Tagged as a Vandal

Words by Rafael Flores Jr.
San Fernando High School

As you walk around your neighborhood you see tagging on walls and pretty much anything you can find. Most adults view tagging as a disrespectful act by vandals who have nothing better to do. This negative stereotype has given a bad rap to graffiti artists and their chosen art form. This negative stereotype has also degraded the work of talented graffiti artists who dedicate time and hard work painting graf-murals in spaces where common people can see their artwork as they walk down the streets.

The problem is that people confuse all tagging on walls with graffiti art. Historically, gangs and tagging crews have used spray cans to mark their territory to make sure rival gangs/crews knew what area is theirs. This form of tagging is what usually scares people and makes them close-minded towards anything painted on walls, especially graf-murals. That's why this form of art is only seen as vandalism and destruction of private property.

In fact, people need to realize that there's a difference between taggers and graf-artists. Graf-artists are people who use aerosol spray cans to create artistic murals using styles, techniques, and symbols of hip hop culture. Since the beginning of hip hop in the 1970's, young artists from poor neighborhoods were painting graf-art on walls to make their community look better, such as in the movie Beatstreet.

The reality is that the creation of a graf-murals takes time, skill, and dedication. In no way should that be confused with taggers who just go around vandalizing other other peoples' property. Many people put down art on walls because it's not on a canvas or on display in some rich gallery. They don't take the time to just "sit down and realize" there's so much skill and artistic talent put into a graf-mural than just scribbling some letters on a wall. If you don't believe me, take a look yourself. Drive pass an area where gangs or crews tag their territory and pass by a yard where there's a lot of graf-art.

Let me offer a simple solution to the tagging "problem," schools need to start graf-art classes that teach young people who want to learn how to use spray cans to create hip hop art. Also, they need to provide legal walls so that artists can show us what they can really do without worrying about being arrested. This would cut down on the amount of tagging in the community because young people would have the opportunity to express themselves at schools or yards. Even taggers could benefit form the training offered by a graf-art class because they could learn to control their techniques and creativity and form a masterpiece with some culture behind it. Graf-artists are not vandals, but rather, misunderstood artists that just want to express their art for the world to see.