What is it and why?


Bread&steel

Bread&steel

Member
Saw this on the side of a bathtub Gon. What do you guys make of it ? :confused:

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I don't know if that particular image is gang related grafitti but more gang grafitti is showing up as stencils. It takes too long to do it by hand now since the yards are better patrolled after 9/11 and I know some California gangs are using stencils so they can get in and out quick. We had one gang with a three part stencil so they had four colors including the base coat. It was very ingenious and they could cover a 5x5 area in about 3 minutes flat.
 
Bread&steel said:
What gang uses that tag !
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May not even be a gang related thing---some random graffiti thing some bored guy put up. We have a bylaw that says that you have to be over 18 yr old before you can buy any spray paint/marker pen etc----all they ever catch are these 30 something guys with nothing better to do---
 
Dunno, BOC, kind of looks like some performance art more than a gang tag although, as I said, I've seen gangs start to use stencils. The difference is this one actually looks like something understandable. :)
 
I think Judy is in the Land of Oz. Maybe even in the Emerald City. Anyway...... I think the image on the car is from a movie she made with Mickey Rooney.

Been to the garden, again, this morning. Picked some more green beans. The one's I picked for a meal, SOMEHOW, got frozen up. And I plowed up some 'taters. Looks like I'm gonna be snappin' beans today. We got a bit of rain overnite and the garden looks rather fresh. Still, I set out the sprinklers for a couple of hours. Looks like a "no train day" for me. Although, I may make a trip to Kokomo this afternoon to vist the train shop. I've been meaning to get over there for the longest time. Just never made time to get there. I still need to get to Wal Mart to get some 90% alcohol, paint, and eye shadow(for weathering powder). I'm also going to (b)Lowe's to pick up some paint for Tom's house. We need to get it cleaned up, not that it's dirty, to put on the market. Seems that my week is gonna be filled and I'm going to be occupied with that. And his yard needs mowing. I'll mow this evening, if it isn't raining.

Dogs get a bath today, the better half says they stink. The Weimy and one of the Boston Terriers don't mind it at all. The male Boston is a challenge. Oddly, when we are on the boat, the rascal jumps in the water and we have a hard time keeping him on board when we are at anchor. In fact, we once thought we lost him only to find him sitting on the swim deck, all wet. Seems he went for a swim and no one saw him jump in. Now, he stays below when we are not on deck. All of the dogs have PDF's, so if they happen to jump in, they are fairly safe. But, I am here to testify, lugging a 115# Weimaraner up over the side is not an easy task. The best ting I ever bought for the boat was the "doggie ladder". But, the dogs are sometimes anal and uncooperative, and would rather have me drag them aboard.

Well, time to head out and do a bit of shopping. Hopefully, I can accomplish something today and maybe get a little bit of train time in.

Bob
 
gangs rarely paint graffiti on freight trains and in general. If your in LA or Chicago in some of the more depressed neighborhoods - you might still find some gang graffiti. Id say 98% of the graffiti seen on American rolling stock is painted by subburban teenagers and young adults. these people usually always male and white and are highly organized in their craft. By and large, they probably know more about the operation of the railroad industry than a gang member would. stencil art is relatively new in the freight graffiti culture and is to some degree a sect (for lack of a better word) of the larger freight graffiti phenomenon. this should not be confused with sketch or moniker art that dates back to the end of the civil war.
 
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Huh? I was a cop in California for 28 years and gangs regularly attacked any freight car that was isolated and tagged it, along with any other vertical surface they could find. The rise of the white, suburban tagger is a lot newer phenomenon than gang tagging. That has been going on for at least 50 years. The difference is that these wannabes use freight cars and not the side of a building because they are less likely to get caught, and they call it "art". I'm assuming you are part of that "craft" by the use of the terms in your post. No matter what you call it, it's vandalism and still a crime to deface someone else's property. Try doing the same to mom and dad's house and see if they think it's "art".
 
with all due respect - the fact that it is vandalism and a crime was understood from the onset. I am in no way condoning or attempting to legitimize graffiti on freight cars or damage to railroad property in general. I was merely sheding light on the FACT that the majority of graffiti damage worldwide is NOT committed by gangs - or as the result of gang activity. Graffiti, graffiti art, vandalism etc. is completely seperate occurrence than gangs marking their turf. The subburban phenomenon began aprox 25 years ago in the mid 1980s and began with the expansion of Hip Hop, Punk Rock and Skateboarding from urban areas (graffiti as a culture loosley participates in these three cultures). I cannot stress enough that I am not carrying a flag for graffiti - my position is actually to the contrary. just wanting to clear up the misconception that graffiti is gang related. gang members who attacked rolling stock in your experience did so out of convenience - not purpose..."they were there so we wrote on them" if you will. Regardless of ones opinion of graffiti, its "craft" or perceived artistic value....the bottom line is it is a crime.
 
Sorry, I misunderstood your post. I agree that the vast majority of freight car vandalism we see now is from the "craft" rather than gangs. OTOH, it started with gangs and extended to the white kids out in the suburbs as part of their acceptance of hip-hop and other gang-related activities. We now have tagging from gangs and non-gang members. The bottom line, as you say, is that it's still a crime.
 
one thing that I have always disliked is Graffiti on trains and buildings. Yes its a form of art but do deface something just shows how ignorant you are. I know in Chicago some people pay to spray a building wall or trade with the owners. I had 2 friends back in the day that considered themselves taggers. but soon both of theses guys moved on to privately owned buildings that they had permission to spray on so they could take there time. In return they would paint a rooftop billboard or front entrace wall in what ever the building owners wanted to help premote there buisness.( phone number,company slogan etc...) A few other kids I went to High school with were just making it a habbit to paint on whatever they felt they could get away with. I alwasy disliked them for there lack of respect for others property. Stencels are becoming popular as you can go online and print off a pic of what ever you want and then add your tag to it. what I have noticed is that stencels are more of a statement rather than gang relation ship. Most Graffit is nothing more than a taggers name in large bubble letters. Rarely do I see a Box car with a gang signs on it. Gang signs seam to be more teritory related such as bus stops buildings and other non moving items.

just my observation from over the years.

Trent
 
Looks like a Banksy knockoff. Not great, just a girl cuffed to her schoolbooks. Most of the graffiti i've seen is just annoying taggers putting up their inconprehensible nom de guerre for the world to see. Some of the artwork i've seen on the sides of rail cars is pretty amazing though, especially when you see the intricacy they use, with layering and shadowing and all that. Seen a couple on the sides of box cars and auto racks that were done with paint rollers with really long handles. Sometimes you will be knocking off or setting handbrakes and you can still smell the paint, which is a little creepy. I'm less afraid of taggers than some of the other people out there though. Honestly, when you stare at boring brown boxcars all day, sometimes those spashes of colour are pretty welcome! Just becomes a problem when they paint over the reporting marks, that is a P-I-T-A
 
UP2CSX said:
Try doing the same to mom and dad's house and see if they think it's "art".
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One of my housemates went through a stenciling phase a year ago and had the brilliant idea of testing out stencils on the dining room wall. While we generally don't mind random artwork, spray painting indoors = Not Cool. :eek:
 
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