(no subject)

[olivermoss]

* One of the local street artists whose work I've documented has started a Patreon to fund her activities. Kind of interesting. I am not making a value judgement on this in either way, but it's kind of funny that I could become a patron of the guerrilla arts.

* I went for a short, late night, away-from-people walk tonight. My fever is down with meds, but not without. I am better, but this is not gone.

* I am back to writing. I am reasonably confident that I can post a new chapter tomorrow. I am going to make a separate post rambling about wips.

Comments

[mistressofmuses]

I am glad you're feeling better, but I'm sorry the crud is not gone!

And hooray for being back to writing!

That's interesting about the patreon. I also don't want to make a value judgement on it. I certainly thing that art is a worthwhile thing that artists should be able to make a living at, and the idea that you should be a starving artist because you should do it solely for love and nothing else is romantic, but also shit. BUT ALSO, yeah, street art is in some ways kind of the biggest anti-capitalist holdout, so... Hmmm.
Being a patron of the guerrilla arts DOES have a certain hedonistic veneer to it, haha.

[olivermoss]

Yeah, I don't want to judge artists for making some money. It's better than just having those born with some privilege making art. I'm mostly just trying to be aware of the scene. A tagger actually got arrested and I wonder if that is going to have a chilling effect since Portland hasn't actually done that in a long time. Taggers and street artists are very different and a lot of taggers tag houses and small apartment complexes and that is very different from stapling embroidery to utility poles.

Also, there is a pair of local taggers I hate (long story, I might make a separate post at a point. But flames... flames on the side of my face)... but we'll see what happens there.

[mistressofmuses]

Very true - a world in which art has to be an unpaid endeavor (done for exposure or love or whatever) is a world with a lot of limits on who can be an artist/produce any quantity of art. And to an extent, Patreon IS a decent answer to that, directly seeking support from people who like what you do and want you to do more of it. It's still kind of a weird place to be when it comes to a type of art that's largely a sort of anti-capitalist thing.

I hadn't realized that a tagger had been arrested! Tagging and street art are very different things, but I know it often gets lumped together. There's certainly a lot of skill that goes into some tagging, even if most people really don't want it on their fence or walls or whatever... though a lot of it around here is just scribbled gang shit that has no real artistic merit.
Even so, it could have a sort of chilling effect because they get lumped together so often. Though a sticker on a sign or an embroidered card are certainly super different... not everyone appreciates that.

You should share about the local taggers you hate, haha. Though of course only if you want to.

[olivermoss]

I admit that just recently I started idly thinking about doing some random fandom slap tagging. I mean, there is so much, why not add some Jeeves & Wooster book covers?

Yeah, taggers are a problem and create a lot of damage and cost for business and residences. The art I shoot is very different.

There are a pair of taggers who tag a lot of places, including residences, with transphobic slurs. Online, people defend them as either 'not transphobic, those words are just funny together' or 'akkkkshully the taggers are trans and are part of a local art collective and are reclaiming the words. If you have a problem with them claiming their space in this city, maybe YOU don't want trans people here' Either way, I do not like seeing one in particular on my way back from the grocery store. I've looked for evidence of this local art collecting that they belong to and so far haven't found anything. I am pretty sure the second defense is trolling.

[mistressofmuses]

That would be fantastic! Especially older fandom stuff - anyone who does recognize it will be delighted by it!

Yeah, tagging vs. actual street art are very different, and I don't like that they're lumped into the same "genre."

Ugh. That's super gross. Particularly if you can't find any evidence of the supposed art collective existing, that sounds like outright trolling or at the very least an attempted smokescreen against criticism. But yuck. And yeah, even if those were good-faith defenses, it can't be both - "the words are just funny" and "it's reclaiming!" Both sound like garbage. And even if the taggers ARE trans, which seems kinda doubtful, they sound shitty.