Gothamist: Ecko to Sue the City

Simon Kock

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:51:30 -0500

simon is a tweaker

"$OLEONE"

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 12:27:39 -0500

hell ya i feel ecko and the rest of the graff commun should be aloud to express ones self with canvasses. dont u think the city would be happy if it wasnt on their walls, and besides that the kids whom claim to tag are just horrible and thats what gives graffiti a bad name now if the world was as good as ecko or saber then may graffiti wouldnt have such a dirty name. it takes time and patience for a graff artist to get good. Hell the best of the best are well in their twenties. providing areas to paint legaly where there iz no fear of being caught provides for exelance and prcise details that we cant do on the street walls.

obvious

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 12:57:14 -0500

simon lok is thumbing his nose at the Constitution.

simon lok

Sat, 20 Aug 2005 01:47:59 -0500

I agree with this policy. Vadalism should not be glamorized. The city spends millions cleaning up after these so-called "artists" and peoples property is destroyed. Good job!

Bucky

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 21:52:53 -0500

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2005-08-20T001250Z_01_HO000754_RTRIDST_0_ENTERTAINMENT-LIFE-GRAFFITI-DC.XML PAY ATTENTION TO JUDGES QUOTE ABOUT WEST SIDE STORY AMAZING. Also amazing how this string has downgraded into whether or not BAPE is cool. Jesus, priorities?

Jack

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 18:47:49 -0500

"I get it now, with bape you pay $500 bucks for some crap that looks exactly like phat farm clothes and it disses japanese middle class teens. Wait, I don't get it." Actually, the same thing can be said about virtually everything being sold in the 'rag trade'... Always. The cost of manufacturing is low and the profits are very high. Why do you think stores can have 50% off sales? Or Foot Locker can have 'Buy One Get One Free!' deals all the time? It's because sneakers that sell for $89 actually cost a few dollars to make. Who cares if they sell for $44 on sale? The profit margin is still there. Ditto with designer sneakers and shoes that cost upwards fo $200-$500. It's ridiculous. But critcizing only the boutique labels is short sighted.

moses supposes

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 18:19:32 -0500

Yeah, Nigo just copies Flavor Flav. He says he doesn't even understand hip hop but thinks it's COOL!! shit. Japanese HIPSTER!!!!

jizzbomb

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 18:06:50 -0500

I get it now, with bape you pay $500 bucks for some crap that looks exactly like phat farm clothes and it disses japanese middle class teens. Wait, I don't get it.

Matt

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 16:12:47 -0500

the mayor has to answer to the NYPD, FDNY, and 9 million residents. How exactly does this event affect any of these organizations or the residents of NYC? Ecko Clothing (even though he doesn't have anything to do with it anymore) You are obviously well informed... Marc Ecko has everything to do with his company. He oversees nearly everything that comes out of his offices. Take the $$ you will spend on suing the city and do something to promote the arts As far as I know Ecko is only suing for the right to hold the event, not any amount money. The main purpose of this event is promote art, something I, as a NYer, am concerned about,—as art one of the main components that makes this city exciting. So what about Nigo and his "bathing ape" BAPE has nothing to do with race, it is actually a diss on his perception of the lazy middle class Japanese teens.

Jizzbomb

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 15:37:24 -0500

Simian clothing labels. ha . I just got it. Simian means MONKEY!!! So what about Nigo and his "bathing ape" clothes and merchandise. Nigo is some japanese guy that works with Pharrell and the thing about his clothes is that it's a japanese guy emulating a white guy emulating a black guy who was emulating tommy hilfiger who is a white guy. I look at bathing ape's clothes and all I can think of is PHAT FARM. and PHAT FARM is basically a ghetto Tommy Hilfiger.

kel

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:32:19 -0500

Really, NYers have more things to worry about than a graffit artists who spinned his snub into a good 15 minutes of fame. I feel sooooo sorry for you Mr. Ecko. Take the $$ you will spend on suing the city and do something to promote the arts in a different way on your own terms then and stop whining about it. Be a man and turn it around but freakin hell dont sue NY.

Bucky

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:16:55 -0500

You guys here to grind axes or chop wood? Regardless of your opinion about Ecko, graffiti, commercialism and all those other predicatble refutatuons, have you thought about the bigger picture. Why should Vallone or Bloomberg decide what medium is to be used for artist expression or even define what art is. We already had one self installed art czar and his name was Rudy Gulliani. We don't need another one. I don't like the idea of an art exhibit getting censored because politicians don't agree with the art form. You want to squabble about what's cool and what's not, I will meet ya on Bedford Ave in Willamsburg and we can compare t-shirts.

hijiki

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:12:51 -0500

one more short-sighted stomp on the constitution by NYC government. i wish we didn't have to pay off all these lawsuits just because our government is so short-sighted. waste of money.

Jack

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:00:19 -0500

"simian clothing labels" So incredibly racist and casual it's horrifying. J, you might be shocked to realize that most graffiti artists don't fall into one category. Go get yourself a copy of "Autograph" or watch "Style Wars" and you might be shocked to realize how racist you are. Then again, someone who uses the phrase "simian clothing labels" sounds like the biggest a$$hat on earth.

Bruce Springsteen

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:42:34 -0500

And, if you didn't read the NY Times Magazine feature on him a few weeks ago, Marc Ecko is actually a white guy from New Jersey - see his blog. Isn't Jen Chung (the head of Gothamist) actually from New Jersey, too?

huh?

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:38:59 -0500

This is stupid. The "subway car" is not even a subway car at all. It's just some cardboard with aluminum foil on it! Are these politicians crazy?

the constitution's ghost

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:35:19 -0500

I don't care about the event specifically. But the principle behind Ecko's lawsuit is deeply important. How is it that some objects are okay to paint on, and others aren't? Aren't the subway car replicas privately owned? It's not vandalism, so how is it illegal? The government cannot arbitrarily make some art illegal simply because they don't like the canvas. This is such a blatant defiance of the First Amendment that it's shameful. Have some respect. The Founding Fathers are turning in their graves. I don't give a shit about graffiti art. But I do give a shit about principle. This is not a question about whether graffiti is art--this is a question about whether the government has the power to outlaw free speech based on a moral whim.

A White Man from New York

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:27:12 -0500

J, what makes you assume that a white dude from New Jersey is not the typical graffiti writer? But whatever, this is all about selling video games and t-shirts. Real graffiti writers break the law. Like it or not, if you have a PR department you are not a real writer. The most insightful thing Echo says is that graffiti is a way to entrepreneurship. Maybe the MTA could make money by letting poseurs like him paint their cars. Seems pretty much the same as ads to me.

sp

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:16:55 -0500

"simian clothing labels" You fucking ignorant racist piece of shit

sp

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:14:54 -0500

Snapple had a PR stunt last month that resulted in Union Square being drenched in sticky sugar water. Is that somehow acceptable to the NYPD, FDNY Sanitaion Department and 9 million residents, but this isnt? How do you draw the line? It is toally arbitrary at best. I grew up in this city, I love graffitti art. Its part of our culture and heritage. Thanks to my personal interest in graff as a kid in high school, I studied art and design, went to art school, and now have a succesful career in graphic design. So cef and trey, there you have it. This is censorship and grandstanding, nothing less.

j

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:13:41 -0500

As an aside, how funny is it that this is the most visible that Marc Ecko has been in the entire existence of Ecko Clothing (even though he doesn't have anything to do with it anymore). Funny, all the other owners of the simian clothing labels like Ecko. - Phat Farm, Rocawear, etc, are all in the public eye promoting their threads all the time. Wonder why Ecko isn't? Is it because sales would have plummeted during their heyday if it had been revealed that Ecko was just another WHITE BOY from New Jersey with a crooked hat and a nickname he likes to paint around town? Yup.

cef

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:02:09 -0500

I agree...who really cares? I'm sorry a handful of graffiti "artists", PR people, and graffit fans don't get their way, but the mayor has to answer to the NYPD, FDNY, and 9 million residents. Sorry your little painting party got canceled, but I hate to inform you that no one cares. Please, someone in favor of this graffiti PR stunt post something here. Do you exist?

trey

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 12:40:59 -0500

Give me a break, cmon now there are better things to do than start crying over this. Big deal he didnt get his way. NEXT.....