LETTER: The Crime of Graffiti

Crime, violence and graffiti have become a common concern in our isolated valley. The recent catch of a teen graffiti tagger is proof of this cultural impediment. Although, different from the big city, our astray teen took ownership of the incident and was responsible for rectifying the issue – a testament of the high family morals prevalent in our community.

Go figure, I caught another graffiti tagger this last week. This daring individual was spotted in broad daylight on a Friday afternoon. Equipped with dozens of spray paint cans, she was busily trying to complete the “artwork” resulting in numerous paint runs. Stunned and surprised as I rounded the corner, the young lady quickly made excuses for her actions. Our first response is to feel threatened by this colorful gang style lettering, though we all have to omit, we next trend to admiration of the artistic skill required to pull of this instant art. There is talent buried here, as well as, motivation by the individual to express this incredible skill.

I was torn between calling 911 or admiring the art. Admiration won and I snapped a photo first. The culprit turned out to be a well respected community leader of our youth. She even admitted that she has taught many other local kids this “skill” of graffiti. The demented individual turned out to be our local high school art teacher Donna creating a “gang style graffiti” backdrop for an upcoming wedding.

This artwork brought up many emotions from fear to admiration. This is the true definition of art where the viewer sees beyond the colors and lines and becomes emotionally involved with the creativity. If you still doubt this, take a look at the American Flag rock graffiti in rural Iowa (search for “Patriotic Rock in Rural Iowa”).

So the next time you see graffiti, take a moment to admire the artistic creativity, and then say a prayer that this future artistic leader finds an acceptable path to display their visions that seem to trigger our emotions. The true crime in graffiti is the absence of acceptable media for these kids to express their artwork where they can receive the admiration of others.

The art districts in Las Vegas and Albuquerque provide excellent examples of controlled graffiti art. Not all graffiti is art, nor or all taggers artists, so this is not a universal acceptance of the criminal act of vandalism. Just an admission to myself that I do admire the artistic foundation of the individuals and their motivation to express their feelings in colors and lines blasted out of a spray paint can.

Tom Morris
Overton, NV