I think a lot of “street art” is really interesting and adds a lot to a local area. But i’m talking about commissioned work, or work seen on ‘legal walls’. I think a lot of the blank spaces we see everywhere, such as plain white walls or plain electricity boxes, should be given some life. Local artists should be legally commissioned to cover these, so they are less of a blank canvas, and also add some interest to the community. I’ve often seen in places like Brighton and Berlin, that electricity boxes and things like that are often painted over by artists (and I’m not sure if it’s legal or illegal), such as box painted like a tram in Berlin, and a box in Brighton painted to look like a Game Boy. That is what I would call proper art, rather than the pathetic gang tags we see everywhere - the human equivalent of a dog marking its territory over a lamppost.
Allowing graffiti vandals to target railway infrastructure including trains is not something I agree with at all. There are some who seem to think it’s just harmless, and anyone who disagrees with it is backwards thinking or not ‘getting with the times’ and such rubbish. Not only do vandals put their own lives at risk, especially when they don’t understand how the third rail works, but other people’s lives at risk too.
There is the safety aspect when it covers safety critical things. Some graffiti artists are (relatively) sensible and don’t target safety critical things (I.e windscreens), but some don’t care, and others may accidentally do so.
Another important point is the impression it gives to passengers. Railways should be promoted as a clean and safe way to travel. We should not forget that many public transport users are vulnerable and welcome a safe and clean environment to travel in. Some may not agree with this, but graffiti on trains gives an impression to many of lawlessness and a lack of priority to safety.
And if we want to encourage people out of their cars and on to their railways - will some prefer to travel in their own personal transport, or choose a graffiti covered train?
Looking at some of the trains in Romania, which often have graffiti covered windows and cracked windows from stone throwing - I think I’d choose the car if I wasn’t an enthusiast!
It reminds me of the local suburban railway in Belgrade, Serbia - the trains are completely covered by graffiti including covering the windows, and with tags inside too. As an enthusiast, I really enjoyed the novelty of travelling on this. But as a regular commuter, would I really want to travel on that if I had a choice? Especially on dark winter evenings. Probably not!
