Tagging and Graffiti - Victoria University of Wellington
Tagging and Graffiti - Victoria University of Wellington
Tagging and Graffiti - Victoria University of Wellington
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<strong>Tagging</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Graffiti</strong>: attitudes <strong>and</strong> experiences <strong>of</strong> New Zeal<strong>and</strong>ers<br />
• only a small minority (12.2 per cent) felt that graffiti was a ‘bad thing’ in all cases.<br />
Focus group participants also expressed the overlapping status <strong>of</strong> graffiti <strong>and</strong> tagging:<br />
To other people it is v<strong>and</strong>alism but to us it is art.<br />
If it is graffiti then it is art, if it is tagging then it is v<strong>and</strong>alism.<br />
The commissioning <strong>of</strong> graffiti <strong>and</strong> tagging<br />
A slight majority <strong>of</strong> respondents reported that they had not written graffiti. The survey asked<br />
respondents to state whether they write graffiti, have ever written graffiti or have not written<br />
graffiti. A large minority reported that they do write graffiti or that they had done at some<br />
point. The data indicates a substantial difference between male <strong>and</strong> female involvement in<br />
graffiti: a slight majority <strong>of</strong> male respondents agreeing that they had written graffiti at some<br />
time; while a clear majority <strong>of</strong> females reported that they had not written graffiti.<br />
Age <strong>and</strong> participation in graffiti<br />
There does not appear to be any clear direction in the relationship between age <strong>and</strong> reported<br />
writing. More than half <strong>of</strong> those aged under-14 reported that they had, at least on occasion,<br />
written graffiti, but the highest participation group was those aged 22-23 years.<br />
Property selected for graffiti<br />
The classification <strong>of</strong> property in terms <strong>of</strong> ownership status does not exert a significant<br />
influence on ‘event decisions’. Focus group extracts illustrate that the legal status <strong>of</strong> property<br />
was less significant than other factors:<br />
You only do it where people can see it.(Focus group participant)<br />
The best place is on the concrete ‘cos then they don’t remove it. (Focus group<br />
participant)<br />
Fences, big walls, plain white walls lures them to it. (Focus group participant)<br />
Gender <strong>and</strong> personal participation in graffiti<br />
Males reported that they engaged in different types <strong>of</strong> graffiti at a greater rate than females.<br />
<strong>Graffiti</strong> art was the biggest category selected by those <strong>of</strong> both genders who participated.<br />
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