on fitz graffiti cartoon, is it Art or is it paint fumes.

This one is interesting, Rude was #1 but then someone blocked the post because it did not meet the agreement, later in the day, the post was unblocked. So cool. fibber remained blocked..........?


1. Comment by Rude S. (W Dejavu) — January 15,2009 @ 6:05AM
Ratings: -1 +11
right on Fitz.
When I think of underfunded parks and rec, underfunded kidco, and all. it dose amaze me that the city funded a graffiti wall in down town Tucson. You really can't call that Rio anything.
Plus, I believe that the poorer the economy is the more of this graffiti trash you see, because the less kids have to do, the more gangs and crime increase.

2. Comment by Jeffrey H. (flibber) — January 15,2009 @ 6:29AM
Ratings: -1 +4 This comment has been reported as possibly being in violation of the StarNet User Guidelines and is under review.

3. Comment by Fred P. (How About This) — January 15,2009 @ 7:18AM
Ratings: -0 +6
Wether it be art or graffiti once the Arizona weather take's it's toll on it, it becomes am eyesore.
Report this comment

4. Comment by Ross R. (Talamon) — January 15,2009 @ 7:21AM
Ratings: -0 +6
If the graffiti artists are getting their 'bailout' then computer gamers and geeks should get their funding as well. Gotta be equal in this economy.
"Capitalism without risk is like religion without sin."
Report this comment

5. Comment by Priscilla W. (PrissVHW) — January 15,2009 @ 7:22AM
Ratings: -1 +2 This comment has been reported as possibly being in violation of the StarNet User Guidelines and is under review.

6. Comment by Bill B. (#4485) — January 15,2009 @ 7:36AM
Ratings: -0 +7
aaaahhhhhh choooooooo!
da fumes man.. if yur busted do'in walls there should be a five year clean up sentence. Would solve the funding problem quickly.
Report this comment

7. Comment by Peter K. (Sweet Pete) — January 15,2009 @ 9:05AM
Ratings: -0 +4
Two kinds of taggers. Gang members and these so called "artists" who think they should share their "art" and were never taught to respect others property.This young college student was from a wealthy New York family and a Psych major yet!!:
By Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian staff
The only things sizzling Wednesday morning at theBurgerville in Southeast Portland were the emotions ofabout 20 residents and merchants, who faced off with ayoung graffiti vandal who had damaged their property.
Sara J. Fisher, a 21-year-old Reed College senior,hugged a friend for support before she entered thefast-food restaurant. Fisher, under a court order, hadcome to apologize for scrawling her four-letter graffitisignature, "Maul," on property throughout Portland.
"I know that I can never justify why I did what I did,"Fisher said, addressing members of the HawthorneBoulevard Business Association. "It was never myintention to hurt anyone. I wasn't thinking about the impactI'd have around the community. I think I idealized graffitias a way to put art on the streets."
Fisher, whom prosecutors described as one of the mostprolific graffiti vandals in Portland, remained composedthrough the 30-minute meeting that at times turnedconfrontational.
She said she didn't realize the hardship she had causeduntil after she was caught and arrested. She said she wassorry and would not do it again.
Fisher, who faced 44 counts of unlawful applying ofgraffiti, pleaded guilty to 20 counts under a negotiateddeal.
Wednesday's was the first of four community meetingsthat Fisher must attend to apologize for her crimes. Toavoid prison, she agreed last month to pay nearly $3,000in restitution to property owners, spend 400 hours on agraffiti cleanup crew and wear an electronic monitoringbracelet for 30 days to ensure she adheres to a nightcurfew at her Southeast Portland apartment. She alsodonated $5,000 to the city's anti-graffiti trust fund.
Property owners at Wednesday's meeting tried to makeFisher realize the damage and distress she had causedthem and the city. And many tore into Fisher's descriptionof graffiti as an expression of art.
"The one thing I want you to realize is when it's on myproperty, it's vandalism. That has no art value to me," saidJerry Otto, general manager of the Burgerville onSoutheast Hawthorne Boulevard.
Terre Macris, who owns an art gallery on SoutheastDivision Street, demanded to know why Fisher had toleave her mark on buildings under the cover of night,instead of on canvas.
"You know how many gallons of paint have been on mybuilding because of people like you?" Macris asked her.
Police contend Fisher was painting graffiti from Augustthrough Oct. 13, when she was caught scrawling "Maul"on a Union Pacific Railroad utility box under the MorrisonBridge. Removing graffiti from railroad boxes and carscosts thousands of dollars, said Tom Morrison of UnionPacific. It also endangers train crews who may interpret arailroad signal incorrectly because of the colored paint,Morrison said.
"Do you realize the potential danger?" Morrison askedFisher.
"No, I didn't realize that," she said. "And, I didn't realize alot of other things. That's why I'm here today to apologize.I'm sorry."
Some merchants were skeptical that Fisher was sincere,and Fisher admitted it was not her choice to addressthem.
"Getting caught allowed me the opportunity to look atwhat I've done from an outsider's perspective," she said."If I hadn't gotten caught, I probably wouldn't have beensorry."
Fisher, a psychology major, derived her four-lettersignature from Southeast Mall Street, where she lives. Sheleft it on buildings, bus stops, traffic signs, railroad cars,trucks, phone booths and trash bins. People responsiblefor graffiti are called "taggers."
Alyce Cornyn-Selvy, who teaches at Pacific NorthwestCollege of Art, said Fisher's apology seemed scripted.
"You're a psychology major, so you should understandmy question. What conversations were going on insideyour head while you're doing this? What age were you?"she asked.
Fisher responded, "I know you want me to say I was 12years old, and I was being silly. And I'm not going to saythat."
By the end of the session, Cornyn-Selvy was morefrustrated.
"I'm all for artistic expression. I teach it, for God's sake.But where is her thinking of what's right and wrong? Shedoesn't get it."
Report this comment

8. Comment by DAVE C. (OMAHARED) — January 15,2009 @ 10:56AM
Ratings: -0 +1 This comment has been reported as possibly being in violation of the StarNet User Guidelines and is under review.

9. Comment by Rude S. (W Dejavu) — January 15,2009 @ 11:57AM
Ratings: -0 +3
wow if only, i could remember what I wrote maybe I could figure out what I violated.
it was something like,
Right on Fitz, it is a shame when kidco, parks and rec, and other city services are cut, but city budget can be used to teach kids how to make graffiti and call it art.
i believe that the poorer the economy becomes the more graffiti we see, because parents are working harder and kids have less activities while gangs and such can bring them in.
oh, well and then I wrote that having this graffiti wall in the middle of Rio whatever really does not give the right impression to our visitors concerning Tucson.
This is more than I wrote before. We'll see if it is investigated also.

10. Comment by John E. (JE) — January 15,2009 @ 1:02PM
Ratings: -0 +2
Wow, three reported and removed.
I view graffiti on way around my property. Have paint roller, will cover. Five gallons of outdoor paint is cheaper than several cans of spray paint and it covers a lot more.
After the three or four covering the taggers move on and don't come back. New ones, yes, old ones, no.
Report this comment

11. Comment by Peter V. (Peter V) — January 15,2009 @ 1:19PM
Ratings: -3 +0
The local "art elite," the Tucson art establishment, even including a controversial artist like Fitz, come on strong against the graffiti artists.
NOT because their art is defective or poor grade, but because the guerrilla artists did not pay for their canvas; and oh yes I almost forgot...too young and inexperienced to be any good.
The criticism is economic, not substantive. But it is as passionate as professional jealousy can get -- vicious.
Frankly as a Tucson citizen who is NOT an artist, I am not impressed by any of the local artifacts that pass for "art" in our town. It is all very bland, as though it were the work of committees, which it is.
As for the gang bangers, they are like the Fascists of the art world. They should be held separate and treated separately from others of their generation who paint in a similar style.
That separate status was granted to artists in the thirties, why not now?
Report this comment

12. Comment by John H. (Chaos Keep) — January 15,2009 @ 1:51PM
Ratings: -0 +1
Bravo Fitz.
Report this comment

13. Comment by John H. (Chaos Keep) — January 15,2009 @ 1:54PM
Ratings: -0 +2
Could a time as a graffiti artist account for some of the weirder viewpoints in this area? I mean breathing all those fumes have to have some sort of affect.
Report this comment

14. Comment by john m. (jonnystone) — January 15,2009 @ 4:28PM
Ratings: -0 +1
I'm confused - do I actually agree with Fitz today, or is he subtly making fun of me?
Report this comment

15. Comment by joel t. (harperman) — January 15,2009 @ 5:16PM
Ratings: -0 +0
Re #14 Almost exactly what I was going to say.
Report this comment

16. Comment by Rude S. (W Dejavu) — January 15,2009 @ 6:52PM
Ratings: -0 +0
now I am watching Az illustrated,
it is an art i suppose, but as an artist you must have values, and culture.
I think what I also was thinking and not writing, was that, as community values and culture decrease art becomes graffiti. A violent act not a public community act. that's it...