http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/13/artist-saber-fights-to-li_n_1009758.html
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tamara Gilmore
Professor Slobod
English 113B
8 March 2012
Urban
Art is a Crime ?
Vandalism for decades has been a huge problem all over
the United States. Currently, it can be classified as much more than just “writing”
on public property. Instead vandalism consists of defiling previously owned
items of any sort and an act of “disrespect” towards things and even groups of
people. It is done in various forms and often faster than anyone expects. While
many people are losing sight of punishing small acts of vandalism, many are
turning their focus to what has been a serious issue for more than thirty
ongoing years, graffiti crimes and tagging. Many people have been caught and
punished due to the crime of vandalism by graffiti even when it is harmless or
speaks a positive message well needed in the community. Graffiti has been done
to mark territory and still has. However, there are various art pieces that are
graffiti and are mind boggling. Many of these marvelous works promote the positive
well being of people and their willingness to change their current ways while
introducing change for the future. Graffiti is an urban art form that is often
misunderstood and misrepresented but Graffiti artists should be free to express
their artwork but only in permitted areas.
Graffiti initially classified as an underground art form,
started to surface its head around the late nineteen sixties and its birth
place stands identified as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Around that time the
individuals engaged in the activity were known as “political activists” that
wanted to promote change in their individual lives or even throughout their
country. Many would see this as an ineffective way of gaining attention but it
did the exact opposite. Before any messages were written, people first needed
to be known so they wrote their name. Early names that could be found
throughout the cities were “Cornbread and Cool Earl” (History of Graffiti). Shortly
after Cornbread and Cool Earl made headlining news, a few others began doing
the same thing and arose in Manhattan and gave birth to what was known as “writers.”
This name “Writers” was a positive way to classify these individuals in fact
they were rarely ridiculed for their work. People saw it did no harm and in
fact it was done so often that it became part of the offered sub culture in the
poorer neighborhoods according to Professor Goldman (Graffiti Art: An essay…).
Many of these writers were creative enough they created aliases, or nicknames,
of their choice in which many included the street name they lived on. Such
names were: Taki 183, Julio 204, Frank 207, and Joe 136 (History of Graffiti). These
artists were a mystery to the public and so they were given the most
recognition throughout the city and people wanted to know who they were (History of Graffiti). The nature of a writer was becoming
so common that people sought out to change their way of making a difference.
Instead of merely writing their names, they began to write sayings and logos
and different things that would make people stop, think, and wonder about the
world they live in. Works like “Stay High 149” and much later on “Hope” with
Obama’s face on it, were inspirational, had meaning and kept people thinking.
However, influential people in the government and higher sources of power disliked
this work and they created laws against it. Due to the uprising of the law
against “writing”, many artists were forced to do their work elsewhere, more so
in much more dangerous areas. These dangerous areas were more like last resorts
because there were no permitted areas in which the artist could do their work. If
there were permitted areas then the artists did not have to risk their health
or well being for the work they love to do. If there were more places like
Venice beach around where people were free to do their art, there probably
would not be many laws against it. Even though, they have a great love for the
work, there were a lot of negatives things that arose because of it.
While graffiti was blossoming by way
of recognition and positive thinking, some trouble that arose had many people
saw it was a “cause to be famous.” If one was known they could earn respect and
in most cases people began becoming known for their work in dangerous areas and
places people would think twice about going before actually going. When
graffiti first started out it was done in the open, for everyone to see and
they were done in more forbidden areas mainly due to safety from being caught
but not from the heights and depths they were being done. Their artwork moved
from the side of abandoned walls to the bottom of bridges. Once those places
filled up then people began moving their work to the bottom of subway and train
entrances. They even moved their work to freight trains. The artwork was seen
practically everywhere but public officials began making laws that forbade the
painting of any type of publicly owned item of any sort. So painting on any
wall, any train or anything they once enjoyed painting on was off limits and
considered a punishable crime. The law had changed many times and saw it was
unfair to be punished in the past for a changed law. Few fought to lift the law
like famous graffiti artist “Saber” significantly later in 2009 where he fought
to lift the mural ban after the city of Los Angles painted over his mural. Known
as an international graffiti legend, Saber holds the record for the largest
graffiti art piece in the world. It was completed along the LA River in
nineteen ninety seven where it stood untouched for a total of twelve years.
After such a long period of time, the city of Los Angeles spent approximately
eight hundred thirty seven dollars to paint over it in two thousand and nine.
Their reasons consisted are that “the art work was done without the consent of
the owner and that the place was a privately owned space” (Saber, Graffiti
Artist…) It is arguable that the owner could have given Saber permission to
paint on the LA River, because the river has been vacant long before he began
working on it. There is no doubt that Saber knew of his rights but he had no
idea he would be sent to jail for a total of two years for a long finished
work. What he did had consequences but he knew very little of what followed but with continuously changing laws,
it would be hard to say if he really knew the worth of what he did or not. It
should be impossible to charge people on past crimes they unknowingly commit
and for that he should not have had to serve the time he did for an act.
Something as harmless as writing ones name should not be heinous enough just to
throw someone in jail. Instead there should be specified places where graffiti
artists can let go and express everything they have bottled on the inside
waiting to be set free. There have not been any type of places such as these
until one opened up in the early nineteen eighties in Venice Beach.
Venice Beach has been known as a
tourist attraction for more than thirty years. People come from all over just
to experience the joy in the weird and quirky atmosphere. One can experience
the joy of walking along the shore and lying in the sand. Or they can walk
along the boardwalk and buy collector’s items from vendors as well as engage in
street performing. What also makes this place unique is its graffiti wall.
Famous for various artworks, Venice Beach has a few walls dedicated to those
that feel the need to let go and paint. In any way shape or form, artist have
come and gone leaving their names and whatever else they feel free to portray.
This wall was specifically donated for that purpose and has been part of the
reason for lowering rates of graffiti t and vandalism crimes throughout the
city of Venice. If we want to see a change in the rates of graffiti and
vandalism, there should be some sort of investment in places or walls where
they can paint instead of penalized for the laws they do not know.
Although graffiti started off as a
way to be well known in an area, over time it transformed and took the role of
something greater. It became a way to express ones motives and its way to
political change. It even challenged the law and justice to itself as an art
form. Many times we as people might find ourselves writing on public property
and getting away with it, while there are those who paint murals and go beyond
themselves for a greater good and are being thrown in jail for it. We as a
people, if we want to keep this art form alive in a positive way, need to
invest in areas where we are free to express ourselves and influences others
for a greater good.
Work Cited
Akabr, Arifa, and Paul Vallely.
"Graffiti:street Art or Crime?" The Independent. Independent
Digital News and Media, 18 July 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.
graffiti-street-art-ndash-or-crime-868736.html
Eric Aka Deal Cia, and Spar One Pft.
"History of Graffiti." Davey D's Hip Hop Corner-Where Hip Hop
& Politics Meet. 1998. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.daveyd.com/historyofgraf.html>.
Goldman, Professor. "Graffiti Art: An
Essay Concerning The Recognition of Some Forms of Graffiti As Art." Graffiti
Art. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.graffiti.org/faq/stowers.html>.
Post, The Huffington. "Saber, Graffiti
Artist, Fights To Lift Mural Ban In LA." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/13/artist-saber-fights-to-li_n_1009758.html>.
Venice Enforcement
Christopher
Cedillo
Professor
Slobod
English
113B
1
March 2012
Law Enforcement is a Must
Tourist attractions bring different kinds
of people from all over the world into one place. When visiting Los Angeles,
one of those tourist attractions is Venice Beach. Venice beach is well known
for the amusement along side the beach, the different kinds of people walking
the streets and the ocean water. “The area along the boardwalk - with its
eclectic mix of tourists, street performers and bohemians - is among the most
popular visitor destinations in the Los Angeles region”(Blankstein and Lopez). It’s
a perfect place to relax with friends on the beach and walk on the boardwalk,
which is a small road along the beach. What police
officials acknowledge is that there are many dangers that undergo Venice beach.
One of them includes the promotion of drugs and people of all ages consuming
these illegal substances on the beach. The fact that there are many people on
the beach, the lack of security makes people think its okay to break the laws
at Venice. These acts of violence and danger also include theft, gangs,
assaults and murder. Venice is a big place with minimal security, which means
they don’t spot everything. There needs to be more security and law enforcement
on Venice beach to minimize crimes and keep this tourist attraction safe for
everyone.
One of the most common crimes at
Venice beach is the use of illegal drugs and alcohol of all ages. The streets
of Venice themselves smell like Marijuana and are filled with the promotion of
drugs by advertising medical cards and smoking devices. The fact that medical
marijuana clinics are along the boardwalk should catch police’s attention
because it lures in the wrong people sometimes. Among these people include
underage teenagers and anyone who does not posses a medical card, which gives
them access to buy marijuana. Anyone who is not allowed to purchase these items
might find some who will buy it for them. The arrests of purchasing illegal
substances to minors happen all the time in any city. Imagine the number of
times it has happened at Venice beach, a place where they promote drugs? This
is something that law enforcement should take a bigger stand on because it
causes people to have easier access to drugs. With drugs being sold, people
flutter the streets with narcotics or later use them on the beach. Along side
marijuana, the use of alcohol is something people go there to do. With little
law enforcement around, people think it’s okay to do whatever they want and
abuse beach laws. These things also influence underage teenagers to do the
same, which causes a bigger problem for Venice. “Dozens of people have been
arrested for smoking pot and drinking in public, minor transgressions but ones
that set the tone of public order on the beach”(Hoag). With more and more people abusing narcotics, the beach
becomes more threating to public safety. With more law enforcement on the beach,
the use of drugs and alcohol will minimize to hardly any police arrests because
people will finally respect the laws.
Everyone is always worried about the
thought of getting assaulted or robbed at any given time. Venice beach poses a
big threat to robbery because there aren’t many police officials to maintain a
situation at any given time. Especially since there are so many people, anyone
can rob something from a store or a person and disappear into the crowd of
people before police has time to approach the scene. There have been many cases
in the LA Times where people have been arrested for assault and a couple of
them being murder. Citizens and people visiting Venice beach should feel safe
all the times but with murders happening consistently, it is hard for someone
to enjoy the beautiful beach. Still to this day, there is an unsolved beach
killing incident that happened four years ago where a young man was found dead
on Venice beach. “Nathan Alan Morgan, 25, was found beaten to death and buried
under a mound of sand on Venice Beach on the morning of March 10, 2008. More
than a year later, police still don't know who killed him or why”(Pesce). Cases such as the unsolved murder should spark a
thought to someone, to have more security patrol at Venice. The feeling of
being unsafe can cause people not to return to Venice and give it a bad reputation.
“Overall, the number of violent crimes reported this year along the
Venice boardwalk is roughly on par with the last two years, according to a
Times analysis of LAPD data”(Blankstein and Lopez). These numbers will not
decrease over time by itself unless more police officers are stationed to
patrol Venice Beach.
Other incidents that
involved gang related problems cause another threat to the safety of patrons.
Gangs involve a numerous amount of corrupted people who are always up to no
good. With gangs walking around and claiming their so-called “territories” in
Venice, danger can strike at any given time. Incidents such as fight are common
along the boardwalk and should be put to an end because these fights cause
serious injuries and deaths. An LA Times article explains how just two years
ago a massive fight broke out that police needed to call reinforcements and
clear out the beach to protect civilians. “A
giant brawl involving as many as 70 young men broke out on the Venice Beach
Boardwalk on Sunday evening, prompting the Los Angeles Police Department to
briefly declare a citywide tactical alert”(Hoeffel and Blankstein). It’s
outrageous how seventy people were in a fight? Police should have been aware
when large crowds started to come out of nowhere. Or were there even any police
officials there to even spot this massacre. The fight lasted about an hour but
luckily there weren’t and serious injuries. Theses fights have an effect on
teenagers as well because they imitate what they see happening on Venice beach
when police are not there to stop them. With more
law enforcements’ making arrests, these “territories” that gangs owned will disappear.
People of all ages will see that Venice is no place to cause a ruckus because
you will get arrested in a second. These territories are not to be claimed by
anyone because Venice Beach is a space for everyone to enjoy.
It should also
be kept safe because it is a home and attraction to many. Many people gather up
on Venice’s boardwalk to make a living by selling their merchandise. Sometime
they even put on acts to earn a couple dollars from the people. This beach
should be protected from thieves who try to break into homes or steel the
merchandise that people live off of. Venice beach is a hot spot to many who can’t
afford going to an entertainment park because Venice is their entertainment.
Just like in the shorty story by Sarah Bryan Miller called “Winstead’s Best
Burgers,” she sees Winstead as a place she can visit and remember good
memories. Whenever she had the chance she would go back to Winstead embrace the
same feeling every time she went there. It remained the same. Sarah mentioned a
woman named Connie Llamas who enjoys working at Winstead and has been there for
twenty-five years. Connie states, “the place is pretty much the same. It just
got bigger. People who retired and moved away come back on vacations-they think
that Winstead’s the place to be. And it is.” Venice Beach is a Winstead to many
because they like Venice the way it is and every time they go back it is just
as amusing as before.
Venice beach is
a big time tourist attraction to many because they love the environment and the
attractions it has. It brings back memories that will never be forgotten. When
given a chance, like Sarah Miller and her Winstead, people will go back to
Venice to look at its originality, to look back and see the memory they had.
With more laws enforced, people will feel restricted to do what they did before
and it will drive people out of Venice. It would no longer be a tourist
attraction because there would be no entertainment whatsoever. The people would
change and it would not be the same Venice it used to be, however crimes would
not do Venice any good either. There should still be some kind of law
enforcement protecting the safety of patrons. Venice at the moment does not
have that kind security because there are not that many officers to keep watch
of everything. The protection of human safety is more important than someone’s
memory of a “fun” time because “fun” to someone could be breaking a law. People
can still have fun without breaking any laws, in fact people will have more fun
because they would not have to worry about getting robbed or beaten to death
for some money.
More officers should be hired to patrol
the boardwalk of Venice to ensure the people of their safety. Under cover cops
should be hired as well to prevent to spread to underage drinking and narcotic
abuse. People would not have to ease up or think about getting mugged when they
are in a secure place with law enforcement around. In an article written by
Christina Hoag in the LA Times, she interviews a police officer to see what he
had to say about Venice. "People come here from all over the world and we
want them to come," said police Capt. Jon Peters. "But clearly, in my
mind, this has become a public safety issue. We're taking an aggressive
enforcement posture.” Even the police officer knows that Venice is an
entertainment tourist attraction to many but more police officers are needed to
ensure safety. “Authorities acknowledge that policing the massive and sometimes
unruly crowds is a challenge”(Blankstein and Lopez). With so many people in one
place who knows what might happen, therefore safety becomes an issue everyone
is concerned about. Having more police patrols on the beach and the boardwalk
will reduce the number of crime rates from illegal drug use, robberies, fights
and assaults. Better enforcement would only enhance tourist attraction because
everyone will feel safe and enjoy the beautiful beach of Venice.
Works Cited
Blankstein,
Andrew, and Robert J. Lopez. "LAPD Beefs up Patrols on Venice Beach,
Boardwalk." Los Angeles
Times. 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.
<www.latimes.com>.
Hoag,
Christina. "LAPD At Venice Beach: Police Turn Up The Heat." The
Huffington
Post. 11 May 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com>.
Hoeffel,
John, and Andrew Blankstein. "Police Clear Venice Beach after 70 Young Men
Start Brawling on Boardwalk." Los
Angeles Times. 31 May 2010. Web. 28 Feb.
2012. <www.latimes.com>.
Pesce,
Anthony. "Venice Beach Killing Remains Unsolved." Los Angeles Times.
23 Aug.
2009. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.latimes.com>.
Victoria Paper
Victoria Cuthbertson
Professor Slobod
113B/Univ Writing
4 March 2012
A
Great Place but is it The Right Place
Venice Beach is a well known and loved place from tourist
to locals many go to see the pretty view of the water, street performances, eat
at the many restaurants, and shop at the hundreds of vendors at the boardwalk. Though
many love the vendors, they have caused much controversy throughout the years.
From their distribution of marijuana, bongs, medical cards, etc people are
starting to feel negatively about vendors. They feel as though vendors are
making it too easy for kids and teens to access drugs and other illegal things.
Venice’s lack of security and monitoring of what these vendors sell and who
they sell to vendors have become more harmful then helpful to Venice Beach and
its consumers. While vendors at Venice do attract many tourists, introduce many
different cultures, and provide jobs, As helpful as they are they do more harm
than help when it comes to keeping Venice a safe and protected place.
A vendor is “A person or company offering something for
sale.” Vendors can sale a variety of items, the vendors at Venice sell things
from “smoking pipes, a "Venice" t-shirt, or a palm frond bent in the
shape of your favorite baseball player.”(Vendors - Venice Beach, Los Angeles,
California, 2012) You can find all the vendors located along the boardwalk on “the
200 peddler spaces along the 1.5-mile long asphalt strip bordering the beach.”(L.A.
Votes To Limit Vendors On Venice Boardwalk : NPR,2012) For a vendor to have a
legal shop they must own a street vendors license: food vendors license if they
want to distribute food, and a peddlers licenses. Just recently “U.S. District
Judge Dean D. Pregerson issued the preliminary injunction last week, effectively
stating that the city's permitting and lottery system for boardwalk performers
and sellers violates the 1st Amendment.”(Blankstein, Andrew,
Abby Sewell, and Los Angeles Times, 2012) Many of the vendors and Venice do not
own these licenses and as a result of that many people are against them
distributing goods.
Though we enjoy all the wonderful things we get from
vendors, many of the residents at Venice do not approve of vendors selling on
the beach. “This has longtime storeowners and artists steamed, and residents in
the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood clamoring for a clamp down on the
increased noise and transients”( As economy sours, vendors crowd into Venice
Beach,2012) Many of the people who oppose vendors at Venice are the store
owners on the beach who are losing business, money, and customers because of
all the vendors. “It's become a real free-for-all, really aggressive,"
said Therese Dietlin, who has distributed alternative political literature for
nine years on the boardwalk, which is lined with cafes, medical marijuana
clinics and souvenir shops.”( As economy sours, vendors crowd into Venice Beach,2012
) Because the owners of these vendors are there illegally they are not paying
to be out there, where as the store owners who are paying rent to be where they
are. While still continuing to compete with the vendors, which long time store
owners see this as unfair. Lastly the reason most of the Venice residence do
not approve of or like vendors is due to the bad reputation and attention that
it is brings, because there are so many controversial and illegal things sold
by vendors also because they sale them without following the proper guidelines.
While the vendors at Venice know what they are doing is
illegal there is no one around to stop them or monitor what they do. As a
result of this these vendors have gotten away with selling drugs to kids,
soliciting inappropriate items, and promoting sex. I have personally
experienced this first hand while at Venice a vendor trying to sell me a fake
medical marijuana card and a smoke bong. I was out at Venice with a group of
friends on a summer day when we were walking down the boardwalk and a guy
approached me and asked me if I would like to own a medical marijuana card. He
never asked my age nor to see an ID and frankly I don’t think that was a real
concern of his. Once I turned him down and told him that I was not interested
he then proceeded to offer me a bong and see if I wanted to buy some. I again
turned him down and rite after he asked my friends the same question; we were
standing there for 5 minutes trying to get away while being harassed by this
man. It really just amazed me how easy it would have been for me to get access
to drugs and how this man was literally trying to force me and my friends to take
action in such an illegal act. What also came as a surprise to me was the fact
that no one around me seem to be fazed by what was going on and also that there
were no security guards there to stop something like this from going on. This
is one of the many cases that I have experienced or people that I know have
experienced, and one of the reasons why people are so against vendors being out
on the boardwalk.
Although these are all negative aspects of having vendors
on the boardwalk there are also still some positive aspects toward having
vendors. For some of the vendors they bring many different cultural and
artistic things to Venice which we would not have if it was not for them. From
tribal art and artifacts to different types of clothing these things are all
accessible to people at Venice and without vendors many of these things would
not be available to the public. Also Venice and its vendors are a very big
tourist attraction for people from out of town, it is something that many
tourists want to see before they leave California, and if you took those things
away it would take a tourist attraction. Lastly for many if not all of the
vendors this is their livelihood, this is the way they feed there families and
pay their bills and they work hard to do all these things so is it fair to take
that away from them? We may not approve of or like their methods but vendors at
Venice Beach do benefit the beach by attracting tourist and providing a since
of culture to the beach.
We all love Venice Beach and the many different vendors
that they have but the controversy they cause and the negative attention they bring
has made many people/residence want to get rid of them all. Because of the lack
of security and carelessness of the law at Venice vendors have been able to get
away with things like selling marijuana, medical card, and sexual items. Also
not having the proper papers and license that they need to own these shops and
distribute goods to people. As a result many if not all of the legal shops on
the boardwalk are working to get rid of the vendors that surround them. Venice
is not a bad or negative place, it is however a place with a lack of security
and surrounded by people who don’t seem to care what is really going on. Though
Venice Beach does provide us with a since of culture and jobs for many
different people it also promotes many negative things. I love going to Venice
Beach and tend to have a good time every time that I go but I could live
without some of the vendors that they have. I just recently took a trip down to
Venice Beach and some of the things that I did not enjoy was the strong smell
of marijuana everywhere also the constant hassling of people trying to get me
to buy a medical marijuana card and lastly people offering me marijuana every
ten sec while I walked the boardwalk. As much as I love Venice and walking down
the boardwalk these things are really making me not want to visit the beach
anymore. It takes the fun away when you are constantly being bugged and hassled
by people, especially about something that you’re not interested in. If
something doesn’t happen to stop these vendors or monitor what they’re doing
many people are going to stop visiting Venice and the stores, vendors, and
restaurants are all going to suffer as a result.
Work
Cited
"As economy sours,
vendors crowd into Venice Beach - Travel - Destination Travel –
msnbc.com."
msnbc.com - Breaking news, science and tech news, world news, US news, slocal
news- msnbc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36077368/ns/travel-destination_travel/t/economy-sours-vendors-crowd-venice-beach/>.
Blankstein, Andrew,
Abby Sewell, and Los Angeles Times. "Venice Beach | Judge blocks
Venice
boardwalk permit system - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From
The Los Angeles Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.
<http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/27/local/la-me-venice-vendors-20101027>.
"L.A. Votes To
Limit Vendors On Venice Boardwalk : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio :
News
& Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR.
N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.npr.org/2011/12/21/144087068/l-a-votes-to-limit-vendors-on-venice-boardwalk>.
" Vendors - Venice
Beach, Los Angeles, California." All About Venice Beach Artists,
Restaurants,
Hotels, etc... - Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California.
N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.aboutvenicebeach.com/Vendors.shtml>.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)