Refusal of Entry to Japan

I usually see random graffiti around my neighbourhood, but a few years ago someone started the "listen bird" and now I see that bird at almost every corner. I found a blog with some pics if anyone's interested: http://listenbird.blogspot.com/

hmmm I think their art is kinda shoddy ^^; and I am kinda glad they're refused entry :P Vandalism is not acceptable =_=

Banksy is Okay
Random R Tards thinking they are Banksy Is NOT okay.

I personally think graffiti is an eyesore. The messy up the community, tarnishing it. Especially if the graffiti is gang related.

hmm. i'll respect the fact that they wish to be creative and artistic but tagging public property is vandalism no matter how you try to spin it.

They probably will be arrested in S'pore ...

I don't get the concept of graffiti. Is it for attention? To be cool? Cuz spraying paint on a train or in a back alley is beyond lame imo.

A very clean looking area, turned into a mess.., =( , that's not cool.

Deviants... (literally)

maybe their entry was refused because the authorities knew that they're just going to paint on someone's wall...

There're graffiti, and then there are graffiti.
Now, I think people should have more open spaces to create art.
But vandalising public spaces is unacceptable.
Specially when it's ugly sh*t like that.
"Master of Crime" should be invited to clean the mess they made.

well, some people mix "art" with "crime"

ruin public transport can't be called art. And there're many groups who travel arround the world just to paint a wall, with crayon or pencil, time removal materials, it's kinda ephemeral art, and is better, I think.
Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WZx11lSAqA

What about spray painting a picture of haruhi underneath a bridge that no one uses and is out of the way? Art or Crime? what if the message of the grafitti is good? like the virgin mary? if you were a cop would you arrest a person who made a very beautiful portait of vm?

VM, defacing public property since BC.AD

I kid. Indeed theres meaningful stuff and then there is crap like theee guys do. nanksy never reveals who he is despite his high profile - respect.

%%http://www.banksy.co.uk/%%

The gang and I leave graffiti in Shibuya all the time.

Well, considering you can probably see vandalism on the trains everyday here in Sydney, its pretty hard not to think that they deserved to be refused entry to japan.

Them getting refused entry because all they wanted to do was graffiti up the trains. I wonder why they didn't get in....???

Some graffiti can be considered art but some like the ones that are gang-related are very annoying.

Those Australians not only vandalized Tokyo's public transport but they also mocked Japan's security. Looks like Japanese can breath a sigh of relief, those guys won't be coming back soon.

Jup, some graffiti can be really like art, but most is just crap

reminds me of the good old jet set radio game...
it was my all time favourite too
i was devastated when it moved over to the xbox...

Cant really see graffiti as art really, there are a couple of exceptions but any graffiti that is done without permission of the owner isnt art at all. There are so many better ways to express yourself than in a form of a graffiti if you must, I mostly see them as attention whores.

lol graffitis and street enforcement units here wage a "battle" of sorts. Put graffiti on main highways, the officials cover them um with colorful shapes branded as art. But on more narrower alleys and such many graffiti lurk around :P

As it should be.

I despise the vast majority of graffiti, for the most part I've only seen it in Quebec, my old hometown isn't big enough to warrant gangs and such, but there are wonderful public urban paintings in Quebec City that have been defaced by so called 'artists'. The stuff they put on the trains in this pictures looks much like the BS they call 'art' on the level of Graffiti, that's just not appealing to look at in the slightest.

The trains were better off without that crap on it.

If the owners of the property did not give express permission, it is vandalism and a crime. Whether it is a truly beautiful piece of art is besides the point. It is simply a lack of respect for the property of other people, the fulfillment of your selfish desires over the rights of others to enjoy their property in a manner they see fit.

What if some tattoo artist comes up to you and starts inking on your skin without your consent?

Crime or Art?
Or is there no actual answer to it at all?

I am into street art too, so gotta tell ya, even though trains are public property and it's a crime to graffiti on them, if you want your art seen, there is no better place. Well, relatively i suppose ^ ^. Although i really dislike amateur "artists" who leave ugly pointless "messages" or just their names, that's merely vandalism.

I agree with Danny, there's a place and time for these things...

You can find graffiti almost everywhere in my region especially in public toilets. Really an eyesore and it is not like the graffiti drawn here have any artistic value. Some of them are just words painted or sprayed across walls.

That's cool, I totally agree with the new security policies about taking fingerprints etc, scum like this shouldn't be allowed back in.

Plenty of Graffiti here actually. I don't know about the security differences though,
But there are LOTS of graffiti on trains here in Sydney. As well as other places.

As least have the artistic sense to use a plain wall...

Usually I'm a fan of graffiti, but their artwork is kinda shabby to say the least.

Hey, Danny. Do you think you could take pictures of graffiti you see when you do your picture walks?

The prevailing sentiment here is kind of hard to wrangle. Most graffiti is garbage, but some is very good...
So, does that mean people should be doing MORE of it so that we can have more good grafitti and amateurs can improve their craft? That doesn't sound right.

Banksy is a great example of what GOOD graffiti is some of his work is amazing, and it's even more amazing that he's been doing it for over a decade and still hasn't been caught or even identified! The media several times now has claimed to have 'discovered' his identity, only to later be proven wrong over and over.

There's some very good graffiti around here , and lots of pointless graffiti (it's actually a major problem here :S) too but some businesses have taken to getting an artist to paint there building to prevent vandalism because quite a few artists feel it's wrong to go over anthers artists work. Not all but quite a few.

At my university campus, there is a lot of political graffiti like anti-business or pro-some number of South American revolutionary leaders. Around where I live, graffiti and murals have been used to cover up some old tagged walls, but you still see gang tags the further off of main streets you go.

Put it under an ocerpass or something, but not any functioning buisinesses or their property, and come on, make something inspiring and tasteful. Graffitti that is nothing but words is usually tasteless, uninspired, and moreless just an eyesore.

I wonder what it would be like if places made open spaces JUST for tagging? I can see problems arising where people get mad that other people tagged over their own stuff.

Personally, if there were such a place, I'd come back on a regular basis and try to start a game of "Draw the next thing in sequence!" First, I'd draw a Gundam head - hopefully, people would catch on and draw an actual cool looking Gundam next to mine :D

I've seen some really, really, really nice graffiti in really, really, really weird places. Like, I have no idea how they were able to spraypaint the 87th floor on a skyscraper. Ok, that's bit of an exaggeration, but still o_o.

You break the laws of the land you can be jailed or kicked out.

I can not stand to see it on the streets.
Plus I see it all over in many parts. I know what some of the marking mean; from some lossy affilated gang elements, hate-groups, and other jsut for pranks.

One of my co-workers is a grafitti artist but he only does it on "legal" walls or surfaces. He's shown me some of his work and work that his fellow artists have done and to be honest, i find it really appealing to the eye. he says most grafitti starts with words, but then the artists bend the shape of the letters and they end up looking like pictures. as for this grafitti on non "legal" surfaces.. i see it as abuse expecially if it's not done in your own country, japanese tax payers pay for that transport.

here we get graffiti on top of graffiti

That is called art!! Blasphemy!