Prince George RCMP have had quite enough of FAKS, the tag left behind by a prolific local graffiti artist.
In an unusual move Wednesday, police singled out FAKS specifically and the problem with graffiti in general in Prince George. The move is unusual because graffiti artists love to see their work is getting attention and police worry that raising public attention regarding graffiti is a blanket invitation for more graffiti. In this case, law enforcement is willing to take the risk to get their hands on the serial vandals responsible for as much as $500,000 in property damage.
Serial vandal is the kind of language police would prefer everyone use in these cases. Graffiti artist sounds much less harmful to the point of being legitimate. The language counts.
Is graffiti art? If Banksy covers a back alley wall without the permission of the owner, it is. At this point, the owner of the wall would thank Banksy, if the owner could ever find out who the anonymous artist is to thank him. Banksy is the winner of an Academy Award for a documentary on public art, graffiti and the issues around artistic legitimacy and fraud, Exit Through The Gift Shop. Banksy staged a month-long exhibit on New York streets last year and just opened a major new outdoor exhibit in the UK, a nightmarish theme park called Dismaland.
Inside of Dismaland is a sign that reads "it's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster."
In other words, art should be bold, risky, even dangerous. Many artists would completely agree with the sentiment but it is no justification for FAKS.
From an artistic standpoint, the distinction between FAKS and Banksy is easy to make. Banksy creates unique works each time. The quality of his work in design, colour and thematic concern is obvious. FAKS, on the other hand, is nothing but a tag, a spray-painted signature signed over and over again, sometimes stylized and structured, sometimes crude and scrawled. To put it bluntly, it's no different than a dog marking its territory by lifting its leg.
And that's what it's about for FAKS. It's about claiming space, occupying turf and stating that he (or she) operates in this area as a law onto themselves, not fearing the police, the law, the owners of the properties they damage or local residents.
Not only is it not art, it's not even social protest. There are no statements here about inequality, intolerance, missing and murdered aboriginal women, racism, sexism, discrimination, drugs, wealth, power, health, education, justice, politics or a host of other themes that can make for powerful art and worthy social protest.
Instead it's a childish "I was here" statement and a "whatcha gonna do about it" question.
The question is what must be answered, not just by police but by the entire community.
Prince George RCMP shouldn't be criticized for devoting so much time and energy to catch harmless vandals instead of cracking down on drug dealers and gang members. Zero tolerance starts with graffiti, because vandals like FAKS are saying with spray paint what drug dealers and gangs say with their actions. This is our space and we are free to conduct our business.
No, they are not, and they must be told that with action and words.
Along with the police, all local law-abiding residents should be obligated to protect public and private spaces as if it all belonged to us. There should be no tolerance for FAKS or any of his cohorts because they are not artists, they are not creators. They are destroyers of community spaces to justify their petty egos, because they feel entitled to do so and because they feel they can.
Along with the police, the community must respond and remove that sense of power and entitlement from vandals who think they're part of some artistic or social movement. An idiot with a spray can is nothing more than an idiot. To try to rationalize their idiocy as art or activism is an insult to artists and activists everywhere.
You're welcome, FAKS, for the notoriety we're giving you in our pages today.
We look forward to extending that notoriety even further by publishing your name and picture when you are charged for your crimes and prosecuted through the courts.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
