LORDS OF APATHY

April 8, 2011

Graf Lawsuit

Grant Taylor, a dope skater shown here on the cover of Thrasher, and a bunch of other dudes have been sued by a building owner for $1 million in connection with alleged property damage. A building owner in Georgia contends that Taylor (supposedly GNAR) and others have continuously written on his home/work space over the past few years. I don't know anything about this case (it might all be bs), but I have mixed emotions about painting where people live. My interest in graffiti is tempered by my interest in keeping my own home clean. To me, this is a little different than hitting a Clear Channel billboard or a mailbox. I know a number of graf heads read this blog and I'd like to hear what you have to say about this.

The building I live in gets repeatedly hit by the world's worst graf writers. All of their names are stupid and all of the tags look like someone signing a postcard. I have to wonder if these guys have ever really seen graffiti or maybe just heard about it and decided to try it to be cool. The city sends out a crew to paint over it (always in a color that doesn't match the wall) and then I have to pay to fix it. No props to any of those losers.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

unless the police have caught these guys in the act of writing graffiti, his lawsuit is going nowhere.

my view on it is this: if you choose to live in a city, particularly in an area that isn't very nice, you just have to deal with it. if you don't like graffiti (or any of the other "quality of life" offenses that occur frequently in the city) then move to the suburbs. it's like going to a forest and complaining about trees

Africa Black said...

McGruff crime dog you sound like a whiny NIMBY snitch in this post. If you dont like graffiti then move, paint over it yourself with your perfect color matching skills, or wait outside for the world's worst graf writers to show up and and tell them that if they keep "hitting" your building that you will be forced to continue blogging about it. I am sure "those losers" will in return give you your "props"

Detroit Murder Dog said...

For the record, I'm not complaining about graffiti, just (i) the inferior quality of this particular graffiti, and (ii) the invoices I get from our building manager for my share of repainting (if it was up to me, I'd just leave it). Also, thanks for recognizing my perfect color matching skills. I work 12-5 at Mens Wearhouse if you need any help with shirt-tie combos.

Anonymous said...

Wireless remote cameras are about $50 at best buy... buy one, catch then in the act, post the video online and embarrass them. Edit it all fancy, and make good art out of their bad art. Post it on blip.tv, get paid for the hits, no out of pocket expense to clean up their shit. Cops find them, they're happy, your happy.

Anonymous said...

i think more information is needed. please update us as more becomes available.
maybe the owner of the building is dudes old crotchety boss and to get back at him, him and his friends hit his spot on the regular(allegedly).
i am quitting a job, and looking forward to paying them a visit with a can periodically. i would guess that the million is just a high shock number to get attention.
as far as the worlds worst writers hitting your spot, i'm sorry to hear that, but in their defense, we all sucked in the beginning. most of them still suck now, but you never know, the next revok might just be that kid with the terrible name hitting your spot now, and ten years from now, you'll remember when...
H4HM

Anonymous said...

yeh we may have sucked in the beginning, but there seemed to be more of a code when I came up (mid 80's - mid 90's) that you only hit public spaces. This included TRAINS and TRAIN LINES (remember those??), corporate buildings, factories, Publicly shared walls. Anything that was obviously a private house we left alone. If it's a building that is shared and doesn't necessarily look like a residence then suck it up..
We also practiced our tags before we put them up. I see your anger, as now it's just 'write your name on as much shit as you can in whatever way'.. I get tags in my building that look worse that the worse tags I ever did. My building is down an alley, down an alley, down an alley.. .nobody sees it or comes around it.. And I think 'go out and tag a fucking train line or a public spot where people will actually SEE your shit - that's what it's about. The other one I can never understand is people who tag urinals in toilets - WTF? You want me to piss on your name? eesh. . have some pride you young whippersnapper rebel, you!

Anonymous said...

This problem could've been solved with rubber bullets. Just sit and wait for them to come, then blast them with a non-lethal weapon. Vandals would think twice if property owners started this trend.

Snickerdoodles McPoppycock said...

All of society's problems can be solved by using guns. U-S-A! U-S-A!!

Lame said...

no rules in graff. thats what i was told.

Anonymous said...

"I can’t begin to imagine what it has cost emotionally”

bahahhaa