DONT

Martin Mullaney likes, and even, encourages what he has decided is graffiti “art” but virulently campaigns against Tagging without ever realising that tagging and the more elaborate piece are part of the same movement. Doesn’t it seem weird that a person in power can pick and choose which parts of a culture are encouraged and which parts condemned? Granted, his opinion is tainted by advice given by now respectable Graff artists who, naturally, have to legitimise their position. I have no problem with these people, most are ex-taggers that now have developed their practice away from the baby steps of Tagging. What I do have a problem with is the condescending attitude and arrogance it takes to assume that a whole movement of Art needs or wants his regulation or encouragement; where just because you sees no aesthetic value in something you assume it has no value or purpose.

Lets call this what it is; a transparent attempt to appeal to the Boho/arty demographic in his chosen wards and an ugly meddling in a culture he has no part in. If you don’t like Tagging. GOOD, you’re not supposed to.

If I was the incendiary type I would encourage some sort of graffiti stencil campaign. But seeing as that is probably quite illegal I recommend that you defiantly DON’T click on this image until you can download the full A4 version and print it off, and ABSOLUTLY DON’T glue it to a piece of thin card, a cereal box for example, DON’T then get a sharp knife and cut out the black bits, and then whatever you do DON’T take the resulting stencil to somewhere public and spray those naughty spray cans pressing the edges of the stencil firmly against the wall.

if someone was to do that and send me an image i would probably post it here, as a warning of what you definatly shouldnt be doing.