Free Speech

Speak Out to Support NYC Ghost Bikes- Aug. 10th!

Posted August 9, 2010 by molly_fair in Bikes

The NYC Department of Sanitation is threatening to consider ghost bikes as "derelict bikes" that may be subject to removal. If you support preserving these memorials for those killed on city streets, speak out now!

Public Hearing - August 10, 2010 9:30-11:30am
125 Worth Street, Third Floor Board Room (room 330)

Comment on the proposed rules here

The NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has published "Proposed Rules Governing the Removal and Disposal of Derelict Bicycles". These changes would add a new section numbered 1-05.1 of Chapter 1, Title 16 of the Rules of the City of New York.

Although the City has made verbal statements published by the press suggesting that they would not remove ghost bikes, the Proposed Rules remain unchanged and continue to state that after 30 days ghost bikes can be removed.

Continue reading to learn more about the City's statements.

Read the rest of the entry »

Justseeds/TaringPadi Anti-LNG print

Posted May 24, 2010 by roger_peet in Art & Politics

Take a look at some of these photos of the printing session we had yesterday in rainy Portland. People came over to help jump up and down on the giant block, in the traditional Taring Padi manner... This print is part of a collaboration with the Indonesian print group Taring Padi, addressing issues of natural gas exploitation on both sides of the Pacific. Next up, the Northwest Natural shareholders meeting on the 27th!

Read the rest of the entry »

Howard Zinn's speech on the necessary rebellion of the archivist

Posted February 1, 2010 by molly_fair in Inspirations

Right now I am in library school, training to be an archivist, so I'm posting this speech that Howard Zinn made about the archivist profession which has really inspired me. Lately the idea of taking a political position within the profession is something that I have been thinking about a lot. I have been doing a lot of research on archives that operate within the realm of the creative commons or partnerships between institutions and communities to preserve collective histories in the effort to encourage people to have ownership and document their ways of life. It is pretty obvious that those in power control access to information, and knowledge is increasingly commodified and privatized.

It is necessary to consider who has access to information in our society, and who controls it. Archivists are told that they must remain professionally neutral, but doing so is inherently taking a political stance. Archivists should not be complicit with institutional powers whose policy it is to restrict access to knowledge and information. Preservation of materials in archives or other institutions like libraries and museums is often privileged over access, and result in exclusionary policies.

It is necessary to examine the biases in our society that reveal why some collective histories are preserved and valued and others have not been collected. It is apparent in many circumstances that artifacts that are held sacred to communities have been taken unjustly, and are displayed and made public in ways that perpetuate imperialism and misrepresentation.

Professionals in information fields may choose to view them as purely scientific or technical, without acknowledging the prejudices and dominant power structures of our society that have shaped and are ingrained in the systems of knowledge organization. In the library field this is reflected in the organization of the Dewey Decimal System or the Library of Congress and their coinciding terminologies and how they have changed over time to be more, ahem, politically correct. Check out activist-librarian Sandford Berman if you are interested in this.

Those in the archivist profession should fight for open access to information, and to protect and make accessible materials documenting the histories of people that have traditionally been silenced and marginalized. I think Zinn's speech is just as relevant today as it is when he presented it and it was published in the 1970s. We still live in an age of information secrecy and repression, and corporate ownership. Simultaneously the Internet has made it possible for people to spread information on a massive scale whether it is classified documents or a bootlegged movie. Ignoring intellectual property rights may be viewed as an act of rebellion, even though the average person may not consciously think about the act of file sharing as a form of resistance. The degree to which archivists participate in acts of resistance is something I wish to explore further.

And now on to Zinn's speech...

SECRECY, ARCHIVES, AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST

HOWARD ZINN

Let me work my way in from the great circle of the world to us at the center by discussing, in turn, three things: the social role of the professional in modern times; the scholar in the United States today; and the archivist here and now.

I will start by quoting from a document-an insidious move to gain rapport with archivists, some might say, except that the document is a bit off the beaten track in archival work (a fact we might ponder later). It is the transcript of a trial that took place in Chicago in the fall of 1969, called affectionately "the Conspiracy Trial." I
refer to it because the transcript occasionally touches on the problem of the professional person-whether a lawyer, historian, or archivist-and the relation between professing one's craft and professing one's humanity. On October 15, 1969, the day of the national Moratorium to protest the war in Vietnam, defense attorney William Kunstler wore a black armband in court to signify his support of the Moratorium and his protest against the war. The government's lawyer, Thomas
Foran, called this to the attention of the judge, saying: "Your Honor, that's outrageous. This man is a mouthpiece. Look at him, wearing a band like his clients, your Honor."

Read the rest of the entry »

SEA Change Banner Project for Copenhagen

Posted December 3, 2009 by roger_peet in Art & Politics

Here's a couple of photographs from an epic day of screen-printing, Roger of Justseeds and Heather of Flight 64 cranking out hundreds of individual letters for Katherine Ball's (of SEA Change gallery in Portland) banner project.

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Independent Media Coverage of G20

Posted October 1, 2009 by mary_tremonte in Free Speech

Pittsburgh is breathing a little easier since the G20 Summit has come and gone, but I think we'll be feeling the repercussions for quite a while.

(all images from twin cities indymedia) Many protesters pointed to the diversion of resources from the Pittsburgh and its residents to G20 security measures---$18 million at last count, not to mention all the time and $ towards 'reddin' up' Pittsburgh to look nice for the important world leaders

The best place, in my opinion, to find grassroots reports from the protests is the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's G-Infinity Media Project,at www.indypgh.org , with a steady stream of breaking news tweets and videos throughout the weekend and beyond..

Read the rest of the entry »

Banned Books Week

Posted September 26, 2009 by molly_fair in Free Speech

Celebrate freedom of expression and access to information by reading books that have been challenged and banned for national Banned Books Week, Sept. 26-Oct. 3! For suggested reading check out these lists of top 20th century classics and frequently challenged books in the last decade.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell has been at the top of the list 3 years in a row. Apparently the true story of the two male penguins named Roy and Silo at the Central Park Zoo who were sexual partners and raised a chick together just doesn't sit well with some people. It's been challenged for depicting homosexuality, being anti-family, anti-ethnic (are penguins an ethnic group?), having a religious viewpoint (what?!), and being unsuited for it's intended age group. Check out Justseeds artist Mary Tremonte's poster Roy and Silo:Powerful which also tells the penguins' story.

Mural of Police Surveillance Cameras Erased by Bridgeport Alderman in Chicago

Posted May 19, 2009 by nicolas_lampert in In the News

Chicago has a long, sad history of buffing graffiti brown, but now it seems that political murals are getting the same treatment. Last week, Alderman James Balcer (Ward 11) ordered that a mural in Bridgeport that that he disliked be painted over in the early morning without warning.

The mural had been painted by Gabriel Villa who had worked on it for the duration of the Version Festival and was shocked to discover that the Graffiti Blasters had painted it brown this past Thursday morning. The Bridgeport Alderman did not contact the property owner, nor the artist before ordering the Blasters to erase what they even recognized and called public art. More so, the wall that the mural was painted upon was owned by the mother of Ed Marszewski, a festival organizer.

After being grilled by the press today Alderman Balcer came up with several reasons for his decision -- including that the artist did not have a permit to make the mural. Yet, permits are not needed for private buildings.

The real reason for his decision likely resided in the content of the mural which featured police surveillance cameras that are omnipresent in the neighborhood.

Ald. James Balcer was quoted saying, "You know I don't know if there was hidden gang meaning behind it with the cross, with the skull, with the deer, with the police camera's. Was there something anti-police about it? I don't know what's in his mind. That's how I viewed it."

Feel free to contact him and express your disgust with his decision:
3659 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60609
jbalcer@cityofchicago.org
(773) 254-6677

Check out the news video to hear more quotes from the artists and Alderman Balcer.

http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=58715@wbbm.dayport.com

Before:

After:

Graffiti Wars: Government-Punks Without Sneakers

Posted December 2, 2008 by molly_fair in Inspirations

A passage from Return to the Same City by my favorite detective novelist and radical historian Paco Ignacio Taibo II:

"I'm involved in ideological warfare."

"Against whom?"

"Against a gang of juveniles. A bunch of guys from my neighborhood who spraypaint."

"What do they paint?"

"Bullshit," Carlos said, lighting a new cigarette. "Sex Punks, Wild Border-" meaningless phrases like that, numbers, incomprehensible clues to mark their territory. It's like dog piss. Wherever I piss is my space and nobody can come in."

"And what do you do?"

"I paint on top of their paintings. I go out at night with my spray can and paint over theirs. It's a war."

"But what do you paint?"

"Punks are Strawberries, Long Live Enver Hoxha, or Che Guevara Lives, He's a Living Ghost, Be Careful Assholes, He Lives in the Neighborhood, or Sex Punks Were Born With a Silver Spoon in Their Mouths, or If a Dog Falls in the Water, Kick Him Until He Dies. Some come out too long, they're not effective, but I hadn't painted in a long time; my da Vinci profusion is in arrears. I've got them screwed. It's not just ideological warfare; it's generational warfare, too. Obviously it's a professional war and, in that, my painting technique dominates. Those sucklings are going to teach me how to paint walls...? My most successful one was Government-Punks Without Sneakers, and the second most successful, celebrated to the hilt by the dry cleaner guy downstairs, had to do with a discount chain of stores. It was: Paint Me a Blue Egg and Woolworth Will Buy It, but the Woolworth logo didn't come out that well."

Héctor raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, it's not insanity, it's just to keep me in shape until I find a new little place in the class war. Besides, sometimes I agree with the punks and we restore universal harmony. The other day I was painting one that said If the PRI wants to govern, why don't they start by winning the elections, and the gang came along and instead of destroying it, they wrote Yes, that's true below it, six feet tall."

"And where is that painting?"

"Two blocks away. Want to go look at it?"

Héctor agreed. The morning was improving.

G.R.L artist and 5 American protesters arrested in China

Posted August 20, 2008 by molly_fair in In the News

Unless you've been living under a rock- you know about all the detentions, disappearances, and shootings of people in China who have been outspoken about the ongoing struggle for a free Tibet.

Needless to say, I was shocked to hear the news that a friend of ours from Brooklyn was just arrested with 4 others for holding up a banner near the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, on Aug. 19 around 11 p.m. spelling out the message Free Tibet in Chinese and English using blue L.E.D. lights. Fortunately this was followed by info that they are safely on their way home.

This banner was co-created with the help of Graffiti Research Lab member James Powderly who was also arrested and is currently being detained due to his plan to use his invention, "The Green Chinese Lantern,” a 400 milliwatt handheld green laser with micro-stencils to beam a Free Tibet message on a Beijing landmark, possibly Tiananmen Square.

Prior to this planned action, Powderly's invitation to participate in Synthetic Times, a new media art exhibition at Beijing’s National Media Art Museum of China, was revoked, after he expressed indignation that the work must be approved by the Chinese government.

According to G.R.L's press release:

James is proud to have been kicked out of the Synthetic Times new media art exhibition in Beijing because he wouldn’t censor his little art project. James wonders why organizations like the MoMA, Parsons, Eyebeam, Ars Electronica and many other arts and cultural institutions around the world who claim to support free speech and expression would participate in a show like this. But they did! It was after being kicked to the curb by the show’s curator that James connected with Students for a Free Tibet and decided he would go to China anyway and do what he though was right in support of Tibet, Taiwan, free speech and the people of China. James lives, if indeed he is alive, in the County of Kings, Brooklyn, and teaches at the Communication Design and Technology program at Parsons the New School for Design.

The NY Times reported that,

Two video bloggers, Brian Comley, 28, and Jeffrey Rae, 28, were with James when he was detained. On Tuesday night, he sent a text message to a friend saying he had been held since 3 a.m. on Monday. His current whereabouts are unknown.

I hope James is safe and released soon. I also hope that attention continues to be drawn to the violence and repression sanctioned by the Chinese government. The price of protest for Chinese citizens is atrocious. Most recently those who applied to the Chinese government's designated Olympic protest zones were rejected, disappeared and detained, and sentenced to "re-education through labor."

Art Show Shut Down by School, Then Town

Posted March 12, 2008 by dara_g in Free Speech

The story is outlined well here with links to more about it. Basically the administration at my school, RPI, got pressure from the College Republican Club to shut down a controversial art show. Then the art show moved to an independent space http://www.mediasanctuary.org/ off campus. It got protested by a group of city employees for being "un-American" and then the entire media space got shut down for "code violations." We are working on getting the space re-opened and exposing the un-democractic nature of all of the actions. I will send out a more info soon.

It's never too early to start making plans...

Posted April 11, 2007 by in Art & Politics

The 2008 RNC Welcoming Committee has put out a call inviting anarchists, anti-authoritarians, radical artists, and activists from all over the country to converge on the Twin Cites this fall- August 31st through September 3rd. This Pre-RNC convergence will give activists a chance to get to know the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and give them the opportunity to begin some serious planning to confront the RNC in 2008.

Questions to be asked and answered include:

What do you want to see happen in 2008?

How do you think we can get there?

What resources do you have to contribute?

What will you need?

The Pre-RNC weekend will kick off with Critical Mass on Friday August 31st, and continues for the next three days with tours, workshops, skillshares, games, strategizing sessions and L(A)bor Day activities. There'll be a lot to do- everything from brunch to street medic training to capture the flag- the activities are intend to be as diverse and accessible as possible.

The organizing committee has also made a specific call for volunteers: they are looking for people to run skillshares and workshops of all sorts- if you have skills, knowledge or experience that you want to impart, you are encouraged to let them know.

RNC Welcoming Committee Website: http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/

To receive updates from the Welcoming Committee email: rnc08-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

Or you can become a myspace friend: http://www.myspace.com/rnc2008welcomingcommittee

Questions? Email us: pReNC@riseup.net

Propaganda III World Tour

Posted January 4, 2007 by in Art & Politics

Start Soma a gallery based in San Francisco is calling for work for the first global, peer-to-peer, open source art show- PROPAGANDA III. They are inviting artists from around the world to create political artwork for the third installment of the PROPAGANDA art show that began in 2003.

This year Start Soma launches PROPAGANDA III, a political poster art show that will tour the world through 2008 with dozens of one day art shows worldwide - the current schedule includes stops throughout North America, South America, Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. There will be no censorship of any sort. Expressed political viewpoints, be they left, right, or center, will be displayed side-by-side, both online AND in the traveling show.

Submission Guidelines:

• 18 x 24 inch posters (45.72 cm x 60.96 cm)

• All posters must have overt political content. The nature of this content is up to the individual artist.

• Submitted posters must be produced in multiples - this includes stencils + digital prints, as well as offset, silkscreen, linocut, woodcut, and photocopies.

• Include artist name, country, and URL in the bottom right-hand corner of every poster.

• Submit three copies of each poster - one for the traveling exhibition, one for permanent archiving, and one spare in case the traveling poster is lost or damaged. Unfortunately, none of the posters can be returned.

• The final collection will be donated to the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles which houses the largest collection of Post World War II political graphics in the United States.

Send your posters to the START SOMA GALLERY by March 15, 2007:

START SOMA

672 South Van Ness Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94110

Send digital versions of artwork to info@startsoma.com with the subject header PROPAGANDA III SUBMISSION - they will be creating an online gallery of all the work included in the traveling exhibition.

Start Soma will also continue to add galleries and venues worldwide to the traveling schedule. If you run a space and are interested in hosting the show contact Start Soma for details.

If you have any questions, please contact John Doffing via john@startsoma.com.

NYC Indymedia journalist Brad Will shot dead in Oaxaca, Mexico

Posted October 28, 2006 by in Art & Politics

We received word last night that New York City activist and journalist Brad Will was shot and killed yesterday by paramilitary forces while filming from a barricade during a protest in Oaxaca, Mexico. Brad was a well-known and respected figure in the NYC activist community and the US global justice movement , a friend to many, a brave, funny, and tireless fighter who travelled and reported extensively from struggles throughout the Americas.

At least two other people were also killed on the streets of Oaxaca yesterday. Indymedia reports that Brad was filming from the Santa Lucia Barricade when plainclothes paramilitaries opened fire on protesters from a distance of 30-40 meters. Brad was shot in the chest and died on the way to the hospital.

Indymedia reports:

Brad had been in Oaxaca taking video and reporting on the state wide popular uprising and teacher strike that began in June with the violent attempted removal of the striking teachers from their encampment in the center of Oaxaca City by federal police forces. 3 others were also killed alongside him (making 4 dead in total); 1 member of Radio Universidad was also injured: he was taken to the hospital in a volkswagen van as police would not let any ambulances come.

Since the beginning of the strike in June, teachers and other groups have formed the APPO - the Popular Assembly of the Oaxacan People - and have called for the removal of the governor of state Ulises Ruiz of the PRI. There is a long history of Mexico using government sponsored paramilitaries to repress social movements, including a massacre of hundreds of students in Mexico City in 1968. As reports of protesters surrounded by armed government forces and police continue to pour in, activists in cities around the world are planning protests at Mexican embassies in outcry against the violent aggression against the people of Oaxaca.

Zapatista subcomandante Marcos, speaking on behalf of the Other Campaign, released a statement last night calling for justice:

“We know that they killed at least one person. This person that they killed was from the alternative media that are here with us. He didn’t work for the big television news companies and didn’t receive pay. He is like the people who came here with us on the bus, who are carrying the voices of the people from below so that they would be known. Because we already know that the television news companies and newspapers only concern themselves with governmental affairs. And this person was a compañero of the Other Campaign. He also traveled various parts of the country with us, and he was with us when we were in Yucatán, taking photos and video of what was happening there. And they shot him and he died. It appears that there is another person dead. The government doesn’t want to take responsibility for what happened. Now they tell us that all of the people of Oaxaca are mobilizing. They aren’t afraid. They are mobilizing to take to the streets and protest this injustice. We are issuing a call to all of the Other Campaign at the national level and to compañeros and compañeras in other countries to unite and to demand justice for this dead compañero. We are making this call especially to all of the alternative media, and free media here in Mexico and in all the world.”

There is ongoing coverage as more information emerges from NYC Indymedia, global Indymedia. For Independent Media from Oaxaca check out Indymedia, and in Mexico Centro de Medias Libres. For background information in the situation in Oaxaca, see Upside Down World and browse through the archives at NarcoNews.com

Brad's friends in New York are calling for emergency actions this weekend to demand that the US State Department press the Mexican government investigate Brad's murder and expressing solidarity for the social movement that Brad gave his life to document. In New York, a protest has been called for today, Saturday, October 28, at 3 p.m., outside the Mexican consulate general in New York at 27 East 39th Street.

Please come out if you can, and if you're in other cities please check your local Indymedia for information on local actions, or organize your own. The situation in Oaxaca is extremely urgent and while this awful tragedy hits very close to home for us, it is only one part of the ongoing repression against a vibrant and powerful grassroots movement for justice in Mexico.

UPDATE: We're also getting word of more events at the consulate --- here's the full list of events:

Saturday, October 28, 3pm: Demonstration

Saturday, October 28, 7pm: Vigil

Monday, October 30, 9am: Demonstration

All events at the Mexican consulate general in New York at 27 East 39th Street, at Madison Avenue.

Update November 9th 2006

MEMORIAL AND CONVERGENCE IN HONOR OF BRAD WILL

November 11th-12th, 2006

Go to

Friends Of Brad Will for more information about the service and Encuentro that are to happen at St. Marks Church

Mexico's Walls Exclaim: "The revolution of the 21st Century will arise in Oaxaca"

Posted August 29, 2006 by in Posters & Prints

For decades, teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico, have conducted strikes to demand educational reform from the federal and state government. Some of the teacher's demands include living wages, sanitary schools, text books, and more public school facilities. Historically, these strikes have lasted short periods of time and caused minimal or no disruption to the state's economy. The government, except for minor concessions, has been able to ignore the teacher's strikes and their demands

An independent journalist, referred to by the Mexico Solidarity Network as an "unidentified Chicano," reports:

May 15, 2006: It's National Teachers Day in Oaxaca. And the leadership of Oaxaca's 70,000 teachers representing Section 22 of the National Teachers Union declared that if there was no further movement in their negotiations with the government, then the following week "would see a state-wide strike by Oaxaca's school teachers" and that "This one will be different than all the previous strikes"...

May 22-24, 2006: 70,000 Oaxaqueño school teachers go on strike. And the first indications that this was to be a "different" kind of strike were immediately apparent in and around the city's historic centre. There, for the first time, the teachers, in the thousands, erected a tent and awning city, occupied day and night in the Zocalo and in the streets surrounding the Zocalo. It's a peaceful occupation of the city's center, but it is also immediately apparent that more teachers are coming into the occupied area on a daily basis. And these teachers are not just from the City of Oaxaca. They're swarming in from the outlying villages and towns in the Valley... (Mexico Solidarity Network Weekly News and Analysis, August 21-27, 2006)

The teacher's strike, their encampments, their independent media infrastructure, and their continuous mass mobilizations (marches reaching up to 300,000 people) have been perceived as a serious threat to Mexico's dominant political and economic order. In the early morning of June 14, 2006, the state attempted to crush the teacher's movement by launching an army of several thousand uniformed and plain clothed state and municipal police in an all out attack against the teachers. Police violently destroyed the encampments and scattered the teachers throughout the city.

Within two days, the teachers released the names and photos of 12 teachers and 3 students who were killed and/or disappeared during the attack. The government denies the charges. To date, it is confirmed that five union members have been shot and killed by police.

Since the June 14th attack, teachers and their sympathizers have taken the city center back. They have rebuilt their encampments, their radio stations, their newsletter circulation, and their barricades. The mass mobilizations continue and, following a police attack on independent radio stations, they have been complimented by another effective tactic, the occupation of main stream media centers. From here, the teachers have promoted their most recent and immediate demand, the resignation of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

Government repression also persists. Police continue to attack and kill members of the APPO, a recently formed network of organizations sympathetic to the teachers strike and dedicated to removing Governor Ortiz from power. On August 22, 2006, police attacked APPO members who were guarding commercial station La Ley 710, killing Lorenzo San Pablo Cervantes, head of the education sector of the state Department of Public Works and an APPO sympathizer.

For more information check out these websites:

narconews.com (English)

Mexico Solidarity Network News and Analysis (English)

Indymedia, Mexico (Español)

Indymedia Mexico, Desalojo Oaxaca (Español)

Centro de Medios Libres, DF (Español)

Indymedia, Chiapas (Español)

To learn more about the historical context of Mexico's teachers movement, come to a special movie screening of Granito de Arena. August 31st, 8pm. Times Up!, 49 East Houston (bet. Mott and Mulberry)

Granito de Arena: Award-winning Seattle filmmaker, Jill Freidberg (This is What Democracy Looks Like, 2000), spent two years in southern Mexico documenting the efforts of over 100,000 teachers, parents, and students fighting to defend the country's public education system from the devastating impacts of economic globalization. Freidberg combines footage of strikes and direct actions with 25 years worth of never-before-seen archival images to deliver a compelling and unsettling story of resistance, repression, commitment, and solidarity.

The pictures in this post were taken by Sasha Hammad. Thank you to her.

Refuse and Resist!

Posted May 19, 2006 by in Art & Politics

I found this in my inbox from the Clamor blog recap under the heading "New Counter-Recruitment Tool Featuring The Coup" first posted on May 11th. There is a link to a website about an upcoming film titled "Sir No Sir" that should be of interest to anyone doing anti-war and counter recruitment work. On the website you can view the trailer for the film and also see the short piece "Punk Ass Crusade" by the Ruckus Society featuring The Coup. Check it out!

Chalking is Not a Crime

Posted April 3, 2006 by in Art & Politics

The Gothamist recently posted a story about a festive day of street chalking, which was ruined by a pair of self-righteous snitches and some bored police officers. An eyewitness and participant in the day of chalking describes his experience.

We took a grand old stroll near the cube in Astor Place. On the sidewalk around the cube, we saw a ginormous yin yang drawn in chalk on the sidewalk, and two girls drawing stuff around it. We grabbed some chalk and joined in... Others joined in and left whatever messages they pleased. Eventually, one of the girls started to draw on the cube itself. Verily, this was the trickle that started the flood, as everyone else followed afterwards. Including us. People climbed ontop of the cube to defa-- draw on it. It was a grand old time.

Judging from these pictures, the chalking engaged the interest and participation of many a passer-by. Fun for the whole family. Sadly, a pair of cranky graffiti haters were so disturbed by the chalking that they decided to call the police. The authorities arrived and arrested several chalkers, as well as a group of girls who had protested the arrests by chanting "let them go!" These two girls eventually spent 26 hours in police custody, were tried and eventually their charges were dismissed.

Seth, one of the individuals arrested, posted these comments on the Gothamist, reflecting on his experience in detention.

i spent 26 hours in jail for this shit, was rather ridiculous. it wasnt free speech or defacement, it was us having a little bit of fun that didnt hurt anyone. everything was temporary, but the cops treated us like shit. noone was caught with drugs, though they mistook a bag of maple sugar candy my friend had for crack before they tested it. it was outrageous to waste my weekend like this, and thats not mentioning how many different ways the cops broke the law in processing us. they held us for 12 hours in the precint, denied food, water, or bathroom usage. one of the guys in the cell with me was a diabetic (arrested on a different charge) but his request for medical attention or a sugar level check after he realized he couldnt feel his fingers was delayed for 2 hours while the cops told him to wait. meanwhile, it was 6 hours after we had been taken in before the precint bothered to notify our parents. i resent how some people have made us out to be the villan of this piece, but our having fun was not a justification for how the cops had theirs at our expense.

One of the kids who was arrested, calling himself "the marshmallow kid," summarized his experience before the judge.

after spending 26 hours in police custody (2 of them were released after 20 hours) we were released by the judge who basically said: "this is a bullshit charge. chalk is not considered grafitti and therefore the charges pressed against you are unjustified and you should not have been arrested to begin with. stay out of trouble for 6 months and it wont be on your records. get out of my face.

The marshmallow kid's statement is true. Chalking on the sidewalk is technically not a crime because there is no mention of it in any of New York City's graffiti laws. However, many police, who either don't know this or pretend to not know this fact, will arrest and detain you anyway.

For more info on local chalk artists, check out this post about the Ellis G's chalk shadows.

First photo by cooler1011, second photo by minusbaby.

Support the SHAC7

Posted March 28, 2006 by in Free Speech

goreb wrote us a few days ago and sent us a picture of this beautiful wheatpaste that he had made in support of one of the SHAC7, Kevin Kjonaas. He, along with 5 others, have been found guilty of multiple federal felonies for advocating for the closure of the Huntingdon Life Scienes animal-testing lab. The charges brought against them are the first to be tried using the Animal Enterprise Protection Act of 1992 (formely known as the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act) and the consequences for activist communities and free speech rights are serious.

The following comes from Shac 7 webpage explaining the indictment:

Originally, seven individuals were charged, along with the organization Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA. The individuals were Kevin Kjonaas, Lauren Gazzola, Jacob Conroy, Joshua Harper, Andrew Stepanian, Darius Fullmer, and John McGee. McGee was eventually dropped from the case.

All of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, a never-before-applied 1992 statute. Kjonaas, Gazzola, Conroy, and Harper were also charged with conspiracy to harass using a telecommunications device (sending black faxes). Kjonaas, Gazzola, Conroy, and SHAC USA were charged with conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and three counts of interstate stalking via the Internet.

While the charges themselves sound alarming, the defendants are not actually accused of having personally engaged in terrorist or threatening acts. Instead, the government’s case centers around the idea that aboveground organizers of a campaign are responsible for any and all acts that anyone engages in while furthering the goals of the organizers. In this case, the claim is that the SHAC7 should be imprisoned because underground activists took illegal actions against companies with ties to H.L.S.

If it weren’t so serious, this distortion of the law would be laughable, and yet somehow the defendants were convicted and are now facing years in federal prison based on the claim that being part of an activist campaign is tantamount to being a member of a global conspiracy.

Here is the rest of the background.

This story has not received much press and your support is needed to help spread the word and to raise funds so that a succesful appeal can be mounted. For more info about the case and for ways to offer support go here.

To donate money for the appeal click here.

Counter-Recruitment Comics

Posted March 1, 2006 by in Free Speech

We recieved news about this amazing project from comic artist Sabrina Jones, contributer to World War 3 Illustrated and Wobblies! :

"Mixed Signals" - a counter-recruitment tool in comic book form - is now available for use in activism, outreach, counseling, education, starting conversations and saving lives.

For sample copies email me your address and how you'll use them.

Or send me a snail mail to:

Sabrina Jones

811 Cortelyou Rd #6O,

Brooklyn NY 11218

Suggested donation is $2 per copy. If you are a no-budget group - we can send you some free copies, otherwise, please contribute what you can to keep this thing rolling. Currently the comic is 16 pages, black and white. We're hoping to raise funds to print it with color covers (any leads?) but for now, let's get the message out! If you have access to a good quality copier, you can order one copy, remove the staples, and make your own multiples.

Mixed Signals contains specific information on the enlistment contract, benefits and obligations. It proposes alternative sources of college money and job training, and non-violent forms of community service. Stories about fictional characters alternate with illustrated fact-sheets about military life and non-military opportunities. I questions today's militaristic climate by raising the issue of conscientious objection, through a fictional character, then two recent cases and a brief history. The comic offers useful, concrete, legal facts, as well as prompting deeper reflection on the role of militarism in our lives and society. Mixed Signals takes vital information from flyers and web sites, and puts it in an appealing, easy-to-pass-along format, to catch the eyes of our most vulerable young citizens.

Overpass graffiti arrest in Toledo

Posted January 3, 2006 by in Free Speech

Speaking of things I wish New York City councilmembers would do:

Mike Ferner, a former Toledo councilman and one-time mayoral candidate, was arrested yesterday with his brother for spray-painting anti-war slogans on overpasses along I-475/U.S. 23 in Maumee and Sylvania Township. . . .

The Ferners face at least two counts each of vandalism and one count each of possession of criminal tools --- the can of fluorescent orange spray paint recovered in their pickup when it was pulled over by Sylvania Township police, troopers said. Both were being held last night in the Lucas County jail in lieu of $3,000 bond apiece pending arraignment in Maumee Municipal Court.

Mike Ferner has been an active critic of U.S. military action in Iraq and, in 2003, took part in a "peace tour" of that Mideast country. He has several previous convictions for civil disobedience related to war protests or other causes he has taken on.

Story here. Ferner is a member of Veterans for Peace and has written extensively for CounterPunch, antiwar.com, and other publications. He traveled to Iraq in Febryuary 2003 with the pacifist group Voices in the Wilderness.

Bloomberg to sign new anti-graffiti laws

Posted December 29, 2005 by in Free Speech

The New York City Council has passed three new anti-graffiti bills which Bloomberg is no doubt itching to sign into law. Intro. No. 663-A amends existing law to mandate community service in a graffiti cleanup program as the minimum penalty for getting caught. Another bill announces a new "possesion ban," making it illegal for anyone under 21 to carry spray paint, inks, or other graffiti supplies on public property.

Those first two mostly extend current laws, but the third moves the city's law in a new and disturbing direction. Intro No. 299-A requires owners of commercial and residential buildings to remove graffiti from their property within 60 days of its appearance, or face fines. We've seen this kind of thing elsewhere in the country, but to my knowledge this is the first mandated-buff law in NYC. Just reading the text of the bill, you can tell that at least some councilmembers had serious objections on free speech and property rights grounds:

[I]t is important that graffiti in public view be cleaned as quickly as possible, while respecting property rights and First Amendment free speech rights.The goal of this legislation is to. . . addresses the need to rid our communities of graffiti as well as protect our important freedoms.

Right. It'll be interesting to see how this new law is enforced. These kinds of regulations are regularly included in zoning rules in small cities or suburban towns --- New York's size and the prevalence of absentee landlords who barely provide heat for their tenants should probably make implementation much more difficult.

Photo at top: "Epitaph" by Lee Quinones, from Martha Cooper & Henry Chalfant's book Subway Art.

Arresting Graffiti

Posted December 23, 2005 by in Free Speech

In what was an extensive and coordinated effort yesterday morning, at least 30 Dallas police officers attempted to round up 10 persons with arrest warrants. In the operation, six graffiti artists were arrested for alleged property damage totaling about $100,000. Two face felonies punishable by up to 2 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. The other 4, including a 16 year old, face Class B misdemeanor charges that carry a possible 6 month jail term with $2,000 in fines.

Police Chief David Kunkle has apparently been motivated by a website that he claims features two of the apprehended suspects. Kunkle argues that anyone who would post their work on such a site, (presumably because the site pokes a bit of fun at the police) must have "a lack of respect for the community," and they are in fact making "an arrogant in-your-face kind of statement." Kunkle has taken it personally. He has asked the district attorney not to accept plea bargains in any of the pending cases. Sites that feature graffiti, and you know who you are, beware of the message that you may be promoting--according to Kunkle it cannot be celebatory or positive.

These arrests come on the heels of Borf's, or as he has now become known, John Tsombikos, arrest and consequent trial. He, in fact, did put in a plea of guilty to one count of felony destruction of property, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of as much as $5,000. Though he answered routine questions at his trail he never had to directly mention any of the actions that put him in court. He is expected to do so however at his sentencing hearing on Feb. 9, 2005.

As part of his plea Tsombikos has agreed to clean graffiti for 80 of the 200 community service hours that he has, on top of $12,000 in fines. Jail time, if any, will not be known until the Feb. 9th hearing. According to another part of his plea, Tsombikos is not allowed to carry any art supplies on his person while attending art classes at Corcoran College of Art and Design.

In both of these cases, I cannot help but notice a serious sort of personal satisfaction in bringing these kids to "justice." Dennis Butler, the D.C. public official in charge of cleaning up graffiti stated that he would give Tsombikos the remaining "Borf"graffiti to clean up, claiming that it was "unwanted art," going on to say that, "let him see the headaches we went through to keep the city clean with his miscellaneous antics." Though Butler admitted that Borf "was very good at what he did," he would never consider that it might have been warmly received by the community. I suspect that many more individuals hold the same feelings as these responders who wrote back to an ARTery post about Borf, but such views are not easily heard through the one-sided reporting about graffiti.

"Reforming" graffiti writers has become part of the fight against graffiti. The logic says, get someone who has been through the system to tell kids that its not worth it, and because they have credentials kids will listen and not fall into a "life of crime." I feel very strongly about community-based arts programs, especially ones that go out and transform neigborhood walls into vibrant and colorful expressions that reflect the feelings and hopes of that community. But, it just seems to me that too many people fail to admit that there is something positive about graffiti, without immediately bracketing it with a "but."

Case in point, this article writes about it "as a therapeutic form of expression," but then they can't help but add that it is "often a springboard for youngsters into a life of crime." This particular piece had several compelling comments that at least broadened the discussion on graffiti. Alex Avila, a Cultural Director for the Arts Council for San Benardino, stated that "it can also be a child's plea for help or a way of processing the struggles of life." She went on to suggest that community based programs "build confidence in the kids," and "allow them to take ownership of something and bring awareness to the community." Though some of her comments entangle themselves in the dangerous logic of "redeeming wayward youth," she at least points out that a lot of what is at stake is explicitly about ownership.

The "Myth of 3rd World Debt" mural images come to us via the Woostercollective site and I think they illustrate perfectly the problems that a community-based art collective, or any public muralist, has to contend with when their work is presented on a wall that is privately owned. The mural, no matter how open or unrestricting it may seem, must always pass through a filter, and if the message is not on point then it will be censored. In this case a poem by Nyarai Humba was painted over the day after it was put up. You can read it in full here.

On a final note, the WoosterCollective site has begun to map out where graffiti arrests have occured in NYC area. This is an excellent project and it may make more transparent which communities have been targeted by the Vandal Squads.

(also thanks to Wooster for the first image)

Graffiti in the Classroom

Posted December 3, 2005 by in Events

If you are a teenage student, frustrated with authority and looking for a creative outlet, or a teacher looking to challenge the institutions of art education, or a graffiti head looking to be a mentor to young folks, here's something that might interest you:

My mom, a high school art teacher at Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ recently showed me some of the work her students have produced. She encourages them to add personal elements to each art exercise they do. Clearly graffiti is an important element in these students' identities. One student drew a self-portrait incorporating graffiti style letters. Another drew a still life of wrenches with his name thrown up in the background. Another student drew a still life of his id tags (which each student is required to wear in the hallways) juxtoposed with his name written in bubble letters on a brick wall.

The recogniton of graffiti as an art form can lend itself to be a powerful lesson in the classroom.

Right now in New York City, graf legends Tracy 168, CoCo 144, Rate, Case 2, and JA are working with high school students at the Urban Academy to cover the walls of the school with tags, throw ups, and whatever else they can dream up. The school has been covered in chalkboard paint so that students and graf writers can piece up everywhere.

The project is open to the public, but you can only see it for the next 2 Saturdays at the Urban Academy in Julia Richman High School, 317 East 67th Street, from noon to 4 p.m.

This is indeed a radical approach to art education, and one that teachers should take notice of. Teaching non-traditional methods of art to students encourages them to think critically about existing institutions of authority in a positive way.

In a recent New York Times article, teachers and administrators commented on the importance of creating a supportive venue for students to express themselves through graffiti:

"You can't act like it doesn't happen," said Roy Reid, an Urban Academy teacher who has created a class that centers on street art. "You have to try to direct it and channel it instead of just saying, 'Don't do it.' "

Even the principal Herb Mack expressed support for the project noting that it stands in opposition to Mayor Bloomberg's criminalization of graffiti:

"I'm not sure how it's going to be seen by Klein or Bloomberg," he added, referring to Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and the mayor. (A spokeswoman for Chancellor Klein and the Department of Education said the department supported the project, but added, "We would expect the school to make clear both the importance of appreciating art and respecting property.")

Mr. Mack, one of the founders of Urban Academy, said he had watched it develop into an unlikely collaboration. "It's enriching for the kids to be able to see legitimate artists at work and to critique it," he said. "They see some of these guys as the da Vincis and van Goghs of their world. They know who they are, and they're excited that they're here. In fact, they can't believe they're here."

Free speech online

Posted November 21, 2005 by in Free Speech

I don't usually write about this type of thing on this site, but a good portion of my non-art attention is devoted to civil liberties, online privacy, open-source technology, etc. Whether your a geek or a privacy nut or none of the above, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is a group you should know and support:

From the Internet to the iPod, technologies of freedom are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. These technologies are increasingly under attack, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the first line of defense, protecting our civil liberties in the networked world. EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990—well before the Internet was on most people's radar—and continues to confront cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championed the public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.

The EFF has fought the good fight on behalf of Indymedia, file sharers, and whistle-blowers, and against restrictive copyright laws, censorship, and the Patriot Act.

The EFF is currently campaigning to protect the online speech rights for online writers. They also have an invaluable guide on how bloggers can protect their anonymity online. With the police ramping up arrests and surveillance of graffiti artists, staying anonymous and free is about more than just having a good look-out.

Cops & Criminals

Posted November 4, 2005 by in Free Speech

Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman is taking a hard tack against quality of life crimes, suggesting that corporal punishment be instituted for graffiti artists:

``You know, we have a beautiful highway landscaping redevelopment in our downtown. We have desert tortoises and beautiful paintings of flora and fauna. These punks come along and deface it.

``I'm saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb,'' the mayor added. ``That may be the right thing to do.''

And when Oscar Goodman talks about cutting off thumbs, he probably knows what he's talking about:

During his career as a defense attorney he represented defendants accused of being some of the leading organized crime figures in Las Vegas, such as Meyer Lansky and former Stardust Casino boss Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal. One of his most notorious clients was reputed Chicago mobster Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, who was known to have a very short and violent temper. Spilotro was portrayed by actor Joe Pesci in the semi-factual 1995 movie Casino, in which Goodman had a cameo appearance as himself. Goodman also represented former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock, who was convicted of accepting illegal campaign contributions and eventually forced to resign.

And here you have a perfect little metaphor for the state of law enforcement in America today. A guy who has no problem defending remorseless killers wants blood for victimless crimes. Is it any different here?

Picture at top: Goodman w/ "Tony the Ant" Spilotro. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Corporate Advertisers Keep Giving Us Shit

Posted October 18, 2005 by in Free Speech

For the last few weeks, an advertising company placed a locked porta-potty on the corner of Washington Square East and Washington Pl. This porta-potty was an advertisement for some new home improvement "reality show". As though the bulky porta-potty advertisement, which blocked pedestrian traffic, was not annoying enough, the company also hired a private security guard to video tape the advertisement and arrest anyone who tried to vandalize it. The security guard, who claimed to be trained by the NYPD, was stood across the street in civilian clothes next to his tripod and video camera, guarding ad.

NYU inc. an independent student media project at NYU, posted this little anecdote about the advertisement on their blog.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 4th... Kristin (from our very own nyuinc.org) and Andy Cornell were discussing the inane advertisement. Andy then said something to the effect of “let’s write something on it!” and asked Kristin for a marker. As seen in this image Andy then wrote “NO MORE STUPID ADS ON CAMPUS.”

Well, we do go to NYU and we do live in New York City, hence no such innocent act of disgust with corporate insanity could go by unpunished. Andy was quickly yelled at by a young man with a camera and asked if he “knew that that was vandalism?” Both Andy and Kristin ignored the young man, assuming him to be an aggravated NYU student simply trying to cause trouble. However, the man did not cease in bothering Andy. In fact, he told Andy that he was under arrest for an illegal act of vandalism upon the fake, useless, port-a-potty.

Andy then walked down the block towards me, with the “officer” in toe. The deputy officer, as he was later known, then revealed to us that he was a volunteer policeman trained by the NYPD who had the authority to hold Andy for arrest. And he did just that - the officer, whose name is still unknown, brought Andy to the NYU Public Safety office, called the police, and held him there until the uniformed NYPD officers arrived.

Once the officers reached “the scene of the crime,” they told Andy that he could be arrested, but allowed him to clean up the graffiti instead. However, once he was finished cleaning the inane ad, he was issued a summons.

Murals & Graffiti in Los Angeles

Posted October 13, 2005 by in Free Speech

Just found an article from the LA Times that gives an example of how cities are criminalizing graffiti --- not as vandalism, but as a style. Even commissioned murals will be removed if they "look like" graff:

Los Angeles is often called the mural capital of the world — and no place is this truer than on the streets of Boyle Heights, where hundreds of walls at pharmacies, general stores, guitar shops and even churches have been transformed into urban artwork. The murals depict Mexican American history, advertise businesses and take the form of abstract art at the hands of graffiti taggers....

Using a little-known ordinance that allows the city to regulate murals that abut public property — including sidewalks — officials have notified some property owners that they must either modify or remove their murals....

Under the city program, the Cultural Affairs Department will find artists to create new murals and set up a system to maintain the artwork. Joseph Montalvo, a graffiti muralist participating in the program, says he supports the idea of engaging young taggers. But he worries that the city will put limits on what artists can and cannot do.

"For the last 15 years, the relationship between the store owner and the writer [muralist] has been there and there hasn't been a need for government participation," said Montalvo, 35, also known as Nuke. "What I'm afraid is they may want to suppress or oppress any content that in their eyes they think is inappropriate."

Yeah, that seems like the whole point of the city's program, doesn't it? We've seen similar things happen elsewhere, notably Vancouver. Lots of small cities have ordinances requiring property owners to remove graffiti from their buildings or face fines. Smaller cities and towns require permits for any kind of decoration at all. Combine these property-value-minded campaigns to whitewash the city with the fearmongering panic-tantrums of Vallone Jr. and his dumb ilk and you've got a country where public space is severely policed.

Read the whole article here. Image at top: Detail from "Undiscovered America" by Joseph "NUKE" Montalvo, taken from you-are-here.com.

Vallone Jr.'s "vendetta"

Posted October 12, 2005 by in Free Speech

Legacy Queens councilman and Giuliani-wannabe Peter Vallone Jr. is once again dragging his favorite scapegoat around the city's newsrooms:

The scourge who has been defacing buildings, vehicles and trees across the borough was busted this week after becoming the No. 1 target in Councilman Peter Vallone and the 114th Precinct's anti-graffiti crusade.

"I want this punk, and I want him bad," Vallone (D-Astoria) proclaimed, following the Tuesday morning arrest of Oliver Siandre, 27, better known by his tag, "Kiko."

"Catching this guy has been a personal vendetta of mine for a few months now," Vallone added.

Vallone Jr. --- who inherited his council seat from his father --- was one of the main hot-air opponents of Marc Ecko's street party and made a big stink about Cope2's Time Magazine billboard. He constantly bleats to whatever reporters will listen about the menace of graffiti-writing hoodlums run amok. Now he's playing the white-collar Dirty Harry at press conferences, claiming Kiko caused $100,000 in damage. The showboating demagogy of Vallone Jr.'s personal role in the pursuit of KIKO and the studied stupidity of the Daily News' tabloid style are both symptoms of a public culture that's beyond rotten. Doesn't anyone get sick of this cheap, cynical grandstanding?

Photo from vidiot's flickr photostream.

Ojeda lives on!

Posted September 27, 2005 by in Free Speech

September 23rd marked the 137th anniversary of the insurgency of Lares in Puerto Rico, the attempt to gain independence from Spain in 1868. While the pro-independence movement celebrated, FBI assassins surrounded the home of nationalist leader Filiberto Ojeda, and proceeded to brutally attack him and his wife. Ojeda went into hiding 15 years ago after being charged for the 7.2 million dollar robbery of a Wells Fargo truck in Connecticut in 1985. This money was used to finance the independence movement of Puerto Rico, and for charity in poor Latin communities in the U.S. The murder and circumstances surrounding his death were initially concealed by the FBI. At the time of the ambush, Puerto Rican government agencies were forbidden from entering the area and news media and press were denied access. While the events that transpired were not recorded, protesters and mourners are taking to the streets armed with their own visual media.