Eric Hates You

Graffiti is an art. It is a growing art in fact and there are plenty of graffiti artists whose work has been the showcase of exhibits and worldwide praise. You however, are not a graffiti artist. Yes, you may have sat at your desk in high school drawing your name on your desk with 3 different color pens but you have not made an artist out of yourself. Congratulations, you took a can of spray paint and painted an unrecognizable symbol on the side of your parents’ neighbor’s house. You must be an artist now, right? Wrong. Any idiot can spray paint the name of their favorite band on the side of a building. The act of this is not called graffiti, it is called idiocy.

What motivation did you have to paint “Sonic Youth” on the back of your local grocery store? Did you think that people would be impressed every time they drove by, squinting to try and read what you wrote? It’s a good thing you only used one color of spray paint, otherwise people might be confused and think that the McDonald’s you spray painted the side of has a new urban logo. Here is a word of advice, you are not Banksy. When you spray paint the side of a building people do not think, “That guy must be a really cool guy”, they think, “I would like to meet the person who did that so I can punch them in the throat for being so creative”. Anyone can spray paint “Metallica” on the side of a bridge. The next time you think it’s a good idea to “tag” a building, try spray painting your name in perfect Helvetica. Then I might be impressed.