Results tagged “tagging”

A controversial new proposal by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich would give law enforcement the okay to arrest taggers without actually seeing them tag--just the act of "hanging out" together on the street would be enough to haul them in. But those objecting include the ACLU, who call the idea "unquestionably unconstitutional," according to the LA Times. Police, too, aren't sold on the idea, and many other critics wonder if putting more youth into the criminal system--particularly without an actual crime--will do more long-term damage than good, particularly because there aren't enough programs in place to help these kids better their lives.

The Echo Park based artist who made President Obama's iconic poster image pleaded guilty today to three vandalism charges in a Boston Municipal Court. Shepard Fairey was accused of 28 counts of vandalism, but prosecutors dropped 14 charges last month and 11 of them today. "He pleaded guilty to one charge of defacing property and two charges of wanton destruction of property under $250," according to the Associated Press. As part of his two-year probation, he will have to pay $2,000 to a graffiti removal organization and is banned from carrying tagging materials unless he is working on a legal art installation.

Motorists attempting to travel on the 5 Freeway through Downtown this morning were stopped short for over an hour following the death of 25-year-old Jaime Herrera, who was struck and killed by a silver Toyota Camry at approximately 4:30 a.m. Herrera was "running east across the northbound lanes near the Los Angeles River," when he was hit, according to L.A. Now. So what was he doing on foot on the freeway? The LA County coroner's office says he was doing something he sure as hell shouldn't have been: “He had just finished tagging a freeway sign when he attempted to run across the freeway,” explained Lt. Cheryl MacWillie. “There was another friend with him tagging, but he survived.”

Respect, reward and recognition are the three "R's" of graffiti. Cyrus Yazdani, the graffiti tagger known as "Buket" who bragged about his exploits by uploading videos of himself to YouTube, was definitely recognized when he pleaded guilty yesterday to 32 counts of felony vandalism. The 25-year-old San Jose State graduate was rewarded with "to 10 months in county jail, 256 hours of graffiti removal and five years formal probation," found the LA Times. If you're curious, watch two of the videos here.

Time and time again, we hear about well-intentioned people being murdered when they speak up against someone doing graffiti. Case in point, it happened again this week in Hollywood.

Wearing a symbol of your crime on your chest for all to see is at least as old a punishment as Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, and this old school-style discipline is making a comeback.

Steve Lopez has a good knack for getting stories about the City of LA in their stupid moments. The latest is about a family store in Highland Park that was getting tagged by taggers and gangsters on an almost daily basis. The family would clean the graffiti, it would soon come back. So the family hired two respected street artists for $3000 to paint a mural and the tagging stopped. Well, someone complained about the mural and the city sent a letter ordering the family to comply and take the art down (the mural needed a permit). They didn't, so the city painted it for them (in an unmatched color). What almost immediately happened next? Graffiti.

          

Earlier we did an interview with director Jon Reiss about his graffiti documentary, Bomb It. Here we offer a gallery of photos featuring some of the work and artists featured in the film from all over the world. If you really want to get your graffiti fix on, check out the Bomb It Flickr site.

In 1999, director Jon Reiss brought the electronic/rave scene to audiences with the documentary feature Better Living Through Circuitry. Reiss now returns with another kinetic documentary, this time exploring the controversial art of graffiti in Bomb It. Shot with vivid colors and set to an energetic soundtrack, the film investigates the history of graffiti while profiling artists all over the globe. Featuring old school legends and current favorites such as Taki 183, Cornbread, Stay High 149, T-Kid, Cope 2, Zephyr, Revs, Os Gemeos, KET, Chino, Shepard Fairey, Revok, and Mear One, the production shot in the United States, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Japan. Rather than just a slide show of graffiti examples, Bomb It is an explosive kaleidoscope of artists showing where the state of public space and personal voice sometimes clash and coexist. From sunny townships to dark serpentine tunnels, the film takes audiences along for the ride on guerrilla tagging missions and painting parties.

Back in March, three guys taped themselves scamming Del Taco in order to get free food, which is essentially stealing. They put the whole how-to guide on YouTube, which led to their arrest.

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. So here's this week's top posts, as endorsed by you via the recommend feature, or as indicated by the level of talk going on in the comments:

The title of this article was going to be Moona Lisa. Then I realized I'm not actually 8, but 28. There I am, jumping next to the latest mural by Nick Walker. (Why am I jumping? Check out the Whiskerino Project, but beware: you might be blown away by sexiness. Unless you don't like beards.) This Banksy-esque lady can be found on La Brea, past Edgewood (see map below). Walker is one of four artists pasting and painting all over the city, who always include a link to a website named itsawonderful-world.com.

You're walking in a dark alley. Maybe you are just walking. Maybe you are spraying graffiti. Flash. Beep! Beep! "Leave now!" a voice from somewhere in the dark says....