If you see or interpret graffiti and street art only through a legal, criminal justice, and property rights lens then it is unabashedly and unequivocally vandalism.
But graffiti and street are more than this. In order to go beyond the tropes, misinformation, and common place explanations of this predominantly urban art form you need to learn a little about graffiti and street art. How much you need to know is not my point, but moving beyond a superficial understanding is important. I call this process developing a literacy of graffiti and street art.
Why is developing a literacy of graffiti and street art important?
There are a handful of reasons. To begin with, some subjects are more relevant to know than others. But if you are a city dweller, work there, or even pass through as a commuter or tourist, understanding your immediate environment, in which graffiti and street art is a part, is helpful.
We are also consciously and unconsciously affected by the environment around us. Understanding graffiti and street art, an essential part of urban street culture, can enable you to better interpret the visual landscape of your neighborhood and city.
Moreover, there is a considerable amount of unnecessary expenditure of tax dollars on graffiti and street art abatement. Every year municipalities, counties, states, business improvement districts, and corporations spend lots of money removing or painting over graffiti and street art. But not all graffiti and street art needs to be removed or painted over. Some of it can actually serve an educational purpose, drawing attention to crimes of the powerful, or enhance what is otherwise a dull and drab environment.
Knowing about graffiti and street art, for example, may enable you to critically debate or engage with individuals and organizations, who claim to know something about this subject, but may be poorly informed.
After gaining some basic knowledge about graffiti and street art, members of the public who have consciously or unconsciously bought into the broken windows theory and believe that graffiti (and perhaps street art) are indicators of dangerousness, should eventually feel a sense of ease, when they traverse neighborhoods where this form of urban art exists.
How can you gain an understanding of graffiti and street art?
There are at least three interrelated ways we can learn more about graffiti and street art.
It all begins with getting informed. I’m not suggesting picking up a spraycan or stencil, or doing an urban street ethnography. Although there are numerous books on the subject, you don’t need to read an entire one on the subject to learn about graffiti and street art.
Consult a reputable website that discusses graffiti and street art. But don’t simply assume that what you read on the world wide web is the truth or the gospel. There are numerous books and articles that go into greater detail about graffiti and street art.
Go beyond the obvious. Question both your assumptions and those of others who claim or appear to be in the know about graffiti and street art. (This goes for just about anything you claim to be an expert in).
Join, participate in, and engage with a community forum, including a social media site, that deals with graffiti and street art.
What’s next?
We need to stop sleep walking through our proximate urban environment and critically engage with it.
Failing to dig deeper than stereotypes about graffiti writers, street artists, the work they do, and the impact they have on our immediate public space and society in general, will not cure cancer or end racism, but it may have the ability to change the way you interpret and deal with the environments you live and work in, or pass through.
Ignoring or completely writing off graffiti and street art as simple brazen acts of vandalism is too simplistic an interpretation. Somebody or some group of people are trying to say something. You may not agree with it, the method, or its’ meaning, but it’s there.
Developing a literacy about graffiti and street art may improve your life, not by leaps and bounds, but in a small and subtle ways.
Photo Back alley Washington, DC, Union Market, December 2020 by Jeffrey Ian Ross
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screenshot-2021-02-23-at-12.13.16-PM.png639640Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2021-02-23 17:41:352024-09-22 12:23:42Why developing a literacy of graffiti and street art is important
Every semester, for almost a decade, I close out the term, by giving my undergraduate students, enrolled in my Contemporary Criminal Justice System class, the option of conducting a very basic urban street ethnography.
Almost all of my students have graduated from a two year program in Criminal Justice from a local community college. Some of them are former or current Criminal Justice practitioners, while others are considering careers in this field. For most of my students, this is their first semester at University of Baltimore (UB).
Armed with a lecture that I deliver on the subject, one reading, a couple of www.youtube.com videos, and a set of detailed instructions, I send them out into the mean streets of Baltimore.
I joke when I say the mean streets, because my detailed assignment instructs students to only walk around the major thoroughfares (and not the back alleys) of the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, an approximate five by twelve block area adjacent to the UB campus. I also tell them to walk (not drive) around in pairs (not groups), during the relatively tranquil daylight hours.
There is a respectable amount of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. In addition to the Washington Memorial (the first one erected in the United States to commemorate George Washington), which is one of the centerpiece landmarks, there are lots of businesses and organizations located there. Mount Vernon also hosts numerous types of residences like row houses and apartment buildings. Unlike other parts of Charm City, few of the structures are boarded up. There is also a relative diversity of people, in terms of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
I encourage, but don’t mandate, my students to speak to the people they encounter. Most importantly I tell them to not simply or superficially report what they see, but to tell me a story about what they observe, whom they encounter, what they hear, what they smell, etc. Most importantly, I want my students to critically reflect upon what they experience.
I use this assignment for a number of reasons. I know that in the academic field of Criminology/Criminal Justice, because the field is so heavily dominated by quantitative research, this may be the first and only time that they get the opportunity to engage in qualitative research that involves their actual participation.
Another reason I give my students the option to complete this exercise, is because after a semester of listening to me ramble or rant on about the criminal justice system, I realize that they need a break and there is no better excuse to get out of the classroom, and “to get their hands dirty,” than though first-hand experience like going out into the field.
The street ethnography assignment also provides students with an additional opportunity to hone their writing skills.
To some extent, the exercise is also a chance for my students to apply the material they learned during the semester to a real life situation. In this vein, it’s important for students to not only learn the material they are presented with in the classroom at a conceptual level, but to apply what they learn to the communities in which they live and work and vice versa.
Most importantly, I use this assignment to force my students to confront negative stereotypes they may have about Baltimore; especially the one that concerns how dangerous the city is. Many of my students come from the surrounding counties. For them, going to the University of Baltimore is the first time that they have encountered the city up close. They come to UB with a great deal of trepidation. Many of my students, like most Americans, have negative perceptions about Baltimore and its street culture based on shows like The Wire. At the very least my students learn that not all areas of Baltimore are dangerous. And that not all dangerous parts of the city are dangerous all the time.
Many of my students report that the assignment is one of the most interesting and fun things they have done all semester in my class.
Now, because of COVID-19 I can’t require my students to do this assignment any more. Predictably the university is worried about liability issues.
Sure, modified street ethnographies conducted by students during the pandemic can be done. But they involve numerous hoops and ladders that need to be negotiated, making the entire process a headache, and not fun. Doing an ethnography under masked conditions and social distancing significantly minimizes what I’m trying to accomplish.
One of the things that I’m looking forward to after the pandemic settles down, is getting my students back on the streets, so they can encounter what occurs on them, understand their unique street culture, and benefit from the knowledge that they gain through the exercise I exposed them to.
Photo credit: Elvert Barnes, Walk North Baltimore MD
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/49767916137_35811ace82_o-scaled.jpg16572560Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2021-02-16 16:00:132023-11-08 14:08:22Urban Street Ethnography Interruptus
Lots of things are standing in the way of reforming correctional facilities, the controversial practices that occur inside them, and the people who work there.
This is not because we haven’t accumulated a respectable amount of peer-reviewed research that provides advice on all manner of ways to improve jails and prisons.
And it’s not simply because of powerful correctional officer unions that lobby against change, punitive beliefs held by many members of the public, the popularly held view that a stint behind bars serves as a deterrent against crime, the ossification of the bureaucracies that manage jails and prisons, or a lack of resources. Although these are important obstacles, these factors alone are not the reason why correctional institutions are so difficult to change.
The most important reason why it’s difficult to reform jails, prisons and other carceral facilities is because the general public has a poor understanding of what goes on in correctional institutions and this is largely because their opinions about this branch of the criminal justice system are based upon the knowledge and myths they have derived from popular culture portrayals.
For example, no movie or television series (or even an episode from the same) that is set in a correctional facility (nor the deluge of contemporary “shock-umentaries” like America’s Toughest Prisons, or even commercials featuring prisons) seems complete without some physical confrontation on the yard, somebody being shived, a prison rape, or intimidating looking gang members. Many times this is simple pandering to prison voyeurism. I could go on.
The reality is that life inside jails and prison is mostly boring both for the inmates and the correctional officers who work there. Opportunities for rehabilitation are sparse. And most people who are sentenced to a correctional facility come out worse than when they went in.
When proposals, policies and laws, proposed or introduced in correctional facilities, or city hall, county executives, state legislatures, or Congress, that attempt to reform the correctional facilities under their jurisdiction, the public frequently does a mental check on what they know about jails and prisons and if it is out of sync, they say hell no. This public opinion translates its way back to elected politicians who make the ultimate decisions.
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2021-02-09-at-12.58.27-PM.png409701Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2021-02-09 18:00:562024-09-22 12:23:43Prison Tropes “R” Us: Why it’s so damn hard to reform correctional facilities in the United States and what can we do change this state of affairs
Why developing a literacy of graffiti and street art is important
/by Jeffrey Ian RossIf you see or interpret graffiti and street art only through a legal, criminal justice, and property rights lens then it is unabashedly and unequivocally vandalism.
But graffiti and street are more than this. In order to go beyond the tropes, misinformation, and common place explanations of this predominantly urban art form you need to learn a little about graffiti and street art. How much you need to know is not my point, but moving beyond a superficial understanding is important. I call this process developing a literacy of graffiti and street art.
Why is developing a literacy of graffiti and street art important?
There are a handful of reasons. To begin with, some subjects are more relevant to know than others. But if you are a city dweller, work there, or even pass through as a commuter or tourist, understanding your immediate environment, in which graffiti and street art is a part, is helpful.
We are also consciously and unconsciously affected by the environment around us. Understanding graffiti and street art, an essential part of urban street culture, can enable you to better interpret the visual landscape of your neighborhood and city.
Moreover, there is a considerable amount of unnecessary expenditure of tax dollars on graffiti and street art abatement. Every year municipalities, counties, states, business improvement districts, and corporations spend lots of money removing or painting over graffiti and street art. But not all graffiti and street art needs to be removed or painted over. Some of it can actually serve an educational purpose, drawing attention to crimes of the powerful, or enhance what is otherwise a dull and drab environment.
Knowing about graffiti and street art, for example, may enable you to critically debate or engage with individuals and organizations, who claim to know something about this subject, but may be poorly informed.
After gaining some basic knowledge about graffiti and street art, members of the public who have consciously or unconsciously bought into the broken windows theory and believe that graffiti (and perhaps street art) are indicators of dangerousness, should eventually feel a sense of ease, when they traverse neighborhoods where this form of urban art exists.
How can you gain an understanding of graffiti and street art?
There are at least three interrelated ways we can learn more about graffiti and street art.
It all begins with getting informed. I’m not suggesting picking up a spraycan or stencil, or doing an urban street ethnography. Although there are numerous books on the subject, you don’t need to read an entire one on the subject to learn about graffiti and street art.
Consult a reputable website that discusses graffiti and street art. But don’t simply assume that what you read on the world wide web is the truth or the gospel. There are numerous books and articles that go into greater detail about graffiti and street art.
Go beyond the obvious. Question both your assumptions and those of others who claim or appear to be in the know about graffiti and street art. (This goes for just about anything you claim to be an expert in).
Join, participate in, and engage with a community forum, including a social media site, that deals with graffiti and street art.
What’s next?
We need to stop sleep walking through our proximate urban environment and critically engage with it.
Failing to dig deeper than stereotypes about graffiti writers, street artists, the work they do, and the impact they have on our immediate public space and society in general, will not cure cancer or end racism, but it may have the ability to change the way you interpret and deal with the environments you live and work in, or pass through.
Ignoring or completely writing off graffiti and street art as simple brazen acts of vandalism is too simplistic an interpretation. Somebody or some group of people are trying to say something. You may not agree with it, the method, or its’ meaning, but it’s there.
Developing a literacy about graffiti and street art may improve your life, not by leaps and bounds, but in a small and subtle ways.
Photo Back alley Washington, DC, Union Market, December 2020 by Jeffrey Ian Ross
Urban Street Ethnography Interruptus
/by Jeffrey Ian RossEvery semester, for almost a decade, I close out the term, by giving my undergraduate students, enrolled in my Contemporary Criminal Justice System class, the option of conducting a very basic urban street ethnography.
Almost all of my students have graduated from a two year program in Criminal Justice from a local community college. Some of them are former or current Criminal Justice practitioners, while others are considering careers in this field. For most of my students, this is their first semester at University of Baltimore (UB).
Armed with a lecture that I deliver on the subject, one reading, a couple of www.youtube.com videos, and a set of detailed instructions, I send them out into the mean streets of Baltimore.
I joke when I say the mean streets, because my detailed assignment instructs students to only walk around the major thoroughfares (and not the back alleys) of the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, an approximate five by twelve block area adjacent to the UB campus. I also tell them to walk (not drive) around in pairs (not groups), during the relatively tranquil daylight hours.
There is a respectable amount of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. In addition to the Washington Memorial (the first one erected in the United States to commemorate George Washington), which is one of the centerpiece landmarks, there are lots of businesses and organizations located there. Mount Vernon also hosts numerous types of residences like row houses and apartment buildings. Unlike other parts of Charm City, few of the structures are boarded up. There is also a relative diversity of people, in terms of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
I encourage, but don’t mandate, my students to speak to the people they encounter. Most importantly I tell them to not simply or superficially report what they see, but to tell me a story about what they observe, whom they encounter, what they hear, what they smell, etc. Most importantly, I want my students to critically reflect upon what they experience.
I use this assignment for a number of reasons. I know that in the academic field of Criminology/Criminal Justice, because the field is so heavily dominated by quantitative research, this may be the first and only time that they get the opportunity to engage in qualitative research that involves their actual participation.
Another reason I give my students the option to complete this exercise, is because after a semester of listening to me ramble or rant on about the criminal justice system, I realize that they need a break and there is no better excuse to get out of the classroom, and “to get their hands dirty,” than though first-hand experience like going out into the field.
The street ethnography assignment also provides students with an additional opportunity to hone their writing skills.
To some extent, the exercise is also a chance for my students to apply the material they learned during the semester to a real life situation. In this vein, it’s important for students to not only learn the material they are presented with in the classroom at a conceptual level, but to apply what they learn to the communities in which they live and work and vice versa.
Most importantly, I use this assignment to force my students to confront negative stereotypes they may have about Baltimore; especially the one that concerns how dangerous the city is. Many of my students come from the surrounding counties. For them, going to the University of Baltimore is the first time that they have encountered the city up close. They come to UB with a great deal of trepidation. Many of my students, like most Americans, have negative perceptions about Baltimore and its street culture based on shows like The Wire. At the very least my students learn that not all areas of Baltimore are dangerous. And that not all dangerous parts of the city are dangerous all the time.
Many of my students report that the assignment is one of the most interesting and fun things they have done all semester in my class.
Now, because of COVID-19 I can’t require my students to do this assignment any more. Predictably the university is worried about liability issues.
Sure, modified street ethnographies conducted by students during the pandemic can be done. But they involve numerous hoops and ladders that need to be negotiated, making the entire process a headache, and not fun. Doing an ethnography under masked conditions and social distancing significantly minimizes what I’m trying to accomplish.
One of the things that I’m looking forward to after the pandemic settles down, is getting my students back on the streets, so they can encounter what occurs on them, understand their unique street culture, and benefit from the knowledge that they gain through the exercise I exposed them to.
Photo credit: Elvert Barnes, Walk North Baltimore MD
Prison Tropes “R” Us: Why it’s so damn hard to reform correctional facilities in the United States and what can we do change this state of affairs
/by Jeffrey Ian RossLots of things are standing in the way of reforming correctional facilities, the controversial practices that occur inside them, and the people who work there.
This is not because we haven’t accumulated a respectable amount of peer-reviewed research that provides advice on all manner of ways to improve jails and prisons.
And it’s not simply because of powerful correctional officer unions that lobby against change, punitive beliefs held by many members of the public, the popularly held view that a stint behind bars serves as a deterrent against crime, the ossification of the bureaucracies that manage jails and prisons, or a lack of resources. Although these are important obstacles, these factors alone are not the reason why correctional institutions are so difficult to change.
The most important reason why it’s difficult to reform jails, prisons and other carceral facilities is because the general public has a poor understanding of what goes on in correctional institutions and this is largely because their opinions about this branch of the criminal justice system are based upon the knowledge and myths they have derived from popular culture portrayals.
For example, no movie or television series (or even an episode from the same) that is set in a correctional facility (nor the deluge of contemporary “shock-umentaries” like America’s Toughest Prisons, or even commercials featuring prisons) seems complete without some physical confrontation on the yard, somebody being shived, a prison rape, or intimidating looking gang members. Many times this is simple pandering to prison voyeurism. I could go on.
The reality is that life inside jails and prison is mostly boring both for the inmates and the correctional officers who work there. Opportunities for rehabilitation are sparse. And most people who are sentenced to a correctional facility come out worse than when they went in.
When proposals, policies and laws, proposed or introduced in correctional facilities, or city hall, county executives, state legislatures, or Congress, that attempt to reform the correctional facilities under their jurisdiction, the public frequently does a mental check on what they know about jails and prisons and if it is out of sync, they say hell no. This public opinion translates its way back to elected politicians who make the ultimate decisions.
That’s why, if we’re going to make a meaningful dent into changing jail and prison policies and practices, laws connected towards their operation, and maybe even abolishing prisons, we need to examine and reform the way correctional facilities are presented to the public. Scholarly research is important, but a systematic public education campaign, and through the news media investing more effort and resources towards coverage of what happens behind bars, and presenting programs and policies that work is equally pressing.