City Wide Approach To Vandalism
Art Students Fight Graffiti, Learn Negotiation and Build Skills
Traffic signal boxes at every intersection are painted with artwork and have become part of the aesthetic cityscape of Brisbane the capital city of Queensland, AU. This project is a welcome calming of the visual noise of Brisbane’s roadways. Traffic signal boxes are shoulder height, neutral grey boxes that stand out on the footpaths beside main intersections. The blankness and positioning of them attracts graffiti. In the book Tipping Point Gladwell talks about our environment and how small incidences of graffiti can attract others to add their marks and tags. The overall effect can be overwhelming and stifling. If the graffiti "artwork" is bold enough and offensive it can have an aggressive feeling to it that affects the lives of all of those subjected to the phenomena. Too much unchecked vandalism can encourage a spate or spree of damaging activity that travels throughout the community. Valuable fences, signage and art works can be caught up in a an endemic that leaves people discouraged by the cost of the damage and daunted by the work involved in repairing property that has been effected. Sometimes unique artworks cannot be totally repaired and this is a permanent loss to the culture and the history of local area.
It is possible for students who are growing up to be led astray by what they see and begin their own graffiti career. If the situation is left unchecked, people of an area can become overwhelmed by the nature of the growing problem. It may come about that people can see no way to address the cycle. However, it can be reversed.
“For example, "zero tolerance" efforts to combat minor crimes such as fare-beating and vandalism on the New York subway led to a decline in more violent crimes; the perception of increased vigilance altered the behavior and attitudes of the passengers.” Wikipaedia
Art teachers are in a position to become actively engaged in combating the social problem of vandalism. They can help students to see that they may be part of a solution. By talking about the problems and by embarking on projects that help enhance the environment they can turn vandalised spaces back into places of aesthetic value. At the same time, the projects can help students build skills and learn about Community Development.
This is a composite picture of two that have been painted.
By participating in public art projects like Artforce students will come to the realisation that spaces and places in the public arena belong to everyone within the community. Traffic signal boxes sit out in public spaces that are shared by all. To be an Artforce artist you are required to propose designs and negotiate the final image/s before receiving an Artforce Pack of paint and equipment. Designs are submitted to Queensland Urban Ecology and Cath Ovenden who coordinates Artforce for Brisbane City Council. Queensland Urban Ecology negotiates with participants about how proposed designs will suit the environment. Also discussed will be how to make the design suitable to combat graffiti and to beat the heat. (Dark colours heat the boxes)
If your school or community group would like to become involved, go to the Artforce website and have a look around. Go for a drive through your local area.
- locate a box near you
- begin your design,
- find the box on the website
- select it (if it is not there it is not available)
- and you will be able to email your request.
If you live in a city that has similar projects post them to the discussion boards.
