In the city of Fresno, and in the state of California in general, there is a huge problem with graffiti. I have seen many terrible instances of vandalism locally, and I have witnessed groups of young teenagers spraying all kinds of objects with paint. One striking instance comes to mind. A local freeway wall was covered in the words “Must Commit Murder”, stretching just over 100 feet for everyone to read on their way to work (KMPH, 2013). On a personal note, when I lived in a fourplex, near a community college, the large tree in our front yard was covered in graffiti in just one night. My husband did research and found that it could be scraped off and that the tree would survive, which is what we did. While the symbols and vulgar messages were gone, the patches of raw bark were a constant reminder of how intrusive graffiti can be.
This week we explored how community-based research can be effective in creating social change among youth and adults. In a community like Fresno, graffiti usually coexists with participation in gangs. Youth membership in dangerous gangs is a separate challenge for intervention strategists. For those who are not linked or permanently affiliated with a gang, opportunities have been made available for artistic expression outside of vandalism. Businesses in an area known as the “Tower District” have hired the most skilled graffiti artists to create murals on the walls facing the street. Even more honorable, a local gallery took submissions in a contest to decide who would do the graffiti art for their huge brick wall.
Offering outlets for this style of creative expression is important. Beyond imagery, graffiti can act as a way to communicate with other individuals, and to state a protest to a current event. In 1995, the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Spontaneous expression through graffiti was exhibited by teens in that nation. This mode of expression was seen as an attempt for collectivism, a ritual to ease the pain and stress of the traumatic event that had transpired (Klingman et al., 2000).
There is an opportunity in communities that struggle to control this form of expression to change the culture of illegal vandalism into a desired art. Providing opportunities for artists to be commissioned by a business or non-profit is a huge deal for some of these individuals who have real talent. Public space could also be provided, similar to the graffiti walls in Venice Beach, Ca, where permits are required to join in on the artistic movement. Eventually, those individuals who mark curbs, freeways, or trees, would be forced out by a new standard for graffiti.
References:
Klingman, A., Shalev, R., & Pearlman, A. (2000). Graffiti: A creative means of youth coping with collective trauma. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 27(5), p. 299-307
doi: 10.1016/S0197-4556(00)00072-1
KMPH Fox 26. (2013). ‘Gotta Commit Murder’ Graffiti Upsets Fresno Drivers. Retrieved April 21, 2014 from http://www.kmph-kfre.com/story/22848722/gotta-commit-murder-graffiti-upsets-fresno-drivers
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve seen so much vandalism locally. “Must Commit Murder” is truly an awful phrase to vandalize a wall with. There are many individuals who may easily see that as a sign in their lives that they really must end it. The vulgar messages on your tree were also an unnecessary act, and I understand why you’re so passionate about graffiti vandalism in cities and other communities being put to a halt.
I love the fact that communities are taking charge and coming up with ways to allow the young individuals an outlet for their artistic expression such as the art gallery and the “Tower District.”
It’s very true that graffiti can often mean gang participation, and participatory research in attempts to stop that would be very, very risky and difficult work. Providing outlets for the individuals is truly a wonderful idea, as you said, but have you considered other ways that could help? Perhaps social change research as action research can make a difference.
California does indeed have a lot of gang violence linked to graffiti, and there are researchers such as Susan Phillips who have done a lot of work in the field. She has worked in California and in other cities to better understand gangs and their graffiti. She has discovered that often times, gangs form out of a necessity and the individuals in them often find their own self-identity thanks to the gang. It becomes a family they never had or a place they finally belong in. A lot of these kids aren’t seeking violence or vandalism but love and acceptance. She says that gangs are often a systemic or structural reaction to social conditions which are lacking and that they’re constructed when individuals need a form of brotherhood or community (Phillips, 1999).
I have a feeling that social change research could very well be used to alter a lot of those gangs into benign communities that no longer vandalize but instead find other ways to fulfill their needs while being respectful to the community around them. If researchers work to find out which gangs are less dangerous, they could work with the participant observer method to bring about some social change to the community.
References:
Phillips, S. A. (1999). Wallbangin’: graffiti and gangs in L.A.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.