"His most recent stint on the street (that landed him behind bars) included tagging the Kenny Scharf mural on Houston Street, something he said he did after his wife died; “I used the street as a canvas to express myself.""

So shouldn't that be "I used someone else's art as a canvas to express myself"?

That's exactly it, I love seeing these big murals in public spaces and
as long as it's done well, graffiti can be great (even if it's not
legal).  But it's pretty shitty when guys like this bomb someone else's hard work.  It just seems childish.

That was my point.
Agreed.

I don't feel bad here.  This guy can still work if he wants -- art galleries seem to like him.  And, hell, he can even continue defacing peoples' property if he wants.  What he can't do is do so without consequences -- and since he's no longer a young man, he's decided that the consequences aren't worth it.  I see no problem with that.

Plus...well, I just sort of have trouble getting upset about losing a tagger -- particularly one who defaces murals.  I mean, you want me to feel bad about him not being able to do his art illegally (though he can still do it legally), when he's going out and preventing other people from doing their art?

with permission, or knowledge of by the building owner: I LOVE graffiti, if it's well done. Without permission from whoever owns the building, it's simply defacing and destruction of someones property. It's not yours to paint, get it? I think he should paint on canvas or similar, if his work is that good, he can get the attention he so obviously craves that way.

LEGALIZE GRAFFITI

I'm perfectly fine with that.

By the way, I'm going to come by your house later and smash all your stuff -- burn your clothes, smash your computer, that sort of thing.  You're cool with that, right?

Put your money where your mouth is. Tell me where you live, then let me in your apartment and let me write my name all over your shit.

Er, my house. Sorry.

If you don't want to post your address you can just cut out the middleman and tag everything you own by yourself. Everything, TV clothes, bed, refrigerator, everything and send the pictures to Gothamist. I bet they'll post your pictures.

Not the same if I do it myself. Anyone interested send me an email at TagMyShit@gmail.com (email is up and active!)

You can come to your house and write your name on my stuff, if it's important to you, and we make it visible to the public. I'm not kidding. Is there a way to send a DM through this? I'm willing to make a statment.

Why would he tag over someone else's mural? Stupid ass.

Oh no, this is horrible! He might have to...get a job!!!!

Why shouldn't art, including public art, be a job? I think your idea of "work" is narrow.

He's 44 years old. He's long past the point when he should have grown up. A job is what one gets to provide for life's necessities. "Public art," as you call it, or what most other people call vandalism, obviously doesn't pay anything.

It looks like he sells art too. He may even make a decent living.

http://www.artnet.com/artists/...

But it should. Production of a commodity shouldn't be the basis of making a living. He was doing what he loved and he wasn't by any means a violent criminal, and indeed was creating visual stimulation that was widely loved in the popular and art communities. That's enough for me to say that we, as a society, should support his work.

If his work was widely loved, people would pay him for it, not pay to have it buffed. It would be great if we could all do what we love, but being part of a society means we can't always do what we want, especially if it's at someone else's expense. Psychologists have terms for what you're feeling, among them "narcissism" and "sociopathy."

A graceful soaring peacock with clipped wings, devastating.