October 22, 2010

By: Beverly C. from New Orleans, LA
Comments: 21

Posted By: Beverly Cook
On: 5/8/2008 12:36:15 PM

Once upon a time (I think in November) I bought an artwork from a young artist named Michael Dingler. It was an ink drawing on cardstock and I later learned that after Katrina, he decided to "reinvent his soul" and started posting his work on telephone poles to inspire, beautify, cheer up his city. This is a common practice here in New Orleans - we are a visual people. An anti graffiti vigilante, dubbed the Grey Ghost, took exception and paints over Michael's work (as well as lost dog signs, traffic signs, businesses and personal property). I shared Michael's work and mission with my students and they also made work to post around school and emailed Michael to come check it out. He did and later came to speak to the class. Since then, the ghost has had Michael arrested for posting on telephone poles and he now faces approximately $50,000 in fines. This story has generated much aesthetic debate on the definition of art, the purpose of design in and to society, the question of what happens when volunteerism has opposing intents. Check out a short video and commentary on https://desertedafterdark:blogspot.com/2008/04/nola-rising.html and let me know what you think.

Posted By: Elizabeth Roszak
On: 5/8/2008 4:13:18 PM

I can't get the video to work so bear with me if the questions have obvious answers from the video...Did he put the artwork on paper and then tack the paper to the posts or did he work directly on the posts? I have noticed in the urban areas of Minneapolis that where ever there are murals or public art on buildings there isn't any random spraying of grafitti on the painted walls. Has anyone noticed this anywhere else? We have a scandinavian grocery store and the building is coverd in rosemaling and it's in a heavy grafitti area but it never gets marked. Blank buildings right next to it do. Just something I notice and wonder about...

Posted By: Beverly Cook
On: 5/8/2008 4:41:14 PM

google "desertafterdark" there's a post today from the same guy who posed some interesting questions. Click on the highlighted "a few posts ago" and you'll be able to access the video. And yes, I noticed that graffiti artists respect art. That's why when my Art II class was studying Jenny Holtzer, we cleaned off tagging and substituted with art quotes all around our school. They were never tagged over.

Posted By: Aisha Madhi
On: 5/20/2008 3:04:25 PM

Wow! How interesting! I have a very limited knowledg of graffiti but in terms of the graffiti culture, it seems like there is a real heirarchy of standards when it comes to tagging vs. pieces. It seems like the graffiti mural artist who do large scale pieces on permission walls, subways, etc are respected in terms of aesthetic style, but graffiti taggers also gain respect for their ability to leave their tags in as many places as possible. I guess the quantity/quality issue is at play Aisha Philadelphia, PA

Posted By: Miranda Thompson
On: 5/21/2008 1:02:01 PM

Adding to the debate about the legitimacy of graffiti as an art form, the National Portrait Gallery hosted a Graffiti exhibition this year: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/aerosol-200802.html# Several of our most talented students are inspired by graffiti and feel it is the art form that best represents urban culture. For two years in a row, our students have created documentaries on the history and cultural influence of graffiti for their National History Day projects, and won city competitions both years with these projects.

Posted By: Jeri Schmenk
On: 5/21/2008 8:30:39 PM

I find this a very interesting post... I live and work in an area riddled with graffiti. It's on buildings, poles, fences... anything with a surface. For field day (in an elementary school) someone suggested allowing students to use chalk to draw on the sidewalk as a part of a "rest area" from the other activities. Many teachers balked saying we were encouraging graffiti. I thought it sounded like a good idea. Any thoughts???

Posted By: Jill Granberry
On: 5/22/2008 7:23:51 PM

I think it would be great to do anything to encourage students' artistic abilities. It's chalk! Who cares?