--------------------photos by Elaine A. RussellSo. Had a discussion with my daughter recently. I noticed a sign on the westside of ABQ commanding people to report "tagggers" or "suspicious activities" to the local authorities.
We were talking about the local restrictions on graffiti art. Generally, in America it is a major sin to be a tagger. In Europe and in other countries, not so much. In fact, it is more looked upon as an art form, rather than destruction or a criminal act.
I, personally, think that graffiti is one of the purest forms of public art being expressed. Now, that is not to say that I think it's ok to just randomly paint on someone else's property. But I do think that alot of time and money is wasted by the political powers that be, to arrest and hunt down the artists that do this stuff.
My daughter and I happen to love this style of art. We are huge fans of the magazine JUXTAPOZ (http://www.juxtapoz.com/) -- which is mostly centered around the graffiti art scene in LA.
About a month or so ago, we happened to be roaming about some of the tunnels in ABQ and photographing some of the fab art. Here are a few more photos from that expedition... recently tweaked.
We were talking about the local restrictions on graffiti art. Generally, in America it is a major sin to be a tagger. In Europe and in other countries, not so much. In fact, it is more looked upon as an art form, rather than destruction or a criminal act.
I, personally, think that graffiti is one of the purest forms of public art being expressed. Now, that is not to say that I think it's ok to just randomly paint on someone else's property. But I do think that alot of time and money is wasted by the political powers that be, to arrest and hunt down the artists that do this stuff.
My daughter and I happen to love this style of art. We are huge fans of the magazine JUXTAPOZ (http://www.juxtapoz.com/) -- which is mostly centered around the graffiti art scene in LA.
About a month or so ago, we happened to be roaming about some of the tunnels in ABQ and photographing some of the fab art. Here are a few more photos from that expedition... recently tweaked.