People are so easy to say it isnt an art... well smart guy then what would you call it? plain and simple its so obvious! i guess we'll all have to wait another 20 years until we can look back on it. Art in your face in life and not behind closed doors. Art that immitates life, and people get famous.

fuck if your too blind to see these gifts.

People are so easy to say it isnt an art... well smart guy then what would you call it? plain and simple its so obvious! i guess we'll all have to wait another 20 years until we can look back on it. Art in your face in life and not behind closed doors. Art that immitates life, and people get famous.

fuck if your too blind to see these gifts.

All of you need to do more research. I support De La Vega, as a writer myself I don't want prison sentences dished out to anyone trying to make a spot for themselves or for others.

BUT, there have been WAY harsher penalties dished out to graffiti artists. GKAE is serving 3 years at the moment.

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/04/20/4084c9e311347?in_archive=1

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/04/20/4084c9e311347?in_archive=1

It's interesting how some people pull out the "Yo I'm from New York" card when cornered....

Interesting how day in and day out, so many tough-ass thugs who grew up in the toughest ghettos of New York City flex their messageboard skills on a weblog. The Internet is super neat-o.

Tough-ass thugs who were slumming it in the streets of New York may be surprised that a number of "New Yorkers" who gave this city its name or gave it character weren't even from the city.

Newsflash: Whether someone emigrates 3,000 miles or hops over from Jersey, New York's character comes from the constant influx of people from other places.

Some people who aren't from NYC: Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, Bill Murray, Andy Warhol, Spalding Gray, Jason Alexander, Marlon Brando, Lydia Lunch, Richard Hell... even Grandmaster Flash wasn't originally from NYC (but his family did emigrate to the Bronx in his younger years, which I assume made him a New Yorker. Or since he wasn't born in New York, does he not qualify as a New Yorker? I assume he also must have spraypainted things if he was a New Yorker, right?)

& please stick to using your imaginary names in your postings, not mine.

You seem to have misunderstood. I don't patrol the streets of NYC looking for children playing hopscotch & I didn't say I did. But when I've found kids drawing on my stoop & in front of my house, I do direct them back to their parents. I did it twice last summer. If the parents are ok w/their children making a mess, they can let them do it in on their own property.

I'm waiting for my million.

Liana, whatever you say is whatever you say, but I call bullshit on this statement-

"As far as children who chalk up sidewalks, if I see one I drag the little brat back to his/her house & tell the parents to mind their children. "

Yeah, you come up to little kids playing hopscotch and tell their parents to take better care of them. Yeah. Right. I'll PayPal you a million dollars if you've ever done that once. Liar.

Liana, whatever you say is whatever you say, but I call bullshit on this statement-

"As far as children who chalk up sidewalks, if I see one I drag the little brat back to his/her house & tell the parents to mind their children. "

Yeah, you come up to little kids playing hopscotch and tell their parents to take better care of them. Yeah. Right. I'll PayPal you a million dollars if you've ever done that once. Liar.

In my comment I said I must be missing something because I don't see the racial undertones. "de la vega" was nice enough to fill me in on what he saw in the discussion. I have to say I still don't see it. There may very well have been some racial prejudice in the disparate treatment of harding & de la vega, but that does not mean that the people discussing the issue in this forum are supporting that. Like I said, I think the penalty is harsh, but if it were my property, I doubt I would have any sympathy for de la vega or harding. I think the penalties, whatever they may be, should be applied evenly across the board.

Mr Legal wrote: "You "law is the law" people are such morons. Thirty days is simply too much. Anyone can see it. But you pasty ass yuppie foodies are such idiots."

Is it impossible to have a discussion without resorting to childishly insulting people you know nothing about? You have no idea who anyone writing is, where they came from, or their life experience. NYC is full of natives (and plenty of newcomers) with a wide variety of views, I think that is part of the city's charm. What would lead you to assume that every person raised in NYC agrees with you & that those that don't must be from somewhere else? Suffice to say that since I don't agree with you, you're wrong on that one.



As far as children who chalk up sidewalks, if I see one I drag the little brat back to his/her house & tell the parents to mind their children. Somehow I think we are past the point of requesting that de la vega's mom keep a better eye on him. The comparison is also ludicrous because it does not take into consideration the state of mind and intent of the children v. adults.

cant we all just get along?!?

"Crabs like you got shanked where I'm from."

Where are you from? Crabs? Shanked? What are you from? Some 1930s prison drama? The prison that Popeye and Brutus hang out in with Wimpy!

Get a clue toy. You're busted and broke.

"The fact remains, he took the risk of doing something illegal, got caught, and was sentenced. If you think its unfair, organise a referendum for a vote making it legal to do chalk drawing on peoples property without their consent. I'm an artist myself. I love street art. Part of its appeal is the inherent risk involved. Take that away, and theres no point in it."

Simon, what a little yuppie "the law is the law" whiner you are. Chalk drawing on private propertry? If you are serious about that statement go arrest some of the kids in yuppie neighborhoods who draw with chalk on every surface.

You "law is the law" people are such morons. Thirty days is simply too much. Anyone can see it. But you pasty ass yuppie foodies are such idiots. You've never had to deal with the excessive nature of the law ever. What's the worst problem in your life? A single roach in your apartment? Go back to whever you came and leave this city alone. Or go and whine aboutr smoking laws and coctail nation inconvenience laws. You know, the important things.

who's got something?.....I'm going to spraypaint "The Gothamist" on it!

Liana. Do you know who Keith Haring is? Do you know how much artwork was done on property without permission? He got arrested a few times. He never had to do 30 days in jail. But his art is on greeting cards and mugs and t-shirts that many "hip" yuppies snatch up like crazy. Many of the same people who complain that the city should "clean things up".

The racial undertones come from the fact that people are so quick to judge De La Vega and say "He should have expected it..." without showing the same comments/criticism towards others who do similar thing. And frankly so many people were quick to comment on this site about how there's corporate "witch hunting" involved in Martha Stewart and TYCO trials. Baiscally excusing big business and white execs. But when it comes to non white artists, those exact same people are screaming bloody murder.

The fun fact is that getting busted for doing graffiti usually means a day or two in jail and a fine. And that's it. 30 days? Please. That is excessive.

I think 30 days is harsh, but de la vega knew or should have known that was a possible penalty & he did it anyway.

What I don't get is if his art is so appreciated & there are business owners who give him permission to decorate their buildings, what he was doing defacing unsupportive people's property? I can say that I would be pretty pissed if I came home & found the facade of my building turned into 'art'.

It is a risk that de la vega took & now he has to pay the price. That he is a respected artist should not save him from a penalty that might be imposed with no debate on an unknown artist. if the law is the problem, the law should be changed but it should not be applied arbitrarily depending on an artist's level of general approval. de la vega should start respecting other people's property or be willing to accept the consequences.

& I must be missing something because I don't see the racial undertones in the postings. Our streets, homes & businesses are not his, or anyone else's, canvases to use as he sees fit without an owner's approval.

"I wonder if you all would be having the same conversation if we were talking about Keith Haring instead of James De La Vega. There is an undercurrent of racism in this exchange that's QUITE palpable."

Booya! Right on the head. Keith Haring was white. Did pseudo graffiti. Has a store. Is a respected artist. De La Vega is non white. Does pseudo graffiti. Has a store. Is a respected artist.

No difference people. No difference at all.

It's like Steve Buscemi's character said in Ghost World. While on the one hand it's good that racist is really demonized in this nation, there is an inherent dishonesty in this poitically correct world we live in. People avoid the overt racism yet the racism that divides and treats people differently based on race or perceptions of race still wins.

The difference between Haring and De La Vega is a Swatch deal.

30-60 days in jail is bad- but not as bad as the million dollar fine that they tried to slap on adam cost when they caught him back in the mid-1990s. i know DLV doesn't consider himself a graffiti artist, but that's a pretty subtle point for people outside the graf community- for instance, his judge, or the vandal squad.

bottom line is that street artists face these risks- you can protest the laws that make things that way- but unfortunately, that's the law that is in place right now.

So where can I buy the L.E.S. Octopus on a t-shirt?