Marc Ecko sues New York city

[CptStern]

"A dispute between fashion designer Marc Ecko the New York government has erupted, with Ecko announcing to sue the city mayor after a permit for the party promoting the graffiti art-form and his new game was revoked.

However, city mayor Michael Bloomberg revoked the license required to hold the party, on the grounds that the show's featured graffiti demonstrations are not seen as an art exhibition, but rather a fully commercial event.

Bloomberg said: "Graffiti is just one of those things that destroys our quality of life, and why anybody thinks that it's funny or cute to encourage kids to go do that, I don't know. We have talked to them and asked them to not have a subway car motif to write graffiti. This is not really art or expression. This is - let's be honest about what it is - it's trying to encourage people to do something that's not in anybody's interest."

Ecko has provided an open letter to the city of New York on his blog, stating: "Unfortunately the spirit of the event, as it was originally conceived and as it has been presented to the appropriate civic groups and government officials since November 2004, seems to have been lost in the haste to stereotype all graffiti-style artists as 'vandals' and to brand this event as a 'promotion of crime.'

source




seems like 2005 is the year of the witchunt against games

 

[<RJMC>]

I really consider graffitis to be a art and a way of rebellion and free speech and even if I will not like to hav a ugly graffiti infront of my house I consider stupid what that governor say
destroy our quality of lifes lol is the crime who do it so why that governor dont foccus on solve the crime and stop caring about graffitys?
is the same case of old people that dont like anything of the new generation

 

[CptStern]

thanks for your comments <RJMC> ..I'm glad people still believe in the freedom of artistic expression

 

[sinkoman]

Indeed.

That bullshit you see on restuaraunt walls is criminal, not what Mr. Ecko is trying to do.

Graphiti is an artform, but it, just like most artforms, can be abused. Just when graphiti is abused, it's criminal.

I don't really care who wins, but I don't agree with what Mr. Bloomberg did.

 

[OCybrManO]

It's not about artistic expression or free speech. It's the fact that you're defacing government and/or someone else's private property without their approval. If you do it to your own house... that's fine. If you have permission to do a mural on a wall... that's fine. If not, don't act all innocent and surprised if you get punished. Your "right" to spraypaint art anywhere you want is outweighed by the owner's right to not have their property defaced. There are just no two ways about it. If you don't have permission, it's vandalism. It's that simple.

Now, that being said, I think they should have let this event go off as scheduled with perhaps a disclaimer/warning summarizing the aforementioned legal issues. I can see how they might be worried that a display simulating public property such as a subway would give people the wrong impression. Frankly, I think both sides are not dealing with this in a mature manner.

 

[Ennui]

graffiti is art. tagging is not.

 

[CptStern]

but if it's government property dont the citizens own it?

anyways graffiti can be a legitimate art form just ask Jean-Michel Basquiat ...actually you cant cuz he's dead

 

[Ennui]

banksy ftw. though he's more modern street art than graffiti.

 

[CptStern]

hehe once it becomes "art" it ceases to be graffiti

 

[IonizeMyAtoms]

It's not about artistic expression or free speech. It's the fact that you're defacing government and/or someone else's private property without their approval. If you do it to your own house... that's fine. If you have permission to do a mural on a wall... that's fine. If not, don't act all innocent and surprised if you get punished. Your "right" to spraypaint art anywhere you want is outweighed by the owner's right to not have their property defaced. There are just no two ways about it. If you don't have permission, it's vandalism. It's that simple.

Now, that being said, I think they should have let this event go off as scheduled with perhaps a disclaimer/warning summarizing the aforementioned legal issues. I can see how they might be worried that a display simulating public property such as a subway would give people the wrong impression. Frankly, I think both sides are not dealing with this in a mature manner.

Well said

 

[kaf11]

banksy ftw. though he's more modern street art than graffiti.

banksy does rock. i love his stuff:

http://www.banksy.co.uk/menu.html

 

[sinkoman]

graffiti is art. tagging is not.

QFT.

sixchar

 

[baron insig]

banksy ftw. though he's more modern street art than graffiti.

saw a documentory on him,! he has an agent snd is wanted by the police :O

 

[CptStern]

update:

Marc Ecko’s Getting Up block party looks like it’s on again.

A federal judge is ordering New York City to allow the exhibition saying that the city’s sudden revocation of the permit for the event was a “flagrant violation” of the First Amendment.

Judge Jed Rakoff, my new hero, said that Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s reasoning that the event would encourage graffiti was like saying that a performance of Hamlet could encourage “revenge murder.”

 

[Ennui]

saw a documentory on him,! he has an agent snd is wanted by the police :O

He's done exhibitions, where he gets it all together and stuff and then leaves before anyone gets there... he's got balls, that's for sure.

 

[ailevation]

graffiti is art. tagging is not.

Well said! I hate those gangster taggers that tag some wack shit on wallas with their own alias or crew name, it's bullshit. I wish there were more talented Graffiti artists around this area...

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Wait what does this have to do with games? It was a fashion show party/event as far as I read.

 

[Top Secret]

In the german cities I was in, they were covered in graffiti. It was beautiful.

 

[CptStern]

Wait what does this have to do with games? It was a fashion show party/event as far as I read.

for his upcoming game about graffiti, Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

 

[Glirk Dient]

I think the gaming community is too large for any politician to seriously take a stab at it and hope to get anywhere in their careers. I know of a few politicians that I will never vote for because of this.

 

[CptStern]

? they successfully shut down GTA ...I think that's a pretty big step

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

for his upcoming game about graffiti, Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

LMAO. Pitiful.

In all honesty, I really don't think they're doing this about the fact that it's a game or anything, more of the show contents because New York suffers heavy, terrible graffiti problems and they try hard to put a stop to it. This isn't something weirdo like Jack Thompson or such.