Graffiti in the news

Did anyone else see the front page article in USA Today last week about graffiti artist Alain Mariduena? Known as KET, Mariduena made a name for himself in the 1980s by spray painting subway trains, though he claimed to have stopped this practice once his first child was born. In October, police raided his home and seized, among other things, 3000 cans of spray paint, suggesting that Mariduena hadn't quite been able to shake the habit, so to speak.

USA Today uses this story to explore the increasingly heightened measures taken by major cities to stamp out the presence of graffiti. They include "An Official History of Graffiti" which mentions Keith Haring as a major player in the development of graffiti. Keith Haring was the subject of NSC's recent production of Radiant Baby, which both studied and celebrated his art.

USA Today muses, "One person's unsightly, spray-painted scrawl is another's social art."

Is graffiti a dying art, a subversive commentary, or an unattractive nuisance?

Check out the article here...