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There's been a lot of talk on the Splasher overnight. One of the best comments comes from Visual Resistance, one of the hardcore experts of the NYC streetart scene:
So here goes.I'm fuckin pissed about the recent destruction of some one of a kind art. I dont care to discuss the nature of pasting or painting on someone else's property, at the moment. I do want to address the nature of someone's supposed politics in the actions seen above. There is a person or group of people that seem to think that they are the vanguard of some imaginary "movement" that is critiquing street art. Their tactics are to destroy what they find as the commodification of graffiti. Well my friend you are now just part of the fad, one that has been slowly passing. Then you broke a bottle and wanted to gain some attention of your own. Now you are submitting work to the banality that you exclaim to be rampant in street art. It is now time for you to go off and die in some dark corner of a bookstore, next to copies of subway art and the art of getting over. The trite you explain as "manifesto" is utter bullshit. and I will say for this fundamental reason.
The image that you destroyed above is of a woman that is involved in a TRUE struggle for autonomy and liberation from Capital. This portrait made of a woman who lives in Oaxaca is being used to raise consciousness about the uprising and movement of the APPO, (Popular Assembly for the People of Oaxaca). Some prints of this were recently returned to the women in their villages, and pasted up (I dare you to travel there and splash paint on them) The point is that you as a viewer reduce the image to be something to consumed and not something of beauty or of something to learn from. YOU decontextualize them and make them into nothing. Just like your actions have become. I look forward to the further attention your actions will recieve from the history makers at the NY Times this sunday, it will be YOU, and your actions that will be turned into just another movement. And consumed you are, one dollar an issue,read online for free or at a coffee shop.
You piss me off, you insult true revolutionaries working for self-determination that suffer real consequences. And you do it all within the safety of your home, in front of the computer, or at night on the street with a bucket of oops paint.
I find no integrity in your actions.
This is the last time I waste breath reacting to your senseless acts, because you just upped the ante.
-k
The post also includes a few more links on the Splasher's activities:
The Village Voice on the Splasher
Pix of the Splasher over Os Gemeos and Swoon
More Flickr Discussion
Also, some people have suggested that the Splasher is using a "super-soaker" spray gun or something similar, because many of the paint splatters are very high on the wall, as in the Obey-shot below (that's about 13' off the ground.)
Splatter-experts are analyzing the pictures now-- we should have some results later today.
Update: we consulted one of the most authoritative graffiti experts on the scene, and he says the Splasher isn't using a supersoaker:
gothamist: do you think this is from a supersoaker?graf expert: nope.
gothamist: so what's it with? just a cup of paint?
graf expert: probably- a super soaker would hit the wall with more force. there would be splatter around the top/sides of each hit, not just running down from where the paint hit. that definately looks like thrown paint.
gothamist: but it's too much paint to fit in a cup. what are you thinking? like a bucket?
graf expert: i think someone is scooping it out of a bucket with a smaller thing to hold it with and throwing it.
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yeah, just delete the comments and start over. That will make it seem like anyone cares.
I find no integrity in "street art" or graffiti, period. If he is defacing murals that have been commissioned or approved by the property owners, then there will be something to talk about.
Wait -- so if you draw something on a wall it's art, but if you draw something over that drawing than it's vandalism?
This seems pretty hypocritical to me. If street artists demand the right to be able to draw on walls, then other people should have the right to draw on their drawings. They have no right to demand protection for their work, because their work relies on the belief that nothing should be protected.
It's all graffiti and it's the nature of NY. Get over it and get over yourselves.
I prefer the Billboard Liberation Front.
Woohoo! I was waiting for the "liberation from Capital" talking point. Visual Resistance does not disappoint.
vandalized vandalism = vandalism
'obey' vandalism = advertising (they have a web site selling products).
sanctity of street art = bullshit
Jimbo & Natis: Right on! I thought 'street art' was supposed to be fluid - constantly changing and springing up in new places. Isn't this just an extension, albeit an unwanted one, of that idea? And oh yeah, no matter how pretty, profound or inspiring 'street art' is, it is considered vandalism as well.
Buncha whiny babies that think they're geniuses are cryin' about another whiny wannabe genius that's a douche. YAWN.
sounds like the graffitists are jealous that the splasher has made a name for his/herself in such a short period of time and they are attempting to discredit the splasher as illegitimate saying he/she "must have used a supersoaker" to splash so high up. did "obey" use a supersoaker to wheatpaste so high up? splasher is the real deal.
Someone should just set up a webcam outside of the next swoon painting to catch this guy. Street art may be vandalism, but it's also a lot of time and energy invested in creating something beautiful. This spash crap is a statement. It takes all of two seconds, and all it's doing is pissing people off. If the dude (and I assume it's a dude but I could be wrong) were so up front about his actions he'd show his face or leave his name. This is the same as leaving an anonymous "fuck you." If you want to have a discussion let's have it. But don't just be a dick and destroy for destruction's sake. It sure as hell isn't going to stop street art.
Splasher's narcissism is mediocre. There's nothing revolutionary about his theoretical temper tantrum.
Do you really think these are actually raising awareness on issues, like oaxaca?
You think people walked by that and went, "damn, the situation is really bad in oaxaca for the people right now, what can i do to help?"
get real. if the "artist" wanted to raise awareness on an issue with these he/she failed. Gothamist is an example of raising awareness on issues.
totally agree with 2 & 3, painted on a wall in public, the owner of the wall owns the graffiti. Actually graffiti with paint splashed on it says much more than the graffiti alone.
This is not just happening on graffiti or street art. A huge dewers ad on ludlow was splashed as well.
boo hoo!! my precious "art" got ruined!!
say what you will about the merits or lack of merits of graffiti...splashing paint around is about as interesting/fun/thoughtful as a chimp throwing it's own excriment. splasher only splashes because it is the quickest way to cover the graffiti, if he/she had any real backbone they'd at least cover it with something that took more than 5 seconds to do.
all those banksy type thigns are tired and boring anyway. no one cares about the stencil you drew and printed at home. real grafitti artists do throwups and pieces on the fly. These people are no talent hacks. Good for the splasher cause he is only covering up the stencils that themselves covered up real graffitti.
That said, I pretty much hate all graffitti but at least I can appreciate a good piece when I see one if only because of the risk and time it takes to make them.
"You piss me off, you insult true revolutionaries working for self-determination that suffer real consequences."
This person clearly misses the point, in ways not thought possible.
"Street art" is nothing more than personal ego, this criticism is orthogonal to it's aesthetic/symbolic value. The people making these wheatpastes and being creative in public spaces aren't speaking out about it -- it's all part of the environment. But here the author of this quote is, bitching and moaning about people she doens't even know.
You need to find a hobby and shut the fuck up.
also obey and banksy are to graffitti as aesope rock and sage francis are to rap. No soul having white boys who have pretty much ruined it for everyone.
apparently no one has heard of getting "buffed". welcome to ny. what's sad is that the kid doing the buffing is probably another out of towner nerd that lives in willamsburg or somewhere equally as whack.
save the art for a gallery.
"This portrait made of a woman who lives in Oaxaca is being used to raise consciousness about the uprising and movement of the APPO"
Oh, totally! When I'm walking down the block and see that painting, I immediately think of the plight of Oaxacans!
Who are you fucking kidding? Look, it's a cool picture, and it's too bad it got "splashed." But it's thrown up on the side of a building. It's glorified graffiti. Nobody's consciousness is being raised, and you shouldn't be offended if someone else does exactly what you did: Paint shit where you're not supposed to paint!
You're not a "true revolutionary." You're a jerk-off who's drunk on Chomsky and The Motorcycle Diaries, and who hasn't realized yet that your artistic talent can be put to way better use than competing for space with 13-year-old taggers.
Jake, save this for your personal website, two long posts on this is just not gothamist news.
i paint, therefore i'm che guevera? does anyone else find this ludicrous?
dobkin you're going to have to jump ship on this one, i sense a mutiny.
could the splasher be using paint-filled balloons?
Was that interview a joke? I couldn't tell.
this whole thread is an argument for splashing.
I figured it out. The splasher is the performance artist who used to give himself paint enemas in order to paint his audience.
streetart destroys wall
splasher destroys graffiti
wall owner sobs... why?!
I'm baffled more by the amount of energy this guy has to muster just to execute this crappy project. I mean you gotta print up the manifesto, get the wheat paste, the paint, break up the shards of glass, go out and find the pieces, splatter them... Not to mention the amount of *time* this all takes--just to misappropriate the will of the Dadaists and piss off some hipsters? Dude, get a TV. You'll love it.
I think that the splasher is "raising the awareness" of some of you taggers/graffiti "artists."
Art is in the eye of the beholder. To some of you, art is vandalizing private property. To some random guy out there, art is bringing what you're actually doing to your attention.
Only you're not getting it.
Ok, ok, guys, settle down.
The perp is me, City Council Member Peter Vallone of Astoria.
I'm the splasher.
"you insult true revolutionaries working for self-determination that suffer real consequences...."?????
are you serious?
s
I nominate otomboy's excellent poem for "comment of the week".
Shove your chomsky up your ass.
Im so bored of this I dont even care to respond.
re: #32
i second that. brilliant.
"Oh, totally! When I'm walking down the block and see that painting, I immediately think of the plight of Oaxacans!"
-Oh wow
Im a dipstick with a computer, i can express my opinion and every visitor to the gothamist has to sift thru my babble.
Certain dialogueis meant for certain spaces, this one happened to spill over from a flickrsite to here. And we have to suffer each other.
Read some news and do me a favor.
SHUT UP
I think it should be in the mind of every single streetartist to be as selfless as to never mind such actions, I mean when i paste up my work I do it with the idea that it is illegal and won´t be there for such a long time and that is also one very important fact in the street art in general for me...you do something which does not exist for a long time and though it was a lot of work it is clear to me that somebody is going to destroy it anytime...
I would visit my fucked up piece and rework the splash on it...
then it would be the vandalism of the vandalism of the vandalism...
anyway, because I am from austria I can´t go there to recreate something into the splasher´s art...
so maybe guys take it with some humor and think of art like tachisme ;)
being seven taught me that the pressure on a super soaker can be adjusted.
i'm waiting to see what our little zodiac splasher will do next before i pass any judgement. i like to think that he is acting as water currents do to andy goldsworthy's work.
keep in mind, it is street art. better the splasher than white paint and a roller.