London Graf has detoriated badly since the 80's, 90's, it all became about how bad ass you were and style went out the window. DDS are a prime example of this, I admire them for getting up but it was the same old crack & shine stuff all the time. Brighton really holds the torch for British Graff nowadays IMO.

I hate this shit. Makes a town look run down and dirty. Awful.

>>954

I've never been to Brighton so can't agree with you on that one, but yes, London graff is all to much about proving your self as hard/fearless or whatever (ie. TOX) than it is about doing decent work. There are some exceptions though (pic related), I must say I like most of the DDS stuff but from seeing old flicks from the 80's and early 90's its obvious that things have gone down hill.

>>956

Personally I would much rather see train tracks (and trains to some extent) plastered with this kind of stuff than seeing the grey/dark red, lifeless walls they enforce now. The determination and work that goes into a decent dub or piece on trackside or rooftop is truly admirable and representative of a true part of London's culture. But don't worry, I'm sure theres plenty of adverts you can look at if you don't like or understand graffiti.

>>957
Brighton has tonnes of fantastic stuff, only problem is much of it's done by community projects and things, which defeats the point somewhat.

It often looks like shit and the worst of the little cunts cover up the windows so the inside of the trains are all dark and viewless. Makes a journey all the more miserable and dull.

It is vandalism and attention seeking by thugs, pure and simple. Completely selfish action. No better than someone scribbling in the bathroom stall "MARY IS A SLUT" with a marker pen.

>>959

Whilst I agree that some graffiti is pure vandalism, I don't think this is always a bad thing. It makes the place feel alive. As I said before, I'd much prefer it to the sqeaky clean corporate billboards that pollute so much of the modern landscape.

Scratching train windows is quite lame, though. But it's all about getting your name up (to some people).

>It is vandalism and attention seeking by thugs, pure and simple. Completely selfish action. No better than someone scribbling in the bathroom stall "MARY IS A SLUT" with a marker pen.
If you want to perform that kind of ridiculous reduction then all drawn artworks are no different to scrawlings in the margin of a notebook. It's a specious comparison and you should know better.

You don't like the artistic style. You don't appreciate its placement. Fine, suit yourself. It is not selfish action on the part of the artists, though, because I appreciate it, and I am neither a thug nor a graffiti artist. I concur with the others in this thread, I'd much rather look at graffiti art than pale grey concrete and corporate billboards.

>>957
>(ie. TOX)

i.e. = id est = that is
e.g. = exempli gratia = for example

I trust you shall not make the same mistake again.

>>958

It's partly because of this that graffiti is seen so positively in Brighton and supported by local groups and businesses as well as the public. All the most popular HOFs in Brighton started out as illegals, it was the unity amongst the writers that made it work, they agreed to paint a spot which was rundown and public property and brighten it up without bombing the shit out of the surrounding area and pissing off the locals and it worked. When the council shut down the Tarner site a lot of the locals were actually pissed off at the council. At the beginning of the 90's Brighton writers like Kich & She One were strictly legals but the illegal writers didn't hate on them because they had incredible style and were pushing the envolope and it was an inspiration rather than a bone of contention.

The attitude of London writers where it is better to be shit and be a hardcore badman rather than honing your skills and learning your history is why the graffiti world is not looking at London for it's inspiration anymore. As much as I admire Tox for his epic pwning of BTP and the fact that he has bombed so hard for so long that civilians know who he is. If he'd started writing in London in the 80s he'd have been told to fuck off and not come back till he's learnt how to write properly by the writers at the time.

Pics related it's some 80's London graf

Also could we possibly not troll on /art/ it's a veritable oasis of culture in the world of chans and it would sadden me for it to be ruined by bellends writing retarded and contentious shit just for the sake of it.

That looks like Gunnersbury, OP.

Genuinely one of the most miserable stations I've ever seen, any graffiti is welcome as far as I'm concerned.

London train graffiti is alive and kicking. This runner was snapped this morning.

Tox is and always will be a cunt.
so many of the so called graf artists today have over inflated ego's.
we went out to guildford to do some bombing there when a friend started uni and told us it was mostly un touched... we met about 20 people in a pub - all punks - all proclaiming to be "shock" or any number of other artists who are well known, shits lame.

all because someone saw a can of montana in a rucksack one of us was carrying :(

>>1311

Christmas day is often the best day to see runners such as this on the tube, but yes, excellent find.

I've noticed more recently that instead of using paint and doing dubs or whatever, people have opted to use some kind of paint stripper to tag with - leaving their name etched into the paint. It means it can't simply be washed away but admittely looks rather unsightly. Still, nice to see people still smashing it.

Is OP Gunnersbury?

>>1348

That is awful. Why do these scumbags do it? Someone should just lock up these chavs. Hideous vandalism and not a hair of artistic talent in sight. May as well just throw a brick at it.

It makes the place look run down, miserable and crime ridden. Chavs, thugs and broken homes are what I expect when I see that. It's petty ego-stroking by the talentless and worthless and done at the expense of everyone else who has to clean, pay for and fix their mess. Contemptible bastards.

Sadly the vast majority are such scumbag kids. Some of them even ruin the very few truly good artists that try to make something beautiful for all to see, showing that they don't even have respect for their own and their own ego and desperation for attention rules their behaviour.

Shame that they don't get a good hiding from someone who catches them ruining either another (good) artist's work or when they are just vandalising and tagging with no care for art or improving the beauty of an area.

>>1520

I've also been of the opinion that there should be designated graffiti walls in parks where people can practice and display their talent without needing to shit up half a town first with their scrawls.

>>1519
>>1520
>>1521

One person. Not trying to samefag.

I do like the true artists, but they are few and far between. Most are egotists, petty criminals and anti-social vandals that care nothing for others or the cost of their actions.

I remember one particularly loathsome oik painted all over the windows of a train, so everyone inside had a dark, miserable and scenery-free journey. What an arse. Cares about no one and nothing but himself.

Reading over my comments and I realise just how angry about it all I seem. I suppose that is because of the association I have with this behaviour and what I've seen done to people and their property in the past. Kind of hard to think this is cool when you've seen some old woman in tears after vandals have "tagged" her home, garden and wall with this crap and all sorts of bile. I saw someone's car painted by these people too. All over the panels and windows. As well as all the other messes that made everything look awful and these victims had to pay for to get cleaned off their property when it should be selfish and anti-social vandals who pay.

If there's talent involved, it's welcome.
If it's just ugly tagging, it's not.

That's my admittedly completely subjective take on matters. If you're going to draw on a wall you'd better do something interesting.

>I've also been of the opinion that there should be designated graffiti walls in parks where people can practice and display their talent without needing to shit up half a town first with their scrawls.
Doing legal graf (which is actually more commonplace an occurrence than you might imagine) is often considered "selling out". Having a designated graffiti wall would not change the activities of the element who are in it for the thrill and the infamy, and these are the ones who are responsible for all the really ugly stuff that you're complaining about.

I didn't want to start a new thread, but are there any active UK painters on here?

I am starting to feel the itch; someone threw up some basic bombs in my local park and I have to walk past them on my way to work every morning. I want to go break into train yards again.

>>1735
You see? Without legal graffiti walls, people like >>4575 who think it's cool want to "break into train yards". You won't stop the crims but at least you'll stop the wannabes.

>>4576
I wrote >>1735, four whole years ago apparently. Anyway, I didn't say legal graf walls weren't a good thing, I said that they weren't a solution, and I stand by that. The people who are acid etching shop windows or repeating the same three letters on every window of a train don't give a fuck about legal graf walls; the art student wannabes are probably the ones whose work I'd rather see.

>>4576
Mate even with legal graffiti walls there are still people who break into train yards. Your suggestion is kind of like asking arsonists to only set fire to piles of wood, always on November 5th. They don't want to do that. They want to burn the world.

>>4580

That's why we have the people with rifles in the watchtowers.

>>4581
I wish we did.

>>4582
Who said we didn't?
https://www.youtube.com/v/nHYC4ekzg60

Very impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/v/Pv-Do30-P8A

Do we have to keep this limited to London?

>>4575

Better watch your back chavm8.

https://www.youtube.com/v/_Uc8JQX_pMg

>>4586
Isn't the moral of this video that one should carry appropriate footwear?