Marc Ecko Speaks to NYC

"Graffiti is a legitimate part of the great art history of our city."

Game and clothing designer Marc Ecko has posted an open letter to New York City on his blog, in response to negative criticism that the game promotes vandalism, defending not only his game, Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, but the culture of graffiti that inspired it.

He writes:

I am well aware that drawing graffiti in public places is a crime, and I do not condone or encourage it. At the same time, however, graffiti is a legitimate and historical part of the great art history of our city. The visual dialect is alive and well, and contrary to the opinion of certain elected officials, just because you draw on paper that way doesn't mean that you are writing on walls. That is the dialect that these artists and others like them dream through, that informed their creative energy so early on and helped them to go on to become a muralist, a film maker, a story teller, and even a clothing designer.

It's interesting that a videogame is once again reviving anti-graffiti movements at the same time that graffiti artists are featured in museums and galleries...where videogames are also making inroads.

What is art? For that matter, what is culture? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Jane Pinckard

That's So New York