How about a poll ? At the risk of sparking
contention , How many think this is an ok thing to do ?
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Obviously, it is wrong to deface someone else’s property. However, some of this is also artistically well done.
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I am against it, purely on principle.
Maybe it does not interfere with the function of the underlying paint but it costs a lot to remove if the waggon owner wants it gone. Many waggons are already painted with advertising for whatever they are transporting, the owner/renter of that waggon paid to have it painted with their logo or slogan.
How would the graffiti artist feel if someone followed him around and sprayed paint over his art?
Some of the markings on the waggons are about safety procedures, warnings, load limits or other important information. I consider defacing/covering of those as a crime.
Why I am aginst graffiti on principle, graffiti on buildings:
Plastered external walls are permeable to moisture. Rain make them wet and then they dry up again, moisture from the inside of the building needs to evaporate through the plaster to avoid collecting inside the wall structure causing mold and rot.
Covering a plaster wall, with more than simple tags, with the wrong type of paint will cause problems with moisture not evaporating. In cold climates moisture in the wall will freeze, expand, and start peeling off the plaster.
Bare brick walls have similar problems but not as bad as plastered.
The house owner spent money on painting the wall correctly and then some punk who thinks he is an artist paints all over it. Would the graffiti artist be happy if someone painted his belongings?
Restoring a wall is expensive, the city could have rules about removal of graffiti so the owner of the building can’t ignore it even if it doesn’t harm the building structure. Lots of graffiti is often a sign that an area is “going downhill” which can cause tenants (private and commercial) to move out which can trigger a downward spiral.
I agree that a lot of it is well done and in many cases enhances the appearance of the waggons.
But still …
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If you watch the video Frenchy posted, you’ll see that the unknown artist carefully avoids covering up any of the actual information markings on the car they’re tagging.
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The German and French text is a safety/hasard warning …
Maintain a safety distance of 1.5 meters (5 feet) when opening and
closing the lids/hatches/doors
He does avoid the small print though.
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In France, it costs the SNCF (France’s state-owned railway operator) about 250 000 € per year
H.P.
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That was really cheap but maybe French hooligans don’t have easy access to trains?
Cover the trains with teflon “paint”?
I guess it’s only for the passenger trains, not the freight ones.
We have our share of railroad graffiti “artists”…
H.P.
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