Graffiti Removal Guy Comes Back to Discover Image of Himself in the Same Spot


Street artist DS recently added a couple of paste-ups to a wall in London. It didn’t take too long before a graffiti removal guy removed the paste-ups.  Shortly after that, DS was back with a paste up of the graffiti removal guy removing the graffiti. Gold!

Art imitates removal of art!

And don’t forget, if you’re looking for a piece of original art to hang on your walls, check out artFido HERE!


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350 Comments

  1. You really need to take a photo of him taking down the second poster. Paste it up on the wall, and then take a photo of him taking down that one.
    See how many recursions you can get of it.

  2. That’s ok! I’ve already ambushed several of these “artists”! Maybe they should start charging art fees to pay for their hospital bills…oi!!!!

  3. “Huh, street art… No such thing. This is all just vandalism. I’d know, I have an Arts degree” I’m usually a pacifist but after reading that I’m not so sure. I wanna punch him sooo bad.

  4. The first stencil was dumb. Who gives a shit about Hello Kitty? I would have painted over it too. Did the artist really expect a guy who looks like that to appreciate a reference to Hello Kitty? XD

  5. Haters going to hate what exactly are the posters made of the hello kitty is awesome! Your stuffs funny! I’m not saying vandalism is a good thing but some areas need positive art if there is some with encouragement and keep your head up things will get better type stuff and calm the mind life is to short for anger I’d like to see more of that in bad areas.

  6. Awesome! fuck ignorant people…. “Don’t vandalise” do you really care ? Is that your main goal in life to be moody little shits ” oh I don’t care wether it’s art it’s still vandalising property” In about forty years you’ll be dead and your argument will mean nothing… Why care so much when possessions mean fuck all in the end.

  7. Question : if nobody saw street art as vandalism, if there were no graffiti removal guys… Would street art still be street art ? When a graffiti is treated with the same reverence and respect than Mona Lisa, does it still have a point ?

  8. Graffiti is simply …’Branding’. Putting your name and message out onto the mainframe. Every little mofo does it for a different psychological/economic/or whatever random reason and some are just mofos who can’t seem to write on paper or canvass but its STILL just marketing.

    Whether you’re a kid or adult
    Is it art? ….who cares you just keep on buying those t-shirts and stickers and be glad we’re not stealing or breaking shit.

    We vandalize ….ummm, visually take a dumps and get dumped on everyday with marketing schemes and subliminal messaging but still call it

    Advertising oh I meant to say art oh wait

    Some rich folk capitalizing on crazy mofos who can’t stop painting on shit.

  9. Nobody asked for my opinion but using a camera and seeking attention does not make this “artist” interesting and the poster looks better half removed without the whiny comment next to it, I hope which doesn’t apply to the guy not knowin he’s a vandal because he’s tryin to remove a shit poster from a wall. It isn’t art. He’s doin a favor, he’s sayin be more creative next time.

  10. Personally if somebody came and created street art on the side of my property and it looked like that I would love it. But I’m not everyone and I think artists need to respect the consent of the owners of these places cos art is subjective so what looks nice to me may look like an eyesore to the next guy. The ‘fuck the world and their rules’ mentality just doesn’t work in the real world unfortunately.

  11. I saw six months ago when a homeless man walked kiddy-corner across the intersection of Route 66 and Sepulveda about three miles from where the historic road and the American Dream meet the Pacific Ocean at a shopping mall. He was carrying fifty feet of plastic unrolled and blowing, the plastic arch of Los Angeles blowing in the wind. Fifty people in BMWs and Mercedes on four sides honked at him as I watched. A Ferrari with two twenty year old boys in it pulled up next to me behind other stopped traffic and I looked over at them while they lowered their colored, mirrored Ray-Bans exposing their empty souls as they gawked at a woman on the sidewalk. They said something and laughed, completely oblivious of the man in the middle of the street, until they finally saw the reason they were stopped and passed everyone in the right lane, blazing through the intersection, lifting the woman’s skirt and blowing her wig off exposing that she was a mannequin selling fast weight loss in front of a business owned by a man. They drove down the road cut across three lanes and passed cars waiting to turn in the left turn lane in on coming lanes before blazing onto the the 405 as a police car finally noticed the homeless man and got him out of the intersection. We all rolled on, complicit.

  12. Wait, he came out of the building? So he… lives in this building? This is his home? You’re giving him a lot of shit for someone who just wants to remove unwanted art from his home.

  13. There’s no point in talking to these people.(so called artists) They live in council houses on benefits or still live with their parents. They have no idea what it’s like to go out and work hard just to have enough money to pay your mortgage and feed your kids. I love art, I like looking at some street art, but I dont want it on the side of my house. The money I pay to get rid of it, can pay for food and clothes for my kids. They just don’t get it because they are selfish kids themselves!! Just because someone lives in a nice house does not mean they are rich, it can just mean they work really hard for the things they want rather than going out and doing crime!

  14. Most of the graffiti removal people are vigilante who destroy just as much property and art trying to “clean it up” putting silver or black on everything only the two hardest colors to cover…

  15. The fact is most graffiti isn’t done on private property it is done in a public space just like all the advertising being crammed down everyones throats if it is on private property it’s normally someone who has no clue what they are doing or a gang or wanna be gang banger. Bansky is weak most stencil graffiti or “street art” is weak learn some fucking can control and paint like a real artist.

  16. I’m tired of reading what each person’s opinion on vandalism is. I think graffiti is cool and artistic and I’m all for expression, but vandalism is a fucking crime so whether or not you agree what the dictionary definition of vandalism is or not it is still wrong and punishable. So get over it. No one cares that you don’t like looking at gray concrete slabs, that doesn’t give you the right to fuck the wallets of hard working citizens because you’re too poor to afford a real place to showcase your artwork. Go back to listening your punk rock and blaming corporate America and the “system” for all of your problems.

  17. People need to stop crying. First of all if you for not reason approve of this, then why the fuck are you in here in the first place. Out of ignorance of course…If graffiti and anything else on walls isn’t art then why is it still up all over NYC. take the train and see graffiti city for yourself. Very nice!

  18. Why can’t it be art and vandalism? Would you just let someone come into your home and put up whatever artworks THEY thought were good, regardless of what you thought? It doesn’t matter that it’s artistic, if you don’t want it, you shouldn’t have to deal with it being on YOUR property.

    I think plenty of graffiti art is amazing, but if it’s going to be on my building, I want to choose something that actually suits my tastes.

  19. This is a fake picture photoshopped. The poster shows the man has ripped a hole in the middle but he obviously has not in the picture with both. All fooled lol

  20. If you want to vandalise/graffiti please don’t do it on public transport because some poor fffbugger who earns fffbugger all has to remove the crap. Also make it funky because tags are dumb, reminds me of a kindergarten student who has just learnt to spell their name….

  21. i don’t see people ripping down poster advertising raves and events on boarded up buildings so why get uptight about stencil art and street art and even grafitti if its just some abandoned shitty looking building. i mean fair enough, if its just some punk kid writing ‘banks woz eya 2k14’ then you can get on your high horse and call your committee meetings, but when its creative, why complain. i mean i would rather look at these pieces of work, than half the stuff you see in the tate modern and such other expensive galleries

    1. Dude. This is *literally* someone’s home. Someone’s home, and the someone doesn’t want the artwork on his home. All of these comparisons to abandoned buildings and other areas that would be greatly improved by the addition of public artwork are completely bonus.

  22. Wait isn’t this headline misleading? The photo is a before and after. It is NOT a photo of graffiti removal guy coming back to discover a picture of himself.

  23. Garafetti is no good unless someone is getting uptight about it. I like these pictures, it’s fantastic art. That stuff where we end up with illegible scrawl ? Not a fan of that. But this is the good stuff, this is street art, part of the urban ecosystem and a form of self expression. We need the walls, the uptight, the artists, the removal men. Everything is an essential part of what it is. I’m more offended by advertising to be honest. Advertising is designed to stop you thinking. This stuff though……it’s different. Failing to see the value in it does not make it wrong. It makes you different and that’s important too!

  24. I appreciate and enjoy how you laugh about the people… it is kind of interesting and maybe I can accept it like art, but if someone will do “art” or “vandalism” in my walls, i would expect that he ask me if they can do something on it. You don’t know the power of a simple question and respect. Regards.

  25. City developers don’t ask the citizens before putting buildings that affect our every day life. Cover the sun. Take down architect ally significant buildings for putting up shoe boxes. Consent is bullshit. Their wall is also on your way… as long as it’s not just visual noise. I guess there’s where you have the dilemma. I could also state that your blank walls mutes my thoughts.

  26. Did anyone else notice that the poster and the guys arms in the photo of him from the distance form a face? I forts thought it was a poster of a male face fading into the background of a building. Till I saw the close up. Anyone noticed this?

  27. Just want to offer a little bit of a different perspective for most people calling this vandalism. I live around Detroit and make a 40 minute commute every day, it’s borderline actually depressing to see all these abandoned properties that are never being demolished or renovated just continue to fall to pieces. The best part of anyone’s commute in this area is usually some new graffiti/art.

  28. Opinions are like ass holes and every bodies got one, so stop arguing you morons. come on, is this really how you want to spend your day. Time is precious

  29. I started a new thing I like to call “Street Sex” where I just go have sex with women I see on the street, and photograph them after whether they like it or not. It’s a statement against women flaunting themselves all over the place, you see, so it’s a matter of social justice and outcry against the system which enslaves my dick.

    My technical clit-work, tonguing, thrusting, and dismount is immaculate, though, so it’s not a criminal offense.

  30. There’s no argument that this isn’t ‘art;’ merely the man in the article values the art as vandalism, which it is. This doesn’t mean the art isn’t beautiful — it only means that it was done in a petty, and illegal fashion. I don’t care if the original mona lisa was painted on my property, if it’s without my authority (and doesn’t earn me big bucks!!), then to hell with it and however great it is!

      1. do you even have a clue of what you’re writing about? A Banksy ‘act of vandalism’ could make a fucking sidewalk worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. If Banksy was to paint something on my house I would keep it because I love his art, but if I didn’t I could easily sell the wall he painted on and buy me a new house

    1. How do you figure? If someone throws a brick through your window, you could replace it with a simple pane of glass. If the fact that something can be undone — at a cost to the property owner, even — means it’s not vandalism, then nothing is vandalism. Destroy someone’s house! They can just rebulid it.

          1. Defacing someone else’s property without their permission, whether it is artistic or not, is still vandalism. If people wanted these on their property they would commission someone to do it. But I suppose that wouldn’t fit in with your “fuck everyone else” attitude.

          2. I can’t afford to commission art. Let’s say I woke up in the morning with a Banksy or Blek le Rat artwork on my wall or fence, methinks I’d preserve it. I would do the same with any work I thought were clever or had artistic merit. I was in New York during Bansky’s 1 month art in New York project. In cases where his work was not damaged prior to the owner discovering it, they preserved it. Wouldn’t you? I’d do the same with any art work I thought worthwhile regardless of whether or not it is valuable.

            From my experience, street artists do not randomly select someone’s house. But analogously, with billboards appearing everywhere to ruin not only urbanscapes but landscapes in rural areas along motorways, on public transport and almost everywhere, I cannot for the life of me understand why people who complain about graffiti/street art do not complain about billboards. The obvious answer is one is legal and the other not. But what makes the billboards legal other than political representatives sanction it as a revenue raiser? No permission was required from residents nearby or from voters generally. Surely, we should question this practice. In either case someone is making a decision for you.

            I will pre-empt that you will say in one case it is private property and another public space. Sure, but in the latter case it is the responsibility of those in authority to seek approval from the public as it is public property. As for billboards on private property in public space, I would think the same should apply.

            All I am saying is that the issue is more complex than on of vandalism of private property.

          3. “Let’s say I woke up in the morning with a Banksy or Blek le Rat artwork on my wall or fence, methinks I’d preserve it” See the difference here is that you will probably never own property,so you won’t know what it actually feels like to wake up to that.

          4. I forgot owning a house is the definition of a good person. You cringe worthy excuse of a cunt.

          5. Actually I own my own house (no mortgage) and an art gallery with my partner. And, indeed, I’ve had lesser known street artists who’ve offered their services and painted the walls of the gallery. So, wrong on all counts Sabbie … do some research next time before you show your ignorance!!!

          6. I think the law is the law. And if graffiti was desired by a community the. It would be legalized. I follow the law, so should they. Paint on a canvas, not on somebody else’s wall.

          7. How about weed, what if 49% of the community desires it, what if 51% does, what about the 49% who opposes it. Laws are not sacred from a moral or practical standpoint. I would not break it, because I understand laws draw repercussions, but I respect those who gamble with that. AS far as graffiti, artists won’t paint on random peoples property. They will paint on property that’s usually publicly owned, or owned by corporations, and excuse me if its hard to have empathy for faceless entities.

          8. OK, if you notice Banksy or le Rat near your house about to spray paint your fence, then send them to my place … please! Re the law, I think it best if you get some education on how the law works. Do you really think the law works on the desires of ‘the community’. Who comprises the community you are talking about? In many cases a majority of people wants laws changed but the legislative body is opposed to it. Homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia, medicinal marijuana, are some cases in question. Check your facts mate!

          9. What if you woke up one morning with a drawing of a penis on your front door? Would you preserve that fine art?

          10. Indeed, I own many artworks purchased or given to me by artists whom I’ve worked with, and some of these include genitalia. The art space I own with my partner has included exhibitions which depict genitalia. Moreover, if a well-known street artist were to paint a penis on my front door, I’d remove the door and sell it or hang in on my wall. If someone vandalised my door and I did not consider it art I would simply remove it. It’s that simple mate!!! Does that answer your question colanta?

          11. What if you woke up an found something painted on your front door that you didn’t like. Are you still going to preserve that?
            If the answer is no, then why would anyone expect that someone else should keep an illustration that they didn’t ask for nor that they want?

          12. Ownership, and therefore all rights, belongs to the owner of the structure the paint or paper is attached to, not to any observers. We’d all love for some famous artist to gift us with some of his work, (not so we could admire it but so we could sell it and buy rims, big screen TV’s and high fat Greek yogurt.)
            But what if some fat-assed farmer came to your house and rolled red barn paint on his naked butt and pressed it up against your house? Would you suddenly claim private property rights and call the police on the vandal?

          13. if i wanted to pour cement over the whole planet so you could whine about how someone got sick of looking at depressing shit holes and empty blank concrete walls. I would bitch about graffiti. Get over yourself and your fuck everyone but me attitude. You’re the miserable one, defacing the planet. The graffiti artist is just trying to make you think and brighten it up your day. I realizes thinking and being happy are foreign ideas to you. So now respond like a miserable asshole about how some imaginary person might make a imaginary drawing of something you don’t like. Seriously, can’t you just kill yourself, instead of complaining. It would be more constructive.

          14. LOL…that actually made me laugh. I personally think really GOOD graffiti artists rock….but Actual artists are few. Most graffiti takes an ugly concrete wall and makes turns it into an uglier concrete wall with shitty gangland tags all over it.

          15. Vandalism: action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. Graffiti is a subset of vandalism, unless it’s on your own property.

          16. Relax, “streetart” isnt even streetart, and even less graffiti . Its just some dudes sitting at home with their photoshop and stencilcuttingkits, then they go out and do something in the lesser side of tags in 20 seconds. Not only home art, but also trying to live of the rep of real graffiti artists like Loomit, Resh, Seen, and so on. Real graffitiartists spend hours painting huge pieces.

          17. Who gives a fuck where its done or how its done thats completely irrelevant to art. Artists who wanna spend time painting something on a building is just as legitimate as somebody who stencils something in seconds. Its only another form, they wanna get it done quick without being caught. As to those who spend ages doing a painting in the street, fucking props to them.

          18. we who make graffiti gives a shit. we who went to jail for spraying illegal pieces so that there is any fame for these shitkids
            cares. stencilartists are mere famethieves and shoud be lined. no props for the toy ass thieves.

          19. bitter, much. I moved to stencils. can do so much more in far more dangerous place. Not my fault you didn’t think of it.

          20. I believe, what he’s trying to say is art requires a level of artistic skill coupled with an idea. I don’t agree, someone who stencils likes the idea of what they’re doing but does not want have the skill or wants to put the time into their vocation. To me, that’s just a lazy half assed approach. That person should not be called an artist.

          21. Then for something to be called vandalism, one has to judge that it is destruction or damage. I only see art, even improvement here. Sorry.

          22. If a person feels compelled to repaint over graffiti on his property time and time again, at his own expense, is that not evidence that he believes you are damaging his property?

          23. Iif you paint over the artist drawing time and time again. It’s the artist trying to tell you something. Maybe you should stop shitting in his line of sight, and fix up your building. It’s a fucking eye soar and disgraceful.

          24. Yeah, the guy who graffiti’s on another person’s wall over and over is saying to the property owner “I know you have to pay to fix this every time, but fuck you I'[ll do what I want.” Nice.

          25. Define property. Who has a right to own anything? You must be a right miserable c*nt to go out with. Do you work for the council?

          26. Then that person has a bad taste and has to pay for it, time and time again, until his taste in art improves.

          27. I think he’ll be arrested for harassment then. But no Homophobia is not cool. But I doubt bad taste in art has anything to do with it.

          28. Right. And the only one who can judge that is the owner of the building. There’s a whole bunch of shit I could do to your house or property I’d call art personally, so is that cool if I do that?

          29. If vandalism is “destruction or damage” why is not vandalism when it is in your own property? What qualifies as damage in someone else’s property is different than what is destructive on your own? Why? I’m confussed

          30. You can’t tell the difference between damaging your own property and damaging someone else’s property without their consent? Really?

          31. you have fallen for the illusion of “property” and “ownership”

            you own nothing, the universe owns you. property is theft,
            but WE NEED OUR PRETTY THINGS TO MAKE US LOOK BETTER THAN THE OTHER GUY!!! BECAUSE LIFE WITHOUT POSSESSIONS IS LIKE BEING DEAD.

            You sound like the kind of person who laughs at those displaying Acetic Virtue, in public

          32. Does your definition of “acetic virtue” include the ability to go around defacing other people’s stuff, making them feel violated, and forcing them to pay to fix it?

          33. Wow!! you have a dictionary, I’ll clap while you go find your mouth guard and helmet. Remember the doctor told you to wear them, everywhere.

          34. Blank faceless concrete is vandalism, unwanted and an eyesore. Having someone like Banksy stencil over it is a definite improvement.

          35. Jackson, I think you’re absolutely right. Remember what happened to Chopper? :D I wouldn’t even like Dredd as an actual person, but as a character who’s a satire of an American action hero, he’s awesome. This icon is just something I scribbled at work (between phone calls connecting) and later colorized on PhotoShop. I’ve used it to promote the character when I ran my own Dredd movie group on FB.

          36. Coming from a poser troll who steals people’s identities online? Maybe I just don’t support your type of lawlessness, Lemur Boy. But I do like our conversations. There’s been a while.

          37. Sure. A fresh new profile, only a few days old. What do you know, the exact same antics, loving Michael Bay and the Transformers movies, bashing Dredd everywhere. Crying foul when somebody hurts your feelings. Could you be more obvious if you try. Maybe you should go play with your Transformers toys instead of making yourself a fool on the internet? :D I’m still waiting for your more psychopathic traits to appear, like before.

          38. I still don’t know you. You really are a really crazy guy. Such insane people on the internet.

          39. I live in the burbs of Chicago…I see Graffiti on peoples houses all the time. Graffiti looks shitty pretty much everywhere though. There are VERY few actual artists creating graffiti…its normally done by gangland teenagers. There is a Dunkin Donuts near where I live where some jagoffs spraypainted a bunch of crap onto the side of it, and broke out the lights on that side so they could do it at night and not get caught. After the DD cleaned off the rather ugly and unartistic gang tags, they came back and did it again, this time spray painting “Fuck you Dunkin Donuts”. Classy.

          1. All arguments are pointless. winning arguments proves nothing except that you know how to win an argument, won argument does not always equate to factual correctness

          1. Got ask a question if Graffiti is done with the permission of the property owner or done on the artist’s own property is it still considered a subset of vandalism?

        1. Most Graffiti artist don’t really do it on the side of someone’s home. As a fellow Shamo fan (especially someone who’d name their profile after Ryo himself) I’d think you’d really care very little about legality

      1. Then it’s not graffiti, it’s simply “street art.” Graffiti is purposely vandalizing public and private property to try to get a message across. What you’re mentioning is something that’s aesthetically pleasing enough that an artist was perhaps commissioned to do by the neighbors/city to add more artistic flavor to the area.

          1. You can whine all you want, but grafitti is still going to happen, so just keep crying Ryo. You’re preaching at the wrong church ;-)

        1. Who is to say anyone can own property? Who gave them that authority? Because someone says “this is mine”. Because some guy wrote on a piece of paper, and some other jackoffs agree with him, so what? You don’t really own anything in this world even your body will rot and die. Possession is an invention of culture. These artists are reminding us that nobody really owns anything.

          1. You don’t own anything about which you say, “this is mine?” Do you have a dog? Mind if I take him?

          2. Well we know you’re a jerk. If you don’t like art or activism that is fine. Go sit in your corner and moan about how life isn’t sort into nice little piles of grey and depressing. You and the rest of the unpleasant self-loathing jerks can go back to your holes in the ground. and you can try to take my dog. He will teach a very valuable lesson about loyalty, while he chews your face off. My dog will return not because i own him, but because i love him.

          3. One of us say, “have respect for other people.” The other one says, “screw other people, I’ll mess up their stuff if I want and force them to pay to fix it.” Seems like you’re the one whose a jerk. And you overestimate the loyalty of your dog. I could give him just as good a life as you could. Since you don’t believe in private property, you shouldn’t have a problem with it.

      1. I have a briljant idea for a dick painting on your window, a huge throbbing erection in the morning light… surely you would let me paint this since you are not judgmental or self-righteous. Whats your adress JohnH, I have money and time to travel :) heck, il even bring a ladder…

        1. If you had the capacity to think rationally, which, in common with all internet morons, you don’t, you would realize that my comment doesn’t mean I approve of or endorse graffiti.

          Idiot.

          1. `If you had`
            ´Idiot´
            `Stop being judgmental and self-righteous.`

            I guess you have not seen my work, yet you decline my offer in a very rude fashion. I suspect you are a homophobe and or a racist… a goodday to you sir…

          1. self expresion is self expresion, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, thats what makes painting your art on other people there stuff a more nuanced discussion. Besides , the male reporducing organ is a thing of beauty, many great artist have agreed upon this.

          2. “self expresion is self expresion, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, thats what makes painting your art on other people there stuff…”

            Illiterate, moronic ramblings.

        1. I’m the one saying, “hey, don’t go around damaging other people’s property.” You’re the one saying, “Fuck you, I’ll do what I want to other people’s stuff.” And I’m the dick?

          1. I appreciate nicely done graffitis and would preserve them if they were done on my property. But, i totally agree that it is still vandalism cos they do it on other people’s properties. Not everybody appreciates graffiti, street artists should at least respect that and stop doing it on walls with anti-graffiti owners.

          2. Yeah, you kind of are a huge dickbag. We get you worship money and to you that is all it is required to offend, destroy or shit all over anyone or thing you want. I love reading about how abortion kill babies, because the catholic church can pay to misinform people. While having beef flavored cardboard announced to be the answer to my problems. I don’t expect you to understand what graffiti is about. You obviously never dreamed of looking up and see the sky not a endless parade of ugly buildings and ads. I will never get the it’s cool to conform attitude. I guess thinking for yourself hurts for some people.

          3. Wow bro, you sound so edgy and rebellious, you must think you’re pretty cool. I wish I could come to your place of residence and smear my own feces in the shape of the Mona Lisa and light it on fire, how tasteful and artistic does that sound?

          4. Said the guy who goes around scrawling all over other people’s property against their will and forcing them to pay to fix it. Yeah, you’re a swell guy and not a “dickbag”. For you having respect for other people’s stuff = worshipping money. I don’t agree with that, because it’s stupid.

          5. It’s hilarious how you make the same erroneous comments all over this thread even after people have pointed out how you’re guilty of frequent false equivalencies.

      1. Mcdonalds pays the fucker money for it, it obv looks a lot worse. I wouldn’t call this defacing, since it looks better than before, but the guy wants to look boring, and that is his right, even if he’s a dull cunt for it.

    1. It’s supposed to be vandalism, no one does graffiti for the admiration of trendy middle class people except other trendy middle class people. Propa graff is about getting your piece out there in the most, visible, hard to remove place that causes the most amount of damage. started in NY in the ghettos and spread across the world. I think a lot of you miss the whole bloody point of it talking like its some kind of fine art.

          1. I think he’s pointing out that graffiti has been around since there were caves and people and it wasn’t “started in NY”. Like no one had thought to draw on a wall until last century, idiot.

          2. Yeah it’s not just drawing on a wall though is it IDIOT. It’s a whole fucking culture which posh twats like you fail to understand, the culture came from NY and is part of hip hop culture. I don’t recall Julius caesar doing some mad letter styles of his name back in acient rome. Before graff broke out in NY people didn’t go street bombing like they do now, they didn’t paint the train lines, go for the mad spots, or paint huge letter styles. NY started the modern graff scene you mong.

          3. No, vandalism existed a long time ago (The Vandals) and so did drawing on walls, as in graffiti. Yes there are graffiti artists you see, but graffiti existed in Ancient Egypt. Romans use to graffiti swear words, political slogans and even messages of love. Old Roman image of a graffiti cock with the words ‘Handle with care’

          4. I know people wrote on fucking walls before the 1970’s for fuck sake! The whole style of MODERN DAY 2014 graffiti came from philly and NYC!!!! Rambling on about ancient rome is so off topic, tryna be a smug smart arse like the other guys, as if i thought that no one had ever wrote on a wall before the 70’s…

          5. You were smug by writing “no one does graffiti for the admiration of trendy middle class people except other trendy middle class people”. Very smug there.

            “started in NY in the ghettos and spread across the world” There you are trying to educate people incorrectly, when there was no reason too. Smart arse there.

            Modern-style graffiti does refer to Roman Graffiti, so pick up a book and stop being so judgemental over the Internet you keyboard warrior, what is it that you do away from the keyboard? I assume something that only requires a low IQ.

            Look up Kilroy was here, World War II graffiti or Bozo Texino. Paris had graffiti, poster art and stencil art in the 60’s.

          6. not gonna read all that am i. Wasent even talking to you. You reply to one comment and get a bunch of aggy weirdos wanting to correct every little mistake you mate. jesus christ, go correct someone else i do not care

          7. I don’t want your shit on my wall because you’re a fucking imbecile who talks about “culture” like you have any fucking clue what you’re talking about. Your idea of art isn’t my idea of art so keep that shit off mine and everyone else’s wall asshole.

          1. banksy is a hack ripping off another artist that is now dead. and that is why is a clever clever man. Idiots don’t even know what he does.

      1. “Supporting people’s right to decide whether they want to have their property sprayed upon is terrible and dark!”

        Is this really how some of you people think?

      2. Ryo has been right. The graffiti can be a beautiful work of art but if it’s on some one else’s property its vandalism by definition. If you don’t have consent in spraying it then by default you have to assume that the property owner does not want it and you’re costing them effort to get rid of it. It’s pure logic and just imagine if such scenario was applied to your car. I know that a lot of you can keep on saying that you’d be down for some one to perform masterpieces on your house but you’ll start regretting that when it finally happens either on the wrong things or in the wrong places.

        I love seeing street art but that stuff has to be commissioned by the city if it’s going to be on public property. If that’s something that’s tough to do then all the artists should get together and make their case to their city’s council members and mayor. Put it on a ballot, whatever they need to do. I prefer seeing graffiti art around downtowns since they make the place look livelier! Imagine what some artists could do if they had the added time through the legality of their actions?

      1. Why? I’m not bothering anyone. On the other hand, you’re damaging other people’s stuff and you don’t care they have to pay for it. So why don’t you kill yourself?

    2. I confess I haven’t read all the various discussions here, but part of the issue comes down to what we consider “your own property”.

      You take a fairly simplistic view that allows for private ownership of public space. The law agrees, though to a limited extent. For example, in the US, a privately-owned but publicly-accessible business is not allowed to refuse service to someone based on their perceived racial background. In truly your own private home, you are able to do that. But even in your own private home, you’re not allowed to dump a barrel of mercury or radioactive waste. Many places, you’re not allowed to dig a well without a government permit or root around 50 feet down for ancient artifacts.

      I walk down a particular street every day. I share that space with hundreds of other people. We have our own private spaces in our homes and more limited shared spaces in our offices and shops, but we also share this space, this wall on the street. Why do we have no say in what happens there? Why is the ownership of this building considered to include the wall facing the sidewalk I walk on every day? Why is that where we draw the line? If we say this person OWNS this wall, why not let him own the soil beneath it and dump toxic chemicals? Why not allow him to enforce his legal system inside and forbid police from entering?

      The law locks up the man or woman. Who steals the goose from off the common.
      But leaves the greater villain loose. Who steals the common from under the goose.

  31. If a naked woman pushing paint filled eggs out of her hoohar can be promoted as art then this can definitely be art. Vandalism is defined as: “action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.” As far as I can see there was no damage caused except by the man removing the art so if anyone was a vandal it was him.

    1. Did the owner of the property give permission for their building to be used as a canvas? If not then it is vandalism.
      I love graffiti art, but there has to be consent from the property owner. There are a number of property owners who do, and some pay top dollar to have it done in the first place, I’ve met a few who have payed 10’s of thousands for a wall on their property to be graffitied? on by a true artist..

        1. I guess all of the Sistine Chapel is no longer art. Or the Louvre, because those works are Priceless and really Priceless means that no amount of money can’t buy it ergo that means it is also worthless so therefore All that “Art” is vandalism. Remember a lot of that is painted on walls as well.

          1. If you’re talking money then Michelangelo was paid to paint the Sistine chapel so how is that vandalism you moron?

        2. Obviously the point is that consent is needed. The examples of where it’s being paid for are just some examples.
          Wow, you must have a very big chip on your shoulder to pull off such a disingenuous and obtuse misunderstanding :-/

          1. I think when NGH added “by a true artist” to the end of their rant it was implied that what they consider vandalism isn’t “true art”.

          1. NHG

            Vandal Lover

            3 days ago

            Did the owner of the property give permission for their building to be used as a canvas? If not then it is vandalism.
            I
            love graffiti art, but there has to be consent from the property owner.
            There are a number of property owners who do, and some pay top dollar
            to have it done in the first place, I’ve met a few who have payed 10’s
            of thousands for a wall on their property to be graffitied? on by a true
            artist..

            now lets quote

            “”There are a number of property owners who do, and some pay top dollar to
            have it done in the first place, I’ve met a few who have payed 10’s of
            thousands for a wall on their property to be graffitied? on by a true
            artist””

          2. He doesn’t say anything about art having to be paid for in order to truly be considered art. He simply said that he’s known people to pay to have their walls covered. There’s a difference.

          3. he did so read it apparently in his eyes only art that is paid for is true art, so i’ll throw in a penny and 20 dollars for the guy who took it off and his image was placed there and now to him it is art …………

          4. “Legal Graffiti” isnt graffiti, its aerosol art. All Aerosol art claming to be graffiti should be lined with no sign.

          5. how do you know his is legal is there a permit you have to get? how do you define legal and illegal? it was done on someone else’s property without there permission that is illegal is it not? and how do you construed it to be art? who said it was art? a post said he has had friends who bought it does buying stuff make it art and if so who says? who makes these claims that it is art and if it isn’t?

          6. If theres a chanse its legal its just aerosol art. if its on a train or a rooftop you can prpbably consider it Graff

          7. i don’t know about that logic but i do think it is funny that the removal guy found his picture there, and honestly maybe its not graff but that is someone elses property i dont know about you but i would be pretty upset if someone did that to me or my car or something i worked hard to get. wouldn’t you? I don’t know about suing him but i would make him clean it off after i saw it of course and then maybe have him make a picture of it in another place to display not outside the building.

          8. You sadly dont get it. “Streetart” aka stencils are cuttings done at HOME. Then they go out and paint on their cuttings with less skills than the toyest of taggers. stencils are not streetart, its not graffiti. Its just bullcrap. Same with posternoobs, stickerbombers and so on.

        3. The man came out of this building — this is literally his home. He doesn’t want the art on his home. This artist is being a little shit about it. It’s not about whether or not the graffiti is art — even if it were the Mona Lisa being hung up on his wall, the owner needs to give permission first. Respect the man’s living space.

      1. But who has the right to say that “vandalism” isn’t art anyway? If the artist were to get permission it could very well defeat the purpose of her art. No one but the artist herself has the right to say what is or isn’t art.

        1. Although the artist can definately say something is art and that can make it art, there is a social aspect to it. People have to agree that it’s art for it to have a use. That’s why money being involved in an artistic project can legitimately tip you off to it’s artistic merit.

          I err away from liking graffiti because I think vandalism is annoying and distracting. It doesn’t have to break something to be disruptive of the environment – how the city planner, or building owner, and people of the city in general intended things to look. Even so, I understand that this is the “powerless people who live in the environment” getting to have their say. If it’s done well, I appreciate the artistic expression, people trying to make an area reflect peoples taste, and be less cold.

          But it’s the expression of a lack of consideration towards other people’s stuff that I don’t like. Tags and what-not, which are mostly what I see around, have little artistic and contextual benefit and simply advertise the petty-mindedness of whoever might reside in the area. Actual artistic graffiti might be poorly placed, or take over the area. Graffiti is often required to be made fairly permanent to survive. It requires work to take down to the people who actually run the property. If taken down the vandals will likely repeat, under the same justification they used for the original, without communication or consideration. That’s why the vandalism interpretation of graffiti I see tends to take precedence over the art of it for me.

          1. >It doesn’t have to break something to be disruptive of the environment – how the city planner, or building owner, and people of the city in general intended things to look.<

            ROFL – "city planner"? Do you really think that our cities – outside of China – are "planned" anymore? In this age of hypercapitalist hyperdevelopment and runaway gentrification, when zoning boards have been neutered or eliminated and the only thing that acts as a brake on private development is fluctuations in private capital? Do you really harbor such quaint, almost socialistic notions that "city planners" and "the people of the city" have ANY real say whatsoever in what their cities looks like anymore?

            No. What you ought to have said is simply: "It doesn't have to break something to be disruptive of the environment – how the private developer intended things to look."

            And do we really want to leave the final say of the aesthetics of our cities to the developers and private capital?

            I sure don't.

        2. Ok, I think we all agree that vandalism can be art, graffiti can be art, my shit can be art, it all depends on perspective. What we have to agree too, is that painting other people’s property is vandalism, and vandalism is a crime regardless of what you paint, art or not.

          1. Yeah, I think that’s already been established, too.

            The question is: SHOULD it be a crime?

            And the jury is still out on that one.

        3. Who has the right to say rape is a crime? I should be able to just go out and rape anyone I want because I want to have sex that way right? Getting permission could very well defeat the purpose of raping those women and to me it’s perfectly fine to have sex in this manner. No one but the offender has the right to say if it’s rape or not. Your logic doesn’t sound very good when it’s applied to anything else does it? “Art” on someone elses property without permission is the same scenario, it’s against the law and against the owners rights.

      2. Hey man , get your head out of your backside and just live.. just for one day and realise there are much bigger issues going on in the world, and people directing their petty anger at such a non issue just typifies the attitude of todays society. Christ if you put your disdain towards some real problems facing the world maybe ..just maybe as a species we could advance instead of humming around in our own little spheres of existence crying at things which cause no harm whatsoever to anyone. I feel sorry for anyone who is upset by these things I mean life must be real terrible for this to cause a reaction.

          1. and my mind isn’t the property of advertisers, so how come i have to be forced to see their shit on the walls everyday instead of free art?

          2. Make all the free art you like. Just don’t deface other people’s property without their consent.

          3. What happens when “other people’s property” deface my life with their stupid, shitty ads and ugly buildings? Fuck that.

          4. So basically, in addition to wanting the ability to deface other people’s property without their consent, you want the ability to dictate to other people what they can do with their own property. Fuck that.

          5. Read a book? No-one’s forcing you to see ads; do like the rest of us – ignore them. That hurts advertisers. Whining means they got to you.

          6. You mean the entitlement of the propertied class to dictate what is and isn’t art?

            Yeah, that mentality is really appalling.

          7. shit I would like to look at the internet and not see ads on EVERYTHING I look at or drive down the street with out seeing 1000 ads before I get home. not gunna happen….

          8. Yeah, until Banksy “vandalizes” a building and suddenly the owners cash in like they won the lottery… You do realize that in places in Williamsburg and Bushwick that realtors and developers are actually attracted by the street art and inflate their prices accordingly, right? Once again, it’s only “vandalism” until you can profit from it – but the artists seldom get paid.

          9. News flash graffiti will never stop. Sorry. Don’t like it don’t put your business in areas were graffiti is common.

          10. You are intent on driving business owners out of your area? Have you thought about the consequences of that?

          11. wont do shit to my area I’m in downtown ATL. No shortage in ppl trying to open businesses here that know the deal and understand that if you are in the city shits going to get tagged. You may not agree with it but like I said before ITS HOW IT IS. might not be right but YOU will not change it. arrest one and their will be 5 more to replace him. Your options are 1. dont put your business were graffiti is common. 2. put a mural up so the chances of someone tagging on it are much lower 3. paint over it….. if you dont get this you will be setting yourself up to be pissed off cuz graffiti happens and im all for it. gives cities character.

        1. If your argument is that it is too petty to bother with, then maybe the artist himself should get a life and stop wasting his time defacing other peoples property. Maybe you shouldn’t have wasted your time replying? Life is the little things. Get them right and the big thind=gs fall into place/ The little act of respecting someone else’s property spread over the whole world would certainly lead to greater harmony.

      3. Sorry but NGH is correct. I love graffiti art, too. But if it is done without consent, it is vandalism under the definition of the law regardless of the artistic value of said vandalism. Yes, graffiti is legitimate art but whether or not the artist will be prosecuted depends on whether consent was involved in the process. In some places there are designated areas for people to do their tagging and art. In others, you still have to go about it in a clandestine way.

          1. the property owner is the only one that can dictate what is or isnt art. if you dont like it, go do it on a property where you have permission. you cant go around spray painting or pasting peoples houses and expect them to appreciate your work

          2. Illegal or not, the viewer AND artist dictate what is or isn’t art. You might not see it as such, but that’s the way art works. You can remove art and think it is vandalism, or you could vandalize and someone might see it as art. The property owner is not in play in this unless you look at the legal side of it. Art is, or it is not. That is the beauty of art.

          3. Whether it is art or not is not an issue. The argument is whether it is vandalism. And without the owners permission it may be art, but it is still vandalism.

          4. The baseless claims of people doing graffiti on houses is a joke, talk about blowing things out of proportion.. Stop likening public places and walls outside of pubs and other venues in inner city areas to someone’s “house”, drama llama..

          5. The problem is that these places are actually owned by someone! They don’t just belong to the public, someone fucking owns it and pays for it, it isn’t just fucking there as if it was part of nature, it’s no bloody different than a persons house.

          6. If I were to go and cut you up into little pieces and rearrange you into a work of art that people really liked and I got “popular consensus”, then according to your logic it isn’t murder, it’s art.
            Try again. Maybe read what the law says.

          7. Okay so if the public decides that taking a shit on someones front lawn is artful and trendy then we should all go and take shits on everyone elses front lawns and pretend it’s legal and just completely ignore what the law says because we find it artistic?

          8. There’s actually an artwork were the artist put his shit in cans and sold them according to their weight. One of these recently sold for thousands of dollars. If thats considered art, then creative graffiti cam be called art too. Maybe not eyesore graffiti but definitely graffiti where people put time and effort into making it look nice

          9. I think you may have just answered your own question. Do YOU consider shitting in a can to be art? No?
            Then why would you expect everyone to consider graffiti to be art?
            Imo the art is in the reaction it gives the public. The outrage, the good vs evil, the art vs vandalism, the colors on a bleak background, the ‘fight the power’ mentality.
            Graffiti is never going to be accepted by everyone and every graffiti artist knows their art is probably only temporary which to me makes it even more artistic. The fact that you might not get to experience it again and get to see something different. I much prefer the artistic posters or pictures than a scribble but that’s my opinion.

          10. Sorry I guess what I was saying is that yes public opinion determines what is art. But it doesn’t mean it is right. Murder can actually be considered an art. But unfortunately it is also murder and you will go to jail.

      4. lol you love Art yet you say that art requires permission?? do you understand how sad that sounds. if great artists big and small had to wait for permission to think outside the box we wouldn’t have art, we would have things that all look the same and with no originality. silly

        1. So you are saying we can all break the law and do illegal stuff as long as I consider it art? Can go and paint your car entirely without your permission as long as I consider it art? Can I mutilate your body without your consent to a form that I consider more artistic? Where do we draw the line?

        2. He isn’t saying ART requires permission, he’s saying you need permission to use someone elses property as a fucking canvas for that art. Let’s use an example that isn’t art, I want to enter a drag race but I don’t have my own car, so I go over to your place and I steal your car and enter with that, I go out, win the race, get a few dints in the car and bring it back to you. Hey I didn’t break any laws according to your logic, I was thinking outside the box, without stealing your car I wouldn’t have been able to win a race. How silly of you to suggest I use my own car for my selfish needs!

          1. Alright, let me go down to where you live and… Fucking stab you, because human freedom and free expression! I hate your logic and so I want to stab you with it, nothing wrong in your books right? If I feel like it’s the right thing to do then go for it!

      5. So, if the Mona Lisa was painted on a wall without consent it still wouldn’t be art?

        I don’t understand why permission suddenly validates art.

        Here in the real world, it’s entirely possible to be both art AND vandalism at the same time.

        Small minded people are hilarious.

        1. Permission doesn’t validate art. it does however mean your not defacing someones property. Thought for your fellow man goes a long way. If the Mona Lisa had been painted on my property it would of been removed. It is Art, just not art I like. So if you want your art to stay, getting permission will ensure that. At least in the short term.

        2. It’s not art to the person tearing it down usually, it’s vandalism. Yes it’s possible to be both, but it’s more likely to be one or the other, vandalism if the person hates it and wants to tear it down the next day, or art if the person is enthusiastic about whatever the hell this is. Rarely will you hear someone say “hey I didn’t give permission for this crappy spray painting on my wall, oh well it must be art, I’ma fucken keep it up there!”

      6. Firstly, it’s not graffiti, it’s posters.
        Then, yeah, It may be some kind of vandalism but it’s STILL ART. it’s street art.
        Even though it’s without consent.
        deal with it.
        (I wrote kind of because it’s posters; it’ll wash away or get off easily. it’s not like paint. )

      7. Learn what a word means before you use it ya fuckin’ putz.
        Vandalism –

        van·dal·ism
        ˈvandlˌizəm/
        noun
        action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.

      1. The difference is it was not in spite of the owner of the building nor an attempt to provoke another person, it was merely for artistic value. What you have given as an example is a threat to commit vandalism and damage of property – which is far from the intent of the street artist. Calm down and lose the hateful aggression.. it’s not very flattering.

        1. What if I keyed your car strictly for the artistic value? Why is defacing a building not vandalism and damage to property, but defacing a car is? Aggression is knowingly defacing another person’s property. It’s hateful when you don’t even care that your victim has to shell out money to fix it. Saying, “Hey, don’t mess up other people’s stuff” is not aggression in the slightest.

          1. do you ever see someone graffiti a persons car or house? In the rare event it happens it’s not graffiti it’s just baseless vandalism, and just because it may include paint does not make it the same thing…

            Drop the disgusting overreactions you sour fool, this thread is full of your over the top garbage and your ignorance is glaringly obvious..

    2. According to this logic, defacing every page of a book with grafitti can’t be considered vandalism.
      “I honestly didn’t rip any pages out, so I did cause no damage!”

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