I seriously doubt it, but I just couldn’t resist the headline. You may have seen an up-tick in graffiti in San Marco lately. If not have a look around you’ll see it. Although some people may interpret the tagging a gang related, it is probably just a few bored kids.
One thing that it notable is the recent crossing out of a few tags. This could escalate into a cross out war, which would create more graffiti. This passage explains the basis of a cross out war:
When a new writer starts to build up a profile, they are noticed. Their name, their style and their connections are appraised by other writers, some of whom may decide the new kid on the block is a toy or an enemy by their affiliation with another crew, and begin to cross them out, or cap their pieces. For a graffiti writer, this can be a very deep insult. To cross another writer’s name is to negate them and their claim to space, their identity, and their style. To cross another writer out is to incite a war on the wall, one that can be taken to a physical level if the disagreement progresses enough.
AKIT, a writer in London describes her reaction to being crossed out to Nancy Macdonald: “I was just like, ‘Oh my god, fuck, oh no!’… [They’re saying] ‘You’re shit, you’re nothing.’” (104) When a writer’s name has been crossed, it is not just another mark on the wall. It is a sign of not only extreme disrespect, but also an invitation to further conflict. “Retaliation is the normal response to getting one’s name crossed out,” Macdonald asserts, and often an escalating conflict ensues. Source: Graffiti and Urban Space
Related Links:
The Newspaper of the Streets
Graffiti and Urban Space
San Marco graffiti set
tags: jacksonville, graffiti, san marco
On such low level graffiti, things like crossout wars aren’t really intentional. There are plenty of unwritten laws with higher level, refined, skilled graffiti writers. These kids don’t have a clue where those laws begin.
I’ve noticed, toys (unskilled beginners) always have the urge to write over everything. It is of course, the worse way to enter into the writing scene. Jacksonville doesn’t have much of a scene, there are some decent writers, but the kids with their scrawl (like those pictured above) have really ruined it. It always happens in San Marco too. You’ll never see a decent fill-in or piece in San Marco, mainly because it’s all residential. If you really follow names in this city, you’ll only notice the names pictured native to San Marco, which, like you said, proves their just bored kids.
It’s too bad these little punks’ idea of “disrespect” doesn’t extend to the concept of only painting on a building if you have the owner’s permission.
Wow, so one criminal is disrespecting another criminal. Lock ‘em all up.
Respect is something you give yourself. It is something you earn by your deeds. If some cretan calls you a name or whatever - he’s just a cretan. The only one who respects or disrespects is you. So- having somebody put paint over your paint shows his disrespect for himself, not you.
The real artists are easily recognizable - this is not art.
hmmm….not art? so can you please tell me what art actually is then?
Definately not art. I’m just glad they didn’t cross out the MBK piece at the train tracks on Hendricks.
As an artist, usually the “real” artists are the ones who are not recognized as artists. See Dadaist movement.
As a retired graffiti artist, “the outlaw one” and “Snooz” are nothing but toys, most likely just starting out who may or may not move on to being skilled graffiti artists. As for “cike” or whatever the green paint says, this person is most likely not even to the level of toy yet. “Gothic Ghetto” is probably a non-serious tagger that has been tagging for only a short time, reminds me a bit of the punk taggers back in the early 90s here in Jax.
It looks like the top says “chico outlaw one” and the “Snooz” has probably been drawn out on paper a few (hundred?) times… “That’s cool!” at the bottom is probably just somebody taggin along (or snooz makin up our minds for us)… I’m guessin they are thirteen or so, and live in the nieghborhood…maybe they grabbed an old can from dad’s garage and walked up the street… little punkolas!
damn.. walk away from the computer for ten minutes and somebody reads your mind…
I still just can’t believe you people take this stuff seriously. How hard can it be to find a piece of paper? A piece of cardboard? Whatever? You are doing your “art” on other people’s property!
Art is art, regardless of legal status.
If you want to stop taggers like the above pictures, let murals be painted on your walls by graffiti artists or muralists. Everytime tags are painted over, its an invite for more.
P.S. as a retired graffiti artists I only do legal work. If you own a building I would be more than glad to create a work of art for your building.
So graffiti artists are extortionists?
Hahaha, nothing like the smell of sarcasm in the afternoon.
I didn’t say I charged for doing murals on buildings. Far as my suggestion, it was just a suggestion.
\”I’m guessin they are thirteen or so, and live in the nieghborhood…maybe they grabbed an old can from dad’s garage and walked up the street… little punkolas!\”
My sentiments exactly. I wonder where all the real writers have gone. You don\’t see much from MBK or DPK \’round anymore. I\’m patiently waiting for the next bomb. I haven\’t seen anything good since the Matthew\’s expressway:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanjacksonville/159589970/in/set-72157594154490254/
somebody bombed the recently installed beam on the unfinished overpass that is being built for the new C.R. 210 in “Nocatee”. usually you just see juvenile scrawl on the bridges and overpasses in St. Johns County, but this was decent work.
its a little far out for “urban” jax consideration, but the sheer athleticism required is impressive. i cant remeber the writer. it difficult to read as you weave under the overpass on the temporary bypass.
ill get a pic and e-mail it to Joey. he seems to collect graffiti photos.
The whole MBK/Resk thing is the result of a kid moving to Brooklyn for art school and back. He’s come a long way.
I miss the days of KBT, WH, EMS…
MBER, ISTO, ARMS, BASH, OB, SNOB, SEC, KEN 82
Even Raels and Evict bothered to hit this town.
It was there, they’re still around. The toys just put too much attention to the whole thing.
Can’t forget RES
“Poor As Fuck” has always been my favorite. Well done, had a message, made coffee come out my nose driving south on I-95.
I have blank space inside my garage and along my back alley fence (after this weekend’s construction). If someone put up a mural, non-gang related and well done (filled in), I wouldn’t paint over it.
I would take a well done piece of graffiti over some of the “art” that is in galleries any day.
Uturn, I think a happy medium (pun intended) would be city owned vs privately owned property (yes?)….
“somebody bombed the recently installed beam on the unfinished overpass that is being built for the new C.R. 210 in “Nocatee”. usually you just see juvenile scrawl on the bridges and overpasses in St. Johns County, but this was decent work.”
I saw that last weekend. I have folks who live out that way. I was trying to figure out if they had done if before the beam was set, but then I figured probably not considering how centered the piece was. I too was trying to figure out how in the hell they got up there.
So where have all the writers gone? JSO crackdown? Left the city? Bombing somewhere else now?
Far as where have they gone. It seems to be a where you are in life. In my case I was getting up before all the guys mentioned above were in the scene (at least to my knowledge). Once I graduated college, found a job, bought a house, and got married. Well, priorities change.
I use to paint in the yard (spot often shown in UrbanJax banner). I also painted behind 5 pts, the Warehouse that was on Riverside Ave. and downtown on the roof of “the cave” (diagonal from where Paradome/618 use to be).
RCA crew
Resk never been to art school ! and JAX isnt his hometown