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Is boxcar graffiti an art form or an eyesore ?

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Actually there are two types of railcar graffiti: One type has been around forever. That is the cryptic cartoons and incomprehensible messages that are done by railroad employees. A lot of this is just the extension of expression of switchmen with chalk or crayon, making notes on cars about switching moves. Some of these people developed their own logo such as the little guy in the Mexican sombrero sitting under the palm tree. The underlying attraction in the motive for this kind of tagging is fame. The point is to get your logo onto as many cars as possible, so they spread your brand or trademark far and wide. Around the early 1900s, somebody named J.B. King became famous by signing railcars. Another was somebody named TEXAS BOZINO or visa versa. This motive of mass production requires that the basic characteristic of this kind of tagging is graphic simplicity. Usually it is done with a single color that contrasts with the background. The second type of graffiti is a recent development of the last 30 years or so. This is the work of inner city youth applied to buildings, bridges, retaining walls, railcars, or anything that offers a surface that is not under vigilance by those who would object to the act. The basic motive for this kind of tagging is to produce a single piece that outdoes all the previous work of others. The characteristic of this kind of graffiti is garishness and overly complex, eye popping geometry with as much color variety as possible with spray paint. The theme is always an “in your face” message that expresses the underlying motive, which is competition. Part of the power of this second type of graffiti is its thorny protection by an aura of political correctness that threatens would-be critics with an accusation of cultural insensitivity or worse. It is this protection that allows this type of graffiti to flouri***o such outlandish vulgarity, and to even get laws passed that place responsibility for the offensive act on the victim who owns the surface of its illegal display rather than on the actual perpetrator.
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