Saturday, April 14, 2007
Staff photo by John Patriquin
South Portland resident Frank Marston wheels his 1-year-old grandson, Luke, Friday on the popular walking path in back of the Thomas Room on Broadway. Louis Maietta, the function hall's owner, says, "I have over $8,000 worth of damage right now."
SOUTH PORTLAND - Jeff Caldwell gets a lot of blank stares when he talks about this city's graffiti problem.
People generally associate graffiti -- which ranges from simple tags to elaborate drawings -- with big cities outside of Maine, he said.
"They have blinders on. They don't stop and look around and realize that it's everywhere," said Caldwell, a veteran officer with the South Portland Police Department. "For us, it has really become a problem in the last three or four years."
Caldwell and Police Chief Ed Googins have proposed a graffiti ordinance that would be the first of its kind in Maine. The proposal would allow fines or other penalties against minors who are found on public property possessing spray paint or other graffiti implements.
Under state law, police officers can charge only people who are caught in the act.
The proposal recommends a fine of as much as $250 for a first offense, and as much as $500 for subsequent offenses, plus costs of removing the graffiti. The city also would be able to fine property owners who do not remove graffiti, and stores that sell spray paint to minors.
A similar anti-graffiti law was proposed in the Legislature in 2005, but it failed.
City councilors responded warmly to the concept at a workshop on Monday, and it is on the agenda for Wednesday night's council meeting. The ordinance will have to pass through two council votes and two public hearings.
The proposal already is generating backlash, from artists as well as business owners who think such an ordinance would punish them more than the taggers do.
"The moment you start criminalizing the possession of certain implements, it gets into risky territory," said Tim Clorius, 31, an artist from Portland.
"I walk around with exactly those tools all the time," Clorius said. "It's almost like saying, 'Tomorrow, no watercolor paper.'"
Clorius creates aerosol art on a wall in Portland's East End that was designated as a legal spot for graffiti. In his younger days, Clorius created graffiti illegally on private property, but now he advises teenagers against it.
The native of Germany has lived in New York City, and he came to Portland to attend the Maine College of Art. He practices many art forms, including aerosol art.
The law enforcement approach to graffiti will only increase tension and could compound the problem, Clorius said.
He says communities should do more to reach out to young people who seek to express themselves.
In larger cities such as San Francisco and Philadelphia, business owners often collaborate with individuals and arts groups, allowing graffiti to be drawn on private property. That is happening in Portland on a smaller scale, Clorius said.
South Portland does not have a legal graffiti wall, and Officer Caldwell does not think that would help. In fact, he says he believes those walls lead to more illegal tags.
"Basically, it is a place for them to practice," Caldwell said. "Anything that is going to promote graffiti, I'm against."
Louis Maietta, who owns the Thomas Room and an adjacent building in South Portland, opposes the ordinance, but for vastly different reasons than Clorius.
Maietta is concerned about the section of the law that allows for fines against property owners who don't clean up graffiti.
"I have over $8,000 worth of damage right now," Maietta said. "They want us to pay for these villains that have been attacking us for more than two years."
A city walking trail runs along the back edge of Maietta's property. Caldwell said the trail is a popular place for taggers because it gives them a place to hide. Maietta has installed lights in back of his buildings.
"All it did was give them a well-lit place to do their drawings," he said.
Maietta and other property owners have pressured the city, especially in the past few months, to deal with the problem; he thinks the ordinance simply will result in police delivering children to their parents. Instead, Maietta is calling for surveillance cameras and the use of officers to catch people while they are painting. He plans to address city councilors on Wednesday.
Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:
Questions/Comments
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Almost every comment on this page is so far off from the truth. No one here, from what I have read, can identify with what a writter(graffiti artist) is or why they do what they do. It is a desire, not to destruct but to create. To create color and vibrance on a bleak background. You all seem to think we are all uneducated "street punks". Think again. Most of us are not associated with gangs, drugs and violence.
We are drawn by something that cannot be defined.
People who have said walls with graffiti on them draw more tags. WRONG. We search out the spots that are untouched.
Someone who said it is gangs marking territory. WRONG. Any graffiti you see in Portland and surrunding towns is not gang orientated and if it is, then it is some middle school "gang". Nothing to be feared.
The most disgusting comment on here was made by the South Portland police officer, he said in the article "A legal wall is where they practice, it will increase the problem". That is so far off I cannot even understand how a police officer could have stated that. We do not practice at legal walls. Legal walls are a completely different beast. They are where murals are done. Not once, have I practiced something on a legal wall to later do on a building. That is just ridiculous.
This is art. We recognize that it is illegal and at times hurtful, but none the less it is art. I want to see anyone of these previous posters pick up a can of spraypaint and try to make a straight line with no drips, much less design words in varying colors with shading and 3D.
In closing, although you may hate what I and others do, you can't just make up lies about us. Research your info before you start spreading your opinion over the internet.report abuse
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