CRIM 20002 Criminal Law and Political Justice
2400w Critical Reflective EssayUpon its conception cities were most likely designed for efficiency, and as they develop they become extensions of the population within it, and start to take on the quirks and habits that define the its community. On the other hand, there is also the question of right. While the government might have final say in what can belong in their city and what must be outlawed, whom does it truly belong to? Furthermore who has the right to change its appearance and alter its character? Whether it is the graffiti filled alleyways or the architectural buildings, Melbourne, in congruent with other major cities, has many influences and secrets within its walls. As the struggle between the masses and the “law” continues, the city has become a place of example and rebellion. The main question is whether there is an ultimate say in the look of cities, and if there is, who has the right to exercise that power.
At the commencement of a major city, such as Melbourne, it can be idealised that the main goal is efficiency with the product being a utopia. Major cities harbour many different communities all in one locale, and creating the interconnection between all of them imperative to its success. It has always been a universal thought to make a city as big and aesthetically pleasing as possible in order to appeal to the masses. Veritably, there is mention of this idea as far back as Plato’s ‘The Republic’ which states that ‘[their] city must be made bigger again. This healthy one isn’t adequate anymore’ (1968, 50). In other words, they adjusted the look and design of the city in order to suit the requirements of the growing population. On the other hand, it can also be sa...
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Graffiti Prevention Act 2007, VIC.
Iveson, K 2010, ‘The wars on graffiti and the new military urbanism’, City: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, vol 14, no.1&2, pp. 115-134.
Mill, JS 2013, ‘On the Connexion Between Justice and Utility’, Online Library of Liberty: the Collected works of John Stuuart Mill, Volume X – Essays on Ethics, Religion and Society, visited 31 March 2014, http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=24&chapter=21510&layout=html&Item=27 Plato, 1968, The republic of Plato: translated with notes and an interpretative essay by Allan Bloom, trans. Allan Bloom, Basic Books, New York.
Young, A 2010, ‘Negotiated consent or zero tolerance? Responding to graffiti and street art in Melbourne’, City: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, vol. 14, no. 1&2, pp. 99-114.
Finally in 1991, the federal government initiated a ‘Better Cities Program’ which aimed to make Australian cities sustainable and more liveable. It encoura...
In the 1950s Newcastle was known as a sleep city, Dan described it as “moribund” (1) decades had past and very little economic development had taken place between that time frame and families were left to suffer. In 1959, T. Dan Smith became Leader of Newcastle City Council, he set up his own independent planning department in the council and appointed Wilfred Burns as chief officer in 1960. They both wanted to re-modernise Newcastle for the better by undertaking new road plans to resolve the traffic congestion that plagued the city and breath new life into the city by clearing out the slum areas and rebuilding new homes to help improve peoples living conditions. One way Smith helped promote his grand scheme was through a series of models and held public gatherings to help fuel his passion to help change Newcastle, a method used by Richard Grainger who greatly strengthened Newcastle’s status as a regional capital. In order to achieve Grainger’s equivalent he set out to get renowned architects to develop the city, like Le Corbusier , Basil Spence, Leslie Martin, Robert Matthew and even Picasso to help reinforce his vision for the future “Brasilia of the North” (2). In this essay I will closely examine T. Dan Smith’s proposed plans for the new urban motorway system, that would help solve the traffic problem. Also the redevelopment of Eldon Sqaure that would come under scrutiny, but would later become a commercial success. I will also investigate the new Civic Centre that replaced the Old Town Hall and the intention from the local authorities to demolish the Royal Arcade and replace it with a roundabout.
The most predominant attribute of a graffiti artist is their mindset, for a graffitist is constantly surveying the streets in search for a new spot to “bomb” as well as examining the work of fellow writers. For instance, when a graffiti artist looks at an empty wall or a distant water tower they envision a canvas suitable for displaying their graffiti. A graffiti artist uses specific terminology when speaking to fellow writers as well as average people interested in this illegal art form. The use of terms, such as “tag,” “throw-up,” and “burner” are used to describe different styles of graffiti letters. In addition, the term “bomb” is used when a graffitist paints on numerous surfaces in a given area. When analyzing the desires of a graffitist, they explain the desire to go “all-city.” The term “all-city” describes a writers’ aspiration to display his graffiti throughout the entire city. The lifestyle of a graffiti artist tends to be more active than that of an average person, for graffitist go “bombing” during late hours of the night. The reason for these late-night paint excursions is to avoid cont...
In the performance of life, one cultural representation that captivates and entrances people more fluently and describes the human experience more eloquently is that of artistic expression. It imposes itself unto the face of society through the individual who creates it as a reflection of any one or combination of personal, emotional, or physiological effects society or one’s own environment has inflicted onto them to compel them convey their feelings to the public. The essential argument, is whether graffiti has a place in the grand context of society. One end of the spectrum paints it as a nuisance to property owners and city officials allow for a criminal perspective of the practice. While at another end you can view it as the artist in a sense blessing others with the fruits of their inner consciousness. An artistic expression no matter what the viewpoint of society, in an anthropological context graffiti is essential to modern society and its impact is one that cannot be forgotten or lived without.
"Tracing the Roots of Modern Street-Art and Graffiti." Tracing the Roots of Modern Street-Art and Graffiti | WebUrbanist. WebUrbanist | From Urban Art & 3D Graffiti to Abandoned Cities. Webist Media Publishing, 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .
Mill, John Stuart. "Utilitarianism." Gendler, Tamar Szabo, Susanna Siegel and Steven M. Cahn. The Elements of Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. 77-80.
Graffiti has been on the rise in popularity since its beginnings fifty years ago. Danielle Crinnion provides a brief history of graffiti arguing that “Philadelphia
“ Many disputes surrounding murals have a lot to do with advertising,when an area of a city is downtrodden, muralists choose highly visible walls for their works to spruce up space.” ( Bjorgum 512) Muralists make murals on the wall to bring the town/city to life. For example, they can be making murals to tell a story of their personal lives Or for loved ones that passed away. Graffiti is known as defiance because people use it as a way that is known to vandalize property. “The undesirable fact is graffiti has become an expensive social problem in many cities in the world.” “U.S. cities spent an estimated four billion dollars cleaning graffiti in 1994 (Walsh,1996). Kan (480) Graffiti is and still continues to be a huge costly problem that we deal with today and can not really be prevented.
Competition has increased extensively as the ideology of a ‘global village’ has grown in support and has become a goal that many cities are attempting to achieve. This has resulted in cities adopting ingenious and original strategies in order to remain ahead of the game and these strategies have ensued cities to grow into creative cities. But what exactly is a creative city? Sire Peter Hall, an English professor, wrote in his book “Cities in Civilisation” that the phenomenon of the creative city is one that belongs to every age and no city constantly displays creativity.
Looking from the taggers' point of view, one can understand why taggers and graffiti artists draw and do graffiti, but this does not justify the fact that often times this form of self-expression is not acceptable when it is done on other peoples property. Having the opportunity to listen (film, class, talk show) to why taggers and graf...
Hayasaki, Erika. "Art Wars on Urban Canvas." Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). 18 Jun
Graffiti started in the 1920s when gangs would tag train cars and walls to mark territory mainly in New York City. Graffiti took a different turn in the 1970s when young adults decided to use street art as an outlet to express their political and social outrage. This movement had soon gained the attention of the “adult” world. Graffiti was known as “creation through destruction” and to this day is still considered illegal in most parts of the world. In modern street art the mediums used have evolved past spray paint and now artists are using different methods with spray paint to progress their works past crude tags.
Graffiti is a beautiful art that expresses feeling and emotions. However, people think of it differently. Is it a crime or an art? Those talented people, young or old, a teenage, a child or an adult, have a passion for making graffiti art on street walls a...
Although street art and graffiti art seem very similar, upon closer examination the differences in technique, function, culture, and intent are revealed (Weisburg.) ‘“Graffiti (sgraffiti), meaning drawings or scribblings on a flat surface and deriving from the Italian sgraffio (‘scratch’), with a nod to the Greek graphein (‘to write’), originally referred to those marks found on ancient Roman architecture”’(Weisburg). Though, it is unknown when or where graffiti first made an appearance; modern graffiti did not come around until the late 1960’s to early 1970’s in New York. The term “tagging” is the modern form of scratching (Weisburg). It also is considered the origin of all modern graffiti, including street art.
Graffiti has a high contribution to sight beautification. Most of the time, we see paintings on the wall, in public bathrooms, we don’t give attention, because it’s annoying to us. Some paintings that are seen in public property are not always stupid. For e...