AA's "Fat Flier" Got Whole Row
Ashley Dupre On Tiger Woods' Babes: "At Least I Kept My Mouth Shut"
Same-Sex Marriage Blame Game Aims at Paterson, Addabbo
Wife Tries To Abort And Poison Husband's Lovechild
Rihanna's Random Airport Search
Up until now, the only way for a graffiti artist to get charged with a crime was to actually be caught in the act-- painting a piece, putting up a poster, or catching a tag. Even the most prolific all-city vandals could only be charged for the pieces they were doing while arrested-- which meant that serious jail-time was generally not a risk. For instance, after a five-borough graffiti spree in 1995, Cost was busted for putting up a sticker in Queens, but only got 200 days of community service.
Relatively light sentences for graffiti crime might be a thing of the past, however, if some of the local District Attorneys get their way. In a groundbreaking case, they've charged the legendary Alan Ket with crimes that could land him in the clink for decades-- crimes that no one ever witnessed him committing. The Times has a report:
Relying on computer evidence seized from his Manhattan home last October, the district attorneys in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens have charged Mr. Ket under his real name, Alain Maridueña, with 14 criminal counts, including trespass, criminal mischief and making graffiti. If convicted, he could potentially face decades in prison and huge financial penalties.Mr. Maridueña is charged with painting several recent images on subway cars, a form of graffiti vandalism that has largely died out since the early 1990s. But his case, and his recent professional history, underscore how graffiti has been propelled from the shadowy corners of the subway system into a global genre of virtual images circulated on the Internet, and become a powerful influence in design, fashion and graphics.
The case could pose an important test for prosecutors and the police, since Mr. Maridueña was never caught in the act and has no previous criminal record in New York City. Instead, the government’s case appears to be based largely on what prosecutors say is the unmistakable detail of his graffiti signature — his “KET” tag — and the fact that the tag is visible on photographs of illegal subway graffiti that were entered into Mr. Maridueña’s home computer only hours after identical work was discovered on subway cars.
Ket is a bit of a graffiti celebrity, because of his connection with Mark Ecko's business interests, but graffiti artists have always documented their own work-- and with the advent of the internet, many share photos on sites like Artkrimes and Saster. If Ket gets convicted and the conviction stands, many of those artists could be prosecuted-- not just for the pieces they were caught doing, but for ones that they've photographed and stored on their computers. And a logical next step is to try to prosecute people for pieces that have been documented by themselves and others online-- and that could have some serious repercussions for anyone who's ever taken a picture of graffiti and uploaded it to Flickr.
Related:
Discussion about the case at Streetsy
Ket pieces at Flickr
Ket painting in 1991 on Youtube
Bucky says the case against Ket is weak
Ket piece from Saster.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
people who "create" grafitti are vandals, nothing more and nothing less. why would they be treated as though they're above the law?
Come on now to YOU, if only the cops put this much effort in tracking down rapists, hit-and-run killers, and the like.....
Actually, about ten years ago DESA was punished for a lot of stuff he wasnt physically caught for, he was dubbed the "million dollar vandal" by the press becuase the city charged him with millions of dollars in vandalaism, and did some time in prison for it.
you get real, i think the cops do a pretty good job of tracking down rapists and the like. It took them what, a day, to id that hamilton heights rapist? they'll catch him soon.
besides, just because there are other crimes going on doesn't mean the criminals who vandalize public and private property under the mistaken impression that their crappy doodles are art shouldn't be punished.
If part of the allure of graffiti is the illegality of it, then I think they should accept the consequences of it with some grace. That probably assigns more honor to it than there is, but you can't have one side of that without the other.
fines and community service are much more appropriate penalties for this type of crime. people who are dangerous to others are the one who belong behind bars: gun crimes, rapists, etc.
I would agree that jail time should only be reserved for repeat offenders doing untold damage to private property.
That said, fines probably would never cover the true damage done. I would give a charged graffitist three choices:
1) you pay out of pocket for the owner of the property to restore the target to its former state
3) you use your own funds and time to restore the target to its former state - whether that means repainting, power-washing, or other means.
Or
3) you line up against a wall somewhere in Central Park and the owner of the property and 30 of his/her closest friends get to thrown eggs and tomatoes at you unabated for an hour.
if only the cops put this much effort in tracking down rapists, hit-and-run killers, and the like.....
Obviously "get real" does not understand the public safety and criminal justice system. Do you think cops just sit around do nothing all day? The ones you see walking/riding/driving around are on patrol. They don't "investigate" or "track" rapist. That's the job of detectives.
Can they arrest Fuckface (sorry "Neckface") next time he picks up one of his checks from Vans? The evidence is on every single g-damned object in the city.
Seems like it would be tough to prosecute someone just for having pictures of the work and not themselves actually putting it up somewhere.
I think it is hard to say that somebody is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt if they simply have photos of the tags. It is certainly possible, and reasonable to believe, that somebody else may have done it.
I wish I knew the answer; there should be graffiti licenses. Operating a spray can without taking a graffiti art history course and showing you're fairly talented will get you busted, lol.
Please. Stop calling this "street art".
This is nothing more than vandalism and grafitti.
Just take a look at that Flickr photo set..
Don't give me that "eye of the beholder" crap either. It is total garbage. No art there.
Just ghetto made to look even more ghetto.
There appears to be a new type of marker that is able to paint and stick to the newer graffiti resistant trains - saw two recent examples during the past month while commuting
As long as the owner of the property hasn't given permission, it's vandalism...
lol I hope he gets a decade, think of the "masterpieces" he can create on his prison walls; I just hope his orifices don't get vandalized also.
I'm sorry, it's his fault for documenting his crimes and basically flaunting his "celebrity" status.
That crap is jsut vandalism - writing KET on things in goofy print is neither creative nor art. When you see stuff like that around, you think Ghetto and that's it. The guy is no banksy; he's got no message.
Good idea. Graffiti isn't art, it's a crime.
graffiti is definately better than that gay fucken shit in art shows. Wow i can paint a tomato can and now im famous. Plus it makes the city looked lived in and not fake. I hate how everything is so generic these days. It just goes to show you why kids idolize people like Paris Hilton these days. Thats what our culture is coming to. yes im going on a rant because im tired of these spoon fed assholes making rules.
"Please. Stop calling this "street art".
This is nothing more than vandalism and grafitti.
Just take a look at that Flickr photo set..
Don't give me that "eye of the beholder" crap either. It is total garbage. No art there.
Just ghetto made to look even more ghetto."
^ Yes you sound like a douchbag. I think your just mad because your life didnt turn out to be what you wanted. Ill give you a suggestion. KILL YOURSELF! that goes for everyone else that bitches about graffiti.
"That crap is jsut vandalism - writing KET on things in goofy print is neither creative nor art. When you see stuff like that around, you think Ghetto and that's it. The guy is no banksy; he's got no message."
The whole point is to get your name up and make people remember it. Just because it doesnt have a message it doesnt mean its not important. Also i think he accomplished his goal because even though your not a fan.. YOUR STILL SAYING HIS NAME
graffiti is definately better than that gay fucken shit in art shows. Wow i can paint a tomato can and now im famous. Plus it makes the city looked lived in and not fake. I hate how everything is so generic these days. It just goes to show you why kids idolize people like Paris Hilton these days. Thats what our culture is coming to. yes im going on a rant because im tired of these spoon fed assholes making rules.
"Please. Stop calling this "street art".
This is nothing more than vandalism and grafitti.
Just take a look at that Flickr photo set..
Don't give me that "eye of the beholder" crap either. It is total garbage. No art there.
Just ghetto made to look even more ghetto."
^ Yes you sound like a douchbag. I think your just mad because your life didnt turn out to be what you wanted. Ill give you a suggestion. KILL YOURSELF! that goes for everyone else that bitches about graffiti.
"That crap is jsut vandalism - writing KET on things in goofy print is neither creative nor art. When you see stuff like that around, you think Ghetto and that's it. The guy is no banksy; he's got no message."
The whole point is to get your name up and make people remember it. Just because it doesnt have a message it doesnt mean its not important. Also i think he accomplished his goal because even though your not a fan.. YOUR STILL SAYING HIS NAME
You fucking ignorant shits who think that expression isn't art, go back to the farm you fucking sheep shits. I don't especially care for the toy who picks up a can and does some filthy shit on the wall, but one of you shit talkers try to pick up a can and bust a sexy flow or some handstyle. Shut the fuck up if you don't know what you're talking about. Obviously, none of you fucks has ever had passion for anything other than commercialized products and your fucking mortgage payments. Suck a dick and stay "free" you worthless pieces of shit. Fuck your shit. Fuck you.