‘Long Live the Tag’ Article Review
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‘Long Live the Tag’ Article Review
Summary
The ‘long live the tag’ article by Snyder examines the contradictions of graffiti such as legal vs. illegal or art vs. vandalism. The main aim of the article is to challenge conceptual binaries by focusing on graffiti writing aspects such as the tag. The first section of the article begins by contextualizing what graffiti tags are, how the writing of graffiti is practiced in various societies, and concluding a detailed discussion of the TWIST. In this section, the author glorifies the most hated form of article graffiti (Snyder, 2017). In this case, graffiti tags are represented as a science of style to create personal calligraphy.
For this reason, tags are often used in public spaces under hard circumstances, and when skillfully done, they look lovely. In this article, the author described graffiti as a component for learning and practicing any piece of art. For instance, the author gives an example of writers who practice their tags, come up with lots of thoughts and energy, and figure out the best spots to put their names tags. In writing, the various piece of tags is meant for exploring styles whereby the writers attempt to get their name seen for fame. The author adds that repetitive name painting on public spaces plays an imperative role in creating awareness about a particular issue. The author gives an example of TWIST, a writer whose main aim is to transition graffiti into fine art. He is one of the pioneers in how transition created a significant platform for other artists as well. The artist chose to paints the tags of legendary to show his commitment to the subculture of graffiti.
Lesson learned
From the article, I learned that artistic work is not graffiti but some clear lines of using letters and sometimes the aerosol spray. I also learned that graffiti combined with street art brings life to gloomy cities. For this reason, it allows the youths to express themselves imaginatively. The article also helped me learn the variations between vandalism and graffiti art. One is meant to influence a group of people, while the other one does not trigger inspiration rather than bring turmoil. Therefore, the aspect of vandalism incites children and other teenagers into believing that gang violence is okay and should be appreciated. The differences make one become beautiful art while the other one becomes unpleasant tagging. For instance, TWIST AND AMAZE pieces of art are an excellent example of challenging those who view tags as ugly vandalism. Vandalism is the main reason some artists take off some skills from the walls, streets, and other parts of the city. They argue that the meaningless arts ruin the property, unlike artistic paintings, which sends a clear message to the people viewing them. The piece of that artist contains a combination of various tags from famous writers, which are done in red to indicate that they are from the same artists. However, TWIST and Maze vary in size and style but show beautiful a tag can be. I did not know that a tag has an organic order. The author states that the tags have a natural order, and none of them go over one another even though there could be no space left.
Arguments
The article argues that graffiti has great importance to the public as tags represent deviance and criminality. It also gives a writer an opportune unity to narrate their stories on their daily encounters with their peers. For instance, the article argues that the work of TWIST and Maze were used to challenge the notion that graffiti is ugly vandalism. For this reason, they used the various art pieces to form a foundation for a subculture that has become known worldwide. The author argues that a tag represents years of hard works for most writers and a way of overcoming fear and doubt(Snyder, 2017). However, tags received hate from the public spaces and viewed with a perspective of corn and criminality. Despite the challenges faced, writers keep on being innovative and are not ready to give up, no matter the circumstances that they face. The argument that the author makes is an issue that generates a widespread community concern across the globe. In many cities, the use of graffiti is associated with outlaw and moral decay. However, most people have considered graffiti as a medium for social change and a way of expressing the community’s concern(Snyder, 2017). For instance, in some cities, it is allowed with limitations and valued as a form of expression. A graffiti in the streets means that a street will maintain its authenticity as there is going to be an illegal perspective about the graffiti.
For this reason, the author’s argument illustrates how the use of graffiti has brought conflict between the principle of western democracy. The policy includes a sanction of private property and the freedom to express oneself. For example, the street is sanctioned as a way of assimilating a property in a city, thus reducing the aspect of conflict towards ownership. The street graffiti could lead to criticizing the city’s aesthetics but also the artist who is in writing. The main problem with graffiti when puts in public spaces could be destroyed at any given time if the community views the graffiti to be immoral. This supports the author’s arguments that street graffiti has its importance as well as challenges.
Methodology review
Data gathering techniques
The article used observation, oral history, stories, and documentation as a technique for gathering data. For instance, to understand the differences between the legal and illegal polarities. The author uses a piece made by TWIST and MAZE to collect data about the differences that exist between illicit and legal graffiti. He also uses the history of the Deitch gallery, also known as the Deitch wall, to show how the various writers came into writing graffiti. Through observation, the author elaborates on how numerous masterpieces have been done on legal walls in today’s world, thus encouraging more writers to practice the art of graffiti. He also states that the first time to understand about reading graffiti was back in 1995. Using TWIST and Maze records, the writer illustrates how graffiti change into a fine art over the years. The article has also utilized pictures in its work to show how various design exist in a public space. In this case, the author gives a story about reading graffiti and how it changed to a fine art. He tells the stories using various writers such as San Francisco writers and Drane to talk about their writings. For instance, she states that she knew about Drane’s backstory through reading his tags and communicating with other writers. He also says that tales are the most effective medium for sharing the experience of graffiti(Snyder, 2017). This is because good stories can spread quickly and last for years.
Literary techniques
The article uses various literary techniques such as imagery, personification, and the protagonist’s point of view to convey information and enable the readers. The author is the central character in the article as he explains the occurring of the events. He is the main character and defines how the article will look like. For instance, he concludes the article by supporting the idea that the tags should live for an extended period. The title, long live the tag, is personified. A tag has been attributed to having human characteristics of living a life. He also personified the name tag to illustrate the importance it has in modern society. The author also uses imagery to make his idea seem more concrete and tangible to the reader. Research has shown that by using imagery, writers can invoke the emotions they want to talk to their readers. The author uses pictures and symbols to illustrate the importance of fine art in the streets. The images used in the article so gives the reader a snapshot that is appealing to the eyes.
Presentation of urban space in the article
In the articles, there is a difference between private space and public space. He states that before the writer’s paint on the walls in the open space, they must ask for permission. If they are not granted, and they end up doing graffiti on the wall, it is considered illegal. He also states that permitted walls with graffiti are magnificent. For this reason, every writer is required to have permission slips from the owner of the property. According to Zukin, there is an increased slippage between public and private spaces in the city. Public space is often viewed as an open and never defined by a single use of the areas. On the other hand, some corporations’ privatization of the public space has led to fear and conflict between the elite and the ethnic groups.
For this reason, it has become difficult to put graffiti on a public space since most open spaces have been turned into private properties by some businesses (Snyder, 2017). According to Howell (2001), despite the corporates space, which is regarded as private, there is a small portion of the public that can find its way to public space. To make it easier for the writers to paint their art, there must be a boundary between public space and private space. This is because private and public space cannot ooze into each other as they do in suburban areas.
Lewis’s theory about private and public space related to the Ocean Howell’s theory was learned in previous studies. The theory argues the differences between them is that a private space belongs to someone while public space is owned by the government and belongs to the public (Lewis, 2019). He also argues that the variations between public and private spaces are that not only are two spaces involved but open space and a significant number of private areas (Lewis, 2019). On the other hand, Howell’s theory argues that public space is what architects have defined as urban pathology (Howell, 2001). He also contends streets are also what makes an open space and set.
Space is symbolically invested as symbols that lead to the development of currency in commercial trade and social identity(Zukin, 2012). Moreover, it leads to an effort to rearrange the city using a visual representation. In this case, writing is a form of symbols and has been used to create jobs for the youths. The use of graffiti also helps one understand the differences between public and private space. This is because writing in a secluded area requires permission and a negotiation point of view, unlike in public space( Zukin, 2012). Graffiti is used to show space by defining restaurants, shopping areas, and in defining open space.
There is an aspect of culture in the books as graffiti is used to illustrate the subculture aspect. For instance, one can know a community by examining a piece of art. Art brought forth the existence of some cities which have been thought to have not existed before ( Zukin, 2012).
In conclusion, the article was well organized and examined the importance of graffiti tags. The author concluded his work by supporting his tittle of long live the tag. Even though the book was written from a protagonist view, it helps the reader understand the differences between graffiti and fine art. It also highlights the issue of culture, differences between public and private space, and the importance of symbols. Moreover, the author has gone out of his balance between the challenges the graffiti writers face and the significance of graffiti. He does by giving stories of pioneers of graffiti writers such as TWIST and Maze. It is a great book to read as it aligns with the course readings. I enjoyed reading it as it enlightened me and would recommend it to a friend.
References
Howell, O. (2001). The poetics of security: Skateboarding, urban design, and the new public space. Urban Action, 64-86.
Lewis, H. D. (2019). Private and public space. In Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (Vol. 53, pp. 79-94). Aristotelian Society, Wiley.
Snyder, G. J. (2017). Long live the tag: Representing the foundations of graffiti. Graffiti and Street Art: Reading, Writing and Representing the City, London, and New York: Routledge, 264-273.
Zubin, S. (2012). Whose culture? Whose city? The urban sociology reader (pp. 363-371). Routledge.