Patricia's Online Journal

Decomposing Cleveland

Consider this list of sensory details: a glittering steel structure; the nauseating odor of exhaust fumes; the deafening screeches and whirs of a construction site; the incessant pounding of feet upon pavement. Examined individually, each detail characterizes a very ubiquitous scene. Joined together, however, they construct the urban environment - the thriving metropolis. Yet these details can only form the outermost shell of the urban environment - the skeleton, if you will. To form the entire urban bod, we must add one final detail to our skeletal structure. That detail is the well-known sight of urban graffiti.

Just one walk through any city will open your eyes to the reality that graffiti, by its abundance, occupies a place of prominence on the streets of our cities. Though graffiti is illegal by its recognition as vandalism, the urban environment is home to crafty graffiti artists who never seem to tire of tracing messages onto buildings, benches, telephone poles, bridges - any and all surfaces onto which their favored medium transfers. Though some onlookers regard graffiti in the city as a harmless fixture of the urban environment, most harbor negative thoughts on the subject.

Some members of the urban environment claim that graffiti plays a positive role and therefore deserves its tolerated position in the urban environment. To defend their position on the issue, defenders of graffiti invoking phrases like “self-expression“ and “artistic freedom.” Still others speak adamantly against it. These voices of opposition resound with remarkable certitude in our own Cleveland, Ohio. I recently interviewed five Cleveland residents to discover if graffiti is seen as a problem by the locals:

INTERVIEW #1

NAME of Interviewee: Ann

Patricia: Ann, how long have you lived near downtown Cleveland?
Ann: I was born in Cleveland, and I’ve lived here ever since.

Patricia: In your opinion, does graffiti and the messages they broadcast have any positive effects on the surrounding environment? If so, what are they?

Ann: In my opinion, it does not. It saddens me to think that people have that much time to waste. I believe in a productive use of time, since it is in such short supply in our society. It indicates a self-centeredness - a certain sociopathic nature. The “artists” assume no responsibility for the cleanup or the detriment to the surrounding aesthetics.

Patricia: In your opinion, does graffiti have any negative effects on the surrounding environment? If so, what are they?

Ann: Graffiti indicates a serious sadness of heart in many cases. It’s a lashing out at that which they [graffiti-writers] consider the enemy. That they perhaps do not have the courage to face their problems eye-to-eye.

Patricia: Is graffiti a problem in Cleveland?

Ann: Graffiti is certainly a problem in downtown Cleveland. It’s become less of a problem in ethnic areas, where it has become “works of art.” in Hispanic communities, they have abandoned the spray cans and have picked up their national colors, which reflect their heritage. Consequently, these neighborhoods are well-known by their graffiti as a miniscule representation of their homeland.

INTERVIEW #2

NAME of Interviewee: Michael

Patricia: How long have you lived near downtown Cleveland?

Michael: I’ve lived here all my life. In fact, I grew up right off of Chester, very close to Case, actually. Well, as far as “downtown” goes, I worked downtown for the past twenty years.

Patricia: Oh, so you’ve seen plenty of graffiti down-

Michael: Yes, oh yeah.

Patricia: In your opinion, does graffiti have any positive effects on the surrounding environment? If so, what are they?

Michael: Considering the fact that about…75% the writing I’ve seen displayed some dirty message - you know, vulgar - I’d say no. Nothing good, nothing positive, could come out of something like that.

Patricia: Vulgar. So what does that tell you about the person who wrote those messages?

Michael: Obviously, it tells me that the person’s got some issues. Well, just think about it. To put that kind of message - you know, things I wouldn’t be proud to repeat - in plain sight for all to see…it’s just wrong.

Patricia: Ok. So in your opinion, graffiti has negative effects on the surrounding environment?

Michael: Well, as I just mentioned, the writing that someone does is clearly visible to everybody who happens to walk by. So, if there’s some sick message written on the wall over there and a little kid walks by, then they’ll see whatever’s written. They’ll be influenced and effected by that. Oh, and graffiti is vandalism, and that’s illegal. So now, graffiti challenges authority; it damages something - whatever, a wall, a window - that doesn’t belong to the graffiti artist. Overall, it just conveys a very volatile and negative message…for everybody to see.

Patricia: I see. So, do the positives outweigh the negatives, or visa-versa?

Michael: No, negatives outweigh positives, definitely. And another thing, when I see something written on the wall in crudely-shaped letters, I get the impression that the surrounding area is home to no-good-nicks, your know?

Patricia: Is graffiti in that sense related to criminal activity?

Michael: Criminal activity? It’s illegal; there’s a direct relationship.

INTERVIEW #3

NAME of Interviewee: Mary

Patricia: Do you see graffiti as being a problem in downtown Cleveland?
Mary: Yes, I do see graffiti as a problem in downtown Cleveland. It could be obscene or disruptive to normality. It can cast a shadow on important events in everyday life. The people who wrote it were out of line, for sure, because its vandalism. They could just buy a notebook.

Patricia: Does graffiti contribute to criminal behavior in young people in Cleveland?
Mary: Yes, because it is contrary to normal, responsible habits. And if a person gets used to that, they’ll do it some more. Its vandalism, after all.

INTERVIEW #4

NAME of Interviewee: Rich

Patricia: Do you think that graffiti is a serious problem in downtown Cleveland?

Rich: The only time I’ve seen graffiti is when I ride the rapid. The walls of either side of the tracks, on certain sections, are covered in graffiti. It is hard to discern whether it is gang-related, or whether its just kids trying to get away with committing a crime, that is, defacing public property. I do consider it a big problem, although I’m not sure how it can be stopped unless the perpetrators jump out and identify themselves. It is more likely done under the cover of darkness when someone in authority isn’t nearby. Then again, perhaps police officers don’t consider this as serious as some of the other issue in the city of Cleveland. Thus they just let it run its course.

INTERVIEW #5

NAME of Interviewee: Edward

Patricia: Do you think that graffiti is a problem in Cleveland?

Edward: It depends on who’s doing it, and it depends on what’s written there - like, “hello“ vs. a swear word. It also depends on where it’s written. For example, if it’s written on the side of a dumpster, then that’s not so bad. But if its written on the side of an office or something, then that’s worse.

Patricia: But why would a person feel the need to write on an office building?

Edward: Because it’s something that everybody sees. I don’t know, maybe it’s [the perpetrator’s] way of getting a point across.

Through these testimonies we see that graffiti is jammed with negativity. According to my interviewees, graffiti sends volatile, disruptive, and disappointing messages to members of the urban community. By crafting crude and vulgar messages, graffiti casts a shadow of obscenity onto the surrounding environment. By “lashing out” against authority the graffiti artists, through their writing, convey an almost indignant sentiment that screams, “I just don’t care.” In addition, graffiti reflects poorly on Cleveland as a whole. As Michael pointed out during his interview, graffiti “conveys a very volatile and negative message.” A city saturated by volatile messages has little chance of attracting visitors, which in turn contribute to the local economy. In this general sense, one of the negatives of graffiti impacts Cleveland’s economic well-being. If this is indeed true, then we must attack this urban issue. However, as Rich pointed out in his interview, police can do very little “unless the perpetrators jump out and identify themselves.”

Graffiti in the city of Cleveland is certainly a problem, though it isn‘t beyond repair. Active groups such as the Downtown Cleveland Alliance http://downtownclevelandalliance.com/cleansafe.asp, have committed themselves to bolstering Cleveland‘s image through the systematic removal of urban graffiti. It is true that active coalitions such as this may frustrate the means by which graffiti artists express personal feelings, most Clevelanders, such as Ann, Michael, Rich, Mary, and Ed, will welcome a re-vamped environment free of graffiti negativity.