The New New Corvallis, Oregon Art Review  

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Since the publication of the article below, graffiti art at the riverfront and in Portland has evolved rapidly. Above is the evolution, in Portland, of the prepared graffiti, using newspapers which are then affixed, as mentioned in the article. This piece was attached to a trash receptacle with water soluble glue (perhaps flour and water). The Corvallis, Oregon grafitti wall has been demolished to make way for an ugly condo which functions a a housing project for the rich and has destroyed the entire riverfront ambience, jutting out of the landscape like a developer giving the entire area the finger. As for taggers, they've been singled out for multiple felony charges by the district attorney.

Below were the last additions to the waterfront wall by a remarkable set of artists. These are, however, exceptions. The average artist there is yet entirely self absorbed, exemplified by the artist signed in as "EMTE", with an awareness of the big wide world which extends only to his own navel and "handle".

	Above and left: an Apocolyptic tableau from along the Corvallis waterfront. Below are memorials to a deceased friend Richard Crawfordby unknown artists.2 local kids unthinkingly painted over the memorials within a day of their creation with some very unimaginative claptrap.

The evolution of word to symbol evoking this or that sensation in a pre-literary fashion, complete with all the ambiguity and complexity of the thing represented, was a goal of the European Lettrists (right), and is successfully practiced by some of the city's "Official Taggers" on the wall at 1st street. Below is the zigzag style reminiscient of lightening bolts, and suggesting power a la Thor, God of Thunder and Lightening, a predictable fantasy among the most powerless in the community - youths. 

It has become so characteristic of the artists that it is as hidebound as the regulations in the law books regarding 'tagging', the latter of course being necessary for the practice to appeal to the rebellious (In fact, it would be best if the penalties were increased, perhaps to Life Without Possibility of Parole Except With 5 minutes of Exemplary Behavior, or Flawless Recitation of Isodor Isou's The Dismantling of Words - See right). The officially sanctioned artwork on 1st St. has no such rebellious 'appeal'.

Above, at the beginning of this article, is a more innovative and lyrical form which occasionally arises and hopefully disappears - regularly - before also becoming fossilized. The appearance of the 2 forms, side by side, on 1st Street illustrates the problem with unplanned individual art works - the effect of one neutralizes the other. 

That's particularly true of tagging in alleyways, etc., where a mindless tagger's work can appear as unnoticed and insignificant as a No Parking sign. 

Above: Pure image, on a telephone pole. Below: on an alley wall. Both successfully recall suburban aboriginal themes.
The legal distinction between a mural and graffiti is one of Owner's sanction. A tagger, never an Owner by trade, is unlikely to recognize the law, itself made by Owners. The underlying issues of aesthetics are less involved in ownership - upon entering a building, no one inquires, after all, about the name on a mortgage.  Aesthetics focuses instead upon the relative falseness of the image (it is, after all, mere image), and the process of its presentation. A community concerned with beauty or tragedy - except perhaps in a mood of comedy - would never, for examplem make a decision to surround itself with the buffoonery involved in the merchandising signs proliferating up and down the street.
It's equally unlikely that such a hypothetical community would choose to clothe itself in the banality which characterizes much graffiti. The insistence of the authors in exposing others to such dullness of thought is - like the merchandising signs - reprehensible. Yet, until such time as everyone in the community is involved in decisions about common spaces, even dullards - whether Owners or not - are likely to express themselves without thinking or asking.

Nonetheless, some of these experiments are incredibly interesting in a community where the most widely distributed art work is a berserk little rodent whose navy and silver colors were replaced in the 1870's by those of the anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, and racist Orange and Black Orders.

An unsuccessful Lettrist attempt in an alleyway.

In Portland, where tagging is, per capita, less popular, the few artists focus on preparing their work in advance, on newspaper, which can be carried without suspicion, or small scraps of paper, each quickly glued and applied temporarily.

Above, prefab graffiti on Portland newspaper, affixed to a dumpster. Below: prefab character on paper, with Japanese characters, affixed to a wall.

The effect is similar but less scarring than the more traditional means used locally. Glue, properly chosen, will be removed in time, by the rain. Everything, even artists, will be removed in time, by the rain.

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