A Sociologist's Look At Graffiti

I don't read a lot of books and I am not sure about this one but the subject certainly grabs me. The new book in question is called "Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tags in New York's Urban Underground" by Gregory Snyder through the New York University Press.

Author Gregory Snyder is a Baruch College sociologist and has done years of research on the subject, hanging out with graffiti writers, earning their trust and conducting scores of interviews.
From what I can glean from the NY Times review, Synder says that graffiti writers cannot be understood merely as practitioners of vandalism and social disorder, but also as members of a diverse subculture who, in many cases, have used their experiences to build legitimate careers.

He continues that graffiti culture has, in some ways, been uniquely democratic. “What is lost sometimes in the cacophony of the debate over whether graffiti is art or vandalism is that when it’s art, it is free art,” he writes. “You don’t need money, or special knowledge, or the right outfit, or a car, or an ID to see it. This is why the graffiti subculture has inspired such a diversity of young people.”

So far this is nothing that I haven't read elsewhere.

“I’m not trying to make an argument that graffiti is art and not vandalism,” Professor Snyder said in a phone interview. “I hope I’ve made it clear that it’s both.”

Errrr okay.....

Synder offers the point that graffiti does not tend to be focused in poor neighborhoods with high rates of violent crime. Graffiti writers write in order to get fame and respect for their deeds, and therefore they write in places where their work is more likely to be seen by their intended demographic. It is not the amount of disorder that determines a good spot to write graffiti, but the number of potential viewers and the unlikelihood that the graffiti will be painted over. These spots tends to be where young people from all over the city are likely to congregate, and thus the East Village, the Lower East Side, and SoHo are the places where most of the illegal New York City graffiti can be found. These are not poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods. Indeed, he adds, “Despite all of the negativity associated with graffiti, it remains one of SoHo’s selling points, literally.”

I am not sure that I agree with all of this. I think the type of graffiti differs by neighborhood. Wheatpaste, stickers and stencil are found in more "upscale" neigborhoods like Soho, Dumbo, Williamsburg while aerosol and large murals are more prevalent in poorer neighborhoods. And I for one know that graffiti is constantly being destroyed by either being painted over or torn down - often in hours of going up. I don't think it is any gentrifying neighborhoods "selling points" and have actually seen, to my dismay, that as neighborhoods gentrify, the first thing that you see disappear is street art.

The NY Times link to the book review is: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/a-new-look-at-graffiti-writers-lives/?partner=rss&emc=rss

PS. Ironically, the publisher, New York University Press is part of NYU. NYU is a behemoth institution that has zero consideration for the livability of Greenwich Village.