Is boxcar graffiti an art form or an eyesore ?

[wsudem]

Here is a quick question for everbody. Is boxcar graffiti an art form or an an eyesore? And if it is an art form, what is the best image or message that you have ever seen on a boxcar?

[trainfan1221]

Some of it is interesting, but i"ll answer your question by saying that we have whole trains go by where it is easier to pick out cars that do have graffiti than those that don't. And this means everything from box cars to intermodal flats. After awhile it becomes sickening to watch. Even the more elaborate ones, and sometimes they take up the whole side of a car! Don't know how they do this or have the time, but as a railfan I would rather see which railroad the car belongs (or belonged) to. So I have to go with eyesore.

[Anonymous]

I am going to have to go with eyesore as well. Some might say that is doing the railroad a "favor" by covering up rust etc.(and yes that has been said on this forum before)but any way you look at it, it is still vandalisim. I hate to see brand new cars as well as very old rolling stock covered in "art".

[upchuck]

[xx(][V][tdn] EYESORE[2c]

[Anonymous]

I think the answer varies, depending upon which railroad is involved.

CSX, for instance, probably is thankful for the free paint job. [}:)]

[samfp1943]

[#ditto]

Pretty inflamatory topic on this forum.

Sam

[coborn35]

I like seeing it on cars, albeit not for that reason.

[Anonymous]

At the risk of offending anybody, I think that it absolutely destroys the appearance of any railroad car. It often looks like a sudden depiction of cancer going by. It is the artistic expression of a chip on the shoulder. I vote eyesore.

[Anonymous]

If you are talking about the detailed graffiti and not the scribblings then it is surely an art form. One can see that it takes a certain talent to plan and construct these renderings. Granted it is mis-directed talent and to a certain extent damages others property, but that does not take away from that which is produced. I am talking about the best examples. Maybe I'm weird, but it sure looks like art to me.

Walter Boatner

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wboatner

Maybe I'm weird, but it sure looks like art to me.

But would you buy it?

Every time the topic is discussed here, there are generally three camps - the perpetrators should be shot; it's mis-directed talent; or it's not all that bad (and, as some have pointed out here, may actually improve the looks of the car).

My usual argument is - "How about they come tag your house or vehicle?" Same difference.

[solzrules]

Vandalism is not art, it is illegal.

If some jag off was "tagging" my house and telling me that it was art I would light his***up with a couple 21 gun salutes.....Spray paint yourself and keep your hand off other peoples' property. Including railroads.

[Anonymous]

Art is seperate peice of work.

Art can be moved in freight cars.

Art is the logo and the color scheme applied by the railroad or leasing company.

Tagging a box car is not art.

Tagging is an eyesore. [B)]

Tagging is sloppy and often covers up important information like the reporting marks and road numbers.

Stop tagging and use that paint to improve the neighborhood.

Andrew Falconer

[Anonymous]

The question relates to the finished product, "is it art or an eyesore". Not where it is located or what it does to the host, which in this case is railroad rolling stock. I know people who say they did not like Frank Sinatra's singing, and the reason they gave was they didn't like his life style, which has nothing to do with how well or bad he sings. If rail graffiti (I'm talking best examples, you have all seen them) is an eyesore to you, and would be if it were on a canvass somewhere, then fine, it is an eyesore. If the setting enters into your judgement, then you are not judging the work itself.

Walter Boatner

[Anonymous]

Box Car Graffitti is usually lousy tagging. There is not much art in sloppy tagging. Sometimes it is half finished. Whomever does it always does a bad job of working within the constraints of the "canvas" and the time needed to finish.

On the other hand I have seen some great High-Capacity Covered Hopper Art such as:

Faces of Great African-Americans

Scenic Vistas of the SouthWestern Desert

Andrew Falconer

[Anonymous]

this is a loaded question on this forum.......

[fuzzybroken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68

My usual argument is - "How about they come tag your house or vehicle?" Same difference.

A couple years back in Milwaukee, several neighborhood youths began using a garage as a memorial to one of their "fallen" friends. Unfortunately, it didn't belong to any of them, and the property owner was less-than-pleased!

And yet we had some community "leaders" encouraging this sort of behavior... [V]

Back on topic, I vote eyesore. Besides, most legitimate art is barely justifiable these days...

[vsmith]

Well at least it covers the rust!

[GP-9_Man11786]

It's an eyesore, just look back to the New York City Subway system in the 1970s and 80s.

[trainboyH16-44]

Usually eyesore, but there are exceptions...like this one guy who tagged a TH&B gondola with what was obviously a C-Liner, without covering up reporting marks. The paint on the car was old, and I didn't especially like the graffitti, but it was better than most crap out there!

[JoeKoh]

its vandalism of rr property. I just wish some people with the kind of talents displayed would help paint houses for habitat for humanity or a commuinity center somewhere.
stay safe
Joe

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wboatner

If the setting enters into your judgement, then you are not judging the work itself.

That's the other part of the problem - you can bet that tagger didn't complete his work of art in a studio - he was trespassing on railroad property at the time.

[PBenham]

QUOTE: Originally posted by upchuck

[xx(][V][tdn] EYESORE[2c]

Yes, and I am glad I don't have young (or any ) children I might have to explain some XXX-rated graffiti to, that they saw on a railcar![:(]

[solzrules]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wboatner

The question relates to the finished product, "is it art or an eyesore". Not where it is located or what it does to the host, which in this case is railroad rolling stock. I know people who say they did not like Frank Sinatra's singing, and the reason they gave was they didn't like his life style, which has nothing to do with how well or bad he sings. If rail graffiti (I'm talking best examples, you have all seen them) is an eyesore to you, and would be if it were on a canvass somewhere, then fine, it is an eyesore. If the setting enters into your judgement, then you are not judging the work itself.

Walter Boatner

Tis a finished product on an illegal medium. I don't care who thinks it is pretty, it is illegal and therefore ugly. Breaking the law in the name of art is no excuse.

[Anonymous]

It's regrettable, but I have to admit it livens up a long string of auto racks.

However, I've been told that the spray paint gets on brand-new cars and trucks.

Any response to that?

allen

[georgel]

EYESORE.

[Anonymous]

Now that the FRA has mandated railcar side reflectors, it should be interesting to see how the railroads react to being held responsible for automobiles running into the side of a car that has its mandatory warning reflectors covered up with graffiti paint.

[Anonymous]

Personal opinion is pointless.

It is illegal.

end of story.

[wctransfer]

I vote eyesore most of the time. These, on the other hand, dont bother me at all.


Now this i cant stand.


Alec

[Anonymous]

Railcar graffiti- no matter how you percieve it- IS vandalism.
But would railfanning be the same without seeing it on a local freight running through downtown Omaha or any other major city?
Sometimes it seems like it adds to or is expected of in a scenerio like that.
Your in a seedy downtown dirty grubby area watching trains roll by and it's almost part of the experience to see them tagged.
But if it were MY railroad- I would be pi$$ed!

[Anonymous]

Most of it is silly & dumb to look at but i have come across some that could be called good work. However, it should be known that a large share of rr car graffiti is done by rr workers themselves. These are inside jobs. I have seen it take place myself. One such story relates back to around 1993-1994 when i was a bulk car loader for Cargill Flour Milling. We had just received a first batch of brand new leased CFMX pd cars for flour loading. Cars were so new the gray gloss paint shined nicely. We had a SF switch crew on the 202 job which was known for tagging cars which read '2 dead crew'. Well they tagged that on one of the brand new cars, mill turned it in, investigation was held and the switch guys were told to stop it. The mill could care less if rr owned cars were tagged ,they just did not want their private leased fleet to be painted upon on.