While we'd like to be able to sympathize with grumpsters who foretell of the fall of Western Civilization at the hands of taggers, we just can't. Graffitti is as old as the first prehistoric punks who got a little tipsy on fermented fruit and scratched big spears and boobies onto rocks. And who hasn't seen throw ups by Neck Face or Ribity in some far-flung corner of the globe, smiled, and thought "That's right, Frisco represent!" Okay, maybe that's just us.
But grumpsters vote, and Gavin "Quality of Life" Newsom knows upon which side his bread is buttered. So the Mayor's Office has offered a $2,500 bounty for the arrest or capture of the notorious BNE. You've probably seen the stickers around town, or walked past 1,000 and never noticed. Either way, this is a San Francisco first -- an actual price on the head of a writer.
Granted, BNE doesn't garner a lot of style points in our book. The stickers are a utilitarian black, block font on white adhesive. Anyone who's been to Zeitgeist knows that it's been done before, and with more panache, by Srini Kumar and the crew at Unamerican.com (oh, and look, they have a new book out). But bombing is largely about self-promotion, and on that front, BNE seems to have the Mayor's Office of Communications working for them. Which just goes to show that the best publicity can't be bought.
Photo by Kristin for Golgotha Ad.
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Wasn't there some B movie where a graffiti guy gets targeted by the corrupt mayor? Then the mayor and cops fall all over themselves trying to catch the guy, and he does all sorts of exciting stunts to tag every building in town and escape the cops.
The ensuing hubbub exposes the corruption, and everyone lives happily ever after, while we ponder how this could ever happen in real life with the tagger shlubs we know.
Turk">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090217/">Turk 182!
Oops.
But Turk 182! is still exciting, even if I screwed up my post.
I personally like graffiti (Dave Warnake's faces always cheer me up.) And artful tagging (I'd say BNE fits into that category.) But it's the sloppy sprayed tags done on the side of my house (and everyone else's on our street) that irritate me. No art. No self-expression. Only the sad attempt to mark the spot much like a dog pissing. Go after those yobs, I say.
Doesn't garner style points? Those giant silver and black block letters KILL. He's allowed simple stickers at this point.
The simplicity of the BNE sticker is a really great attention getter. His painted work reminds me of other sf recognized artist such as DEL (another three lettered name) and RIGO who both produce large scale forms of type. I believe BNE's strategy of overwhelming the city is his way to sending the message of control. BNE stay strong!
do yah think this guys name is Benny?
You know, b-n-e = b-en-ny?
Like the license plate words.
Just a thought.
I think that bne should not get charged for the so called graffiti because that is just a way to show off your art and unless they broke somthing the they should not get charged with vandalism
i think that tagging is a art work not a crime if you look at some art work the tags they kind relate to each other bne should not get charged with vandalism
Benet (bne)