Downtown Moncton looks for solutions to downtown graffiti. But is it a problem, or untapped potential?

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Margaret Patricia Eaton

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graffiti / gre'fi:ti noun inscriptions or drawings scribbled, scratched or sprayed on a surface, originally as inscribed on ancient walls. [Italian, from graffio, 'a scratch']

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vandalism / vand(e)liz(e)m noun willful or malicious destruction or damage to property. [Latin Vandalus, in reference to the Vandals, a group of barbarians who destroyed much of the Roman Empire]

According to the Oxford Dictionary, which claims on its cover to be the foremost authority on current English, 'graffiti' and 'vandalism' are not synonymous. Admittedly, however, there are times when the two appear to be converging, especially when the graffiti isn't especially artistic or even downright hurtful and is sprayed or marked on private or city-owned property, creating an eyesore which costs time and money to remove.

While long an issue in metropolitan areas like Rome or New York, graffiti made headlines locally when Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville executive director Daniel Allain announced on June 17 that his organization had just spent $5,000 cleaning it up and painting over it.

"The vandals have mainly targeted garbage bins and electrical boxes, windows and restrooms at downtown pubs," he says, but the spray painted markings have also appeared on the walls of the new Kay Arena and the panels of the subway rail overpass on Main Street near Lutz in front of the Times & Transcript building.

At the same time, graffiti is selling in galleries in Paris, while German citizens are invited to put graffiti on what remains of the Berlin wall. So, it appears that there are really two separate issues. One is how to prevent vandalism and the other is how to promote graffiti as art.

In terms of prevention, Ray Goudreau's story comes to mind. Goudreau, a guidance counsellor in School District 2 and the "go to" guy when there's a problem, once received a phone call from an irate merchant. A few kids from Goudreau's school had squirted ketchup on the windows and steps of the store in a crude attempt at graffiti. Goudreau lined them up, marched them down the street with buckets and mops and supervised while they cleaned and passersby watched. He says, "It was the best way to get them to recognize what they did. They told me it was the most embarrassing thing they ever had to do in their whole life."

Goudreau's solution was effective in that the punishment fit the crime, it developed empathy for the store owner when the kids realized how he felt and it helped them take responsibility for their actions. "You make a mess, you clean it up," says Goudreau.

Frank Leonardi has been a Community Justice Facilitator through the RCMP for a number of years. He has not dealt with a case of "graffiti vandalism" through the restorative justice model, but sees where it would have potential to alleviate the problem. "Once the perpetrator realizes the harm he has caused, not just to the owner of the building, but to the entire community, it may deter him from being a repeat offender. Peer influence is powerful and it's entirely possible that the offender who has gone through Community Justice will influence his friends in a positive way."

Leonardi also stresses the importance of understanding the purpose behind the damage. Some of it is just thoughtless behavior and public awareness may help the perpetrator understand how his actions are affecting the community. Some of it is "tagging" or staking out group or gang territory. Then there are racial or religious slurs sprayed on the walls of churches, synagogues and mosques which would be classified as "hate crimes" and should be dealt with as such. Leonardi, who works in early intervention programs through Head Start, recognizes the need for more support to a long-term approach, helping people deal with issues of respect for others and with self-esteem.

And finally there is the need for self-expression. How can alienated youth feel part of the larger society? How can they express themselves in non-violent ways through graffiti?

Because, really, graffiti-style art, long part of the youth culture, has become main-stream. The Writers' Federation of New Brunswick recently acquired an edgy graffiti-style logo. The CBC's Rick Mercer stages his weekly "rant" against the artistic graffiti background of a downtown Toronto alley.

It might come as a surprise to people in Moncton, but some Canadian cities are actively embracing graffiti art with legal walls. That's right, entire walls of it actually exist in Toronto and in St. John's, NL, while Ottawa is exploring the idea. Society hasn't disintegrated and the world as we know it hasn't come to an end.

When Moncton had an issue with skateboarders on the sidewalk, we solved the problem by building a skateboard park. Skateboarders had a safe place to go and practice their moves, removing the potential for accidents on city streets. A legal wall would provide a legitimate way for graffiti artists to express themselves.

Becky Oikle who works at a downtown business agrees. She says, "Some people really enjoy doing graffiti and they don't do it to annoy others. A wall would be a good idea. One of my friends had to move to Vancouver, where he works as a legitimate graffiti artist, because there was no place for him to do it here. "

RCMP Corporal Mike Gaudet agrees that a wall, providing a venue for young artists who have neither the space nor the money to work on a large scale to express themselves might be a partial solution, but cautioned that it wouldn't eliminate the 'tagging' problem. Some of it is done by transients he says, leaving their mark as they pass through town. He indicated that both the RCMP and the City of Moncton would probably entertain the idea of a legitimate graffiti wall, recalling that some years ago the train overpass on Main Street used to be painted in such a way.

The Toronto Graffiti Transformation Project has enjoyed success over the last 10 years. It invites local community groups to use graffiti art to alleviate the problem of youth unemployment and inspire neighbourhood improvements.

Young artists are hired to target areas plagued with illegal "tags". They work with land and business owners on designs and help cover problem areas with large scale murals. City officials have noticed a marked reduction in "tagging", increased community beautification and improved dialogue between city officials, business owners and youth. Some of the graduates of the project have gone on to pursue careers in art or study at an art school. All around it's a win-win situation.

Jason (not his real name), a local graffiti artists, says, "I wish they wouldn't call what kids do with markers, 'graffiti'. It's not. It's just making a mess and giving a bad rep to graffiti artists. There's not much good stuff around here, but sometimes you see cool stuff on the freight trains." He pauses and laughs, "Yeah, I'd like to find space to do it. In school I used to mark on my desk, it was like graffiti art I guess, but the teachers didn't agree. And the desk was kinda small. I'd like to work on a big surface and plan it out and then spray lots of colour and make crazy designs. And then, when I was done, I'd want to hang around and hear people going, 'Hey's that's cool! Look what that guy did!' I want to get them thinking, you know what I mean?"

Maybe it's time we covered some of our boring blank walls with a fresh new look. Perhaps we need something more thought provoking than ads for cholesterol-laden food and oversize gas guzzling vehicles. Who knows, graffiti artists like "Jason" may be on to something and we're missing out.