, unless you do it on a Federal building.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that this is a huge waste of time and money, sending these guys to jail. But I will mildly disagree with you that this is the same type of ridiculousness as jailing drug users.
ReplyDeleteThe big difference is that drug users cause harm only to themselves, while taggers cause damage to the time and property of other people.
I don't care how awesome the tag was, if somebody did that to my fence without asking my permission they will pay the fine, clean it themselves or pay someone else to clean it, quickly and without hassle to me, and honestly I'd charge them for the temporary rental of my property as an art gallery.
For the record the only part I'm disagreeing with you on the drug analogy was that one is victimless (if the charge was simply possession), and the other is not victimless, and punishments (whatever they may be) should not be congruous.
ReplyDeleteLEGALIZE IT shk-a, shk-a, sh-a, LEGALIIIZE IT!!
ReplyDelete