Travelling to N.Y. for 10 days in April with 16 year old son who is totally consumed with "street art"..Grafitti..etc. Any ideas for things that he can see of a semi educational inspirational nature?

In NYC grafitti is also called tags which identify the "artist." The best places to see grafitti are early in the morning on the gates that cover retail stores in places like the Lower East Side. It is generally not appreciated and rarely considered art.

There's an area in Long Island City (in Queens) called 5Pointz that has lots of graffiti. If you do a google search for 5pointz graffiti you'll find lots of photos taken there on flickr and other photo sharing websites. Here are 2

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/b...intz/index.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/liqcity...7603507453044/

I think the Hunter's Point stop on the #7 train is the closest way to get there.

There's a hip hop tour that also stops there as graffiti is considered part of that culture.
http://travelblog.viator.com/only-in...-hip-hop-tour/

Is the grafitti in LIC by the projects near the Bridge? If so they are considered dangerous and the bus from Riker's lets off near there as well.

What is your understanding McLaurie? Have you been there?

Have not been there but a female friend and her husband (from the UK) have been and have taken photos there. I'll find out what the area was like. But I'd assume doing the hip hop tour which goes there wouldn't be a bad idea.

There is a difference between tagging and graffiti art - just to clear up any confusion. Anybody with a can of spray paint can write their names on a wall. Graffiti art consists of murals and very stylized and complicated writing - that takes a lot of talent and creativity. I think graffiti art is what glasgowgirl is after, not tags.

Previously written:
In NYC grafitti is also called tags which identify the "artist.

Identify being the operative word.

Don't know if this is a convenient side trip for you, Glasgowgirl, but the city of Philadelphia is known for the murals that are painted on the sides of buildings. There is a commission in charge of it, but it started as a grassroots effort, and many of them are very beautiful and interesting. I believe it is possible to take a tour of them, as they are somewhat scattered, and many of them are in places it might not be really advisable for an out-of-town visitor to wander around alone.

Here's what my friend wrote in response to my question about safety at 5 Pointz.

I wouldn't want to go to 5pointz at night and I probably wouldn't go by myself (although having been twice now I may do) but I didn't feel unsafe. Last time we went, there were some guys hanging round the corner of the building drinking, but they never bothered us at all. This was earlier than we went the first time. The first time we went about 11.00 (after brunch at the Court House Sq Diner). Got the 7 train to Court House Sq, you actually pass 5pointz on the subway. It's across the road from the Diner and you walk round both sides of it to see it all. It's also near PS1.

It's a very quiet area but everyone just seems to be getting on with their work. Taxi's park up along side the Warehouse, there's a couple of garages down the same road and a bus parking lot.

If anyones in to grafitti and/or photography then I'd recommend going there.

Graffiti is not "art" and its creators are criminals.

Please don't encourage such vandalism.


(If you'd like to see some of NYC's legitimate outdoor murals, they are around but I'm not aware of any online directories or resources.)

Gekko,
Maybe you could tell us what art is then? How about advertising on buses and billboards we are all forced to look at...now those companys are criminals.

Hey Glasgowgirl..
Check this website out..

www.zerve.com/hiphoplook/graffiti

Sorry artman, but if you spray paint my house/fence/condo bldg/car/business/etc. you are a criminal. That would even apply to people who advertise by plastering ads on public busses without paying the transit company. "Criminal" is simnple - the word applies to people who commit crimes. I'll even give litterers a pass - at least loose trash can be picked up (at taxpayers expense...)

The whole point of 5 Pointz is that the owner of the building allows and encourages graffiti artists to paint it. The link from TahitiTams is the hip hop tour I also linked.

Here's another article that mentions a few places in Manhattan.
http://www.littleviews.com/home/newyork/graffiti.cfm

Grafitti is against the law, period.

"Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council hereby declares that graffiti is a public nuisance that degrades the quality of life in neighborhoods and communities across the City. Graffiti creates an atmosphere of neglect, inviting criminal activity and contributing to a feeling of disorderliness and fear.

The Council finds that 18-, 19-, and 20-year olds are disproportionately responsible for graffiti crime."

http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textf...TOKEN=79513918

If anyone wants outdoor advertising to be illegal, he/she should run for office with that genius idea as a platform.

Forty years ago Lady Bird Johnson was fighting roadside and other public advertising as eyesores.

Go to www.muralarts.org to take a look at tours and what has become a Philadelphia Institution. And it started as an anti-graffiti measure.

"16 year old son who is totally consumed with "street art"..Grafitti..etc."

Sounds like a vandal to me.

There's an episode of This American Life featuring a story about a NYC police officer and his cat-and-mouse game with a notorious graffiti artist. The episode is entitled "Cat and Mouse". It's worth seeking out.

Author: nohomers
Date: 01/23/2008, 04:49 pm
"16 year old son who is totally consumed with "street art"..Grafitti..etc."

Sounds like a vandal to me.

This is extremely rude. Sixteen year olds are often enamored with music, art, and activities that go against the grain of the establishment. That does not mean they are criminals.

I have had over two dozen photographic exhibits and have a Masters in writing and think artists should tell society where to go more often. I personally do not like graffiti as an art form but there are many folk arts that express a culture otherwise oppressed. But I would always choose graffiti over the Thomas Kincaides of the world any time. It is a more honest form of creativity.

There are psychologists who believe that entrepreneurs are adult juvenile delinquents.

So before you condemn anyone, let alone a stranger, think of his age, the circumstances, and what is saying.

This is clearly a Visigoth calling another a Vandal.