Marc Ecko set to sue New York City in graffiti row

By Corey Brotherson Published 22 August, 2005

Graffiti game finds more trouble.

A dispute between fashion designer Marc Ecko and the New York government has erupted, with Ecko announcing plans to sue the city mayor after a permit for the party promoting the graffiti art-form and his new game was revoked.

Atari's graffiti-driven action-adventure title, Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, was set to have a related event in New York on August 24th, called The Getting Up Bloc Party, with a showcase of graffiti artists and live music.

However, city mayor Michael Bloomberg revoked the license required to hold the party, on the grounds that the show's featured graffiti demonstrations are not seen as an art exhibition, but rather a fully commercial event.

Bloomberg said: "Graffiti is just one of those things that destroys our quality of life, and why anybody thinks that it's funny or cute to encourage kids to go do that, I don't know. We have talked to them and asked them to not have a subway car motif to write graffiti. This is not really art or expression. This is - let's be honest about what it is - it's trying to encourage people to do something that's not in anybody's interest."

Ecko has provided an open letter to the city of New York on his blog, stating: "Unfortunately the spirit of the event, as it was originally conceived and as it has been presented to the appropriate civic groups and government officials since November 2004, seems to have been lost in the haste to stereotype all graffiti-style artists as 'vandals' and to brand this event as a 'promotion of crime.'

"At its core, this is an event designed to celebrate an art form born from the streets of New York over two decades ago as a means of creative self-expression, allowing the public a unique chance to experience the workmanship and skill that go into creating a piece of art fine enough to hang on the walls of any traditional gallery or museum. Upon completion, a 48-foot mural will be donated to The Point, a Bronx-based nonprofit youth development organization, while the remaining nine will be placed throughout the city for public display," Ecko added.

Ecko hopes his case will get the permit reinstated for the party. A judge is currently considering the suit.

This is not the first time Atari's game has come under scrutiny by outside sources, with the Keep America Beautiful group, and the National Council to Prevent Delinquency previously expressing concern that the title, which has players spraying and maintaining tags around a fictional city against an oppressive mayor, will spur real-life mimicry.

The groups have requested America's Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to give the game "the most restrictive rating possible", condemning the title as something that "clearly attempts to make criminal and dangerous behaviour enticing to children", as said in a statement by Ray Empson, president of Keep America Beautiful.

Atari issued a press release in reply, declaring: "The focus of the game is on expression through art; the hero is typically equipped with only paint, and never guns. Just as popular films and television shows present fictionalised entertainment depicting stories, cultures, characters and actions that may be exaggerated versions of 'real-life' people or events, videogames such as Getting Up provide amusement and escape in a fantasy world where players can vicariously experience different lifestyles and mock activities."

Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure will be released on PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, and mobile phones later this year.

Comments (37) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • deaner #1 7 years ago

    He's right though.

    Bloomberg I mean. Not 'Boomberg' (as seen elsewhere in the article).

    Or that Gecko guy.

  • Freek #2 7 years ago

    The thing about graffiti is that there are genuine artists out there who really do produce wonderfull works of art, but the majority of people who do grafitti don't fall into that catagory but are just scummy teenagers spraying the word "fuck" on trains.

    And Marc Ecko trying to pass of a launch party to promote his game as an art event is ofcourse verry lame.
    Edited by Freek at 22/08/05 @ 15:55

  • apolloscollapse #3 7 years ago

    America, the land of freedom and oppertunity eh?

  • Blerk #4 7 years ago

    Shh! Listen?

    Can you hear an Ecko?

    /coat

  • Teeth #5 7 years ago

    Freek's right, tags = bad.

    Personally I would take a city and allocate specific walls for people to write what the hell they liked on, that might help. Always going to have people who want to draw in the places nobody else can though, fact of life.

  • boo #6 7 years ago

    Graffiti is vandalism when done on public or private property (unless of course the private property belongs to the artist).
    Unfortunately most of the "artists" involved seem to miss this fact, while ranting about freedom of expression.
    You want to express yourself, go and buy a piece of canvas.

  • Teeth #7 7 years ago

    Quite, or use your own wall.

  • peterfll #8 7 years ago

    Indeed, perhaps this guy doesn't feel intimidated and threatened by your common-place graffiti done by the average git on the street, or perhaps had his own private property defaced by it - or have to overlook it.

    Oh yeah, and pay for your own promotional party.

  • Eraser #9 7 years ago

    In Delft, a city here in the Netherlands, there's a wall of a tunnel not far from the central station that's been designated as grafitti wall. Now I don't know if it's a free-for-all graffiti wall or that you need a license or something, but there are true genuine artists working on some of the stuff I've seen there. There was this awesome huge mural of the guy from the Hitman games. That's very nice stuff, but even there you see these ugly "tags" sprayed right on top of these works of art, which is a damn shame.

  • Tricky #10 7 years ago

    Yeah, tags suck but there are some damn fine pieces of graffiti art all over the world. I know a lot of people hate him but I absolutely love Banksy's stuff - there's quite a bit of it here in Bristol and it always brings a smile to my face to see it.

  • abigsmurf #11 7 years ago

    Bloomberg has a losing fight on his hands.

    Graffiti is a valid artform and has been recognised as such. Now if he'd banned the party soley on the grounds of promoting criminal activities...

  • Teeth #12 7 years ago

    People like to do small tags on top of the nicer, large tags you see around. It's a mark of respect between graffiti artists, or something. It's like "'sup?" in paint.

  • w00t #13 7 years ago

    Watch out! Kids might paint stuff!

    Many platformers to be banned to stop obsessive-complusive disorder taking root in our children to collect 100 random items! Games with murder deemed OK!

  • dadrester #14 7 years ago

    America, the land of freedom and opportunity eh?

    opportunism more like

  • DaveTheHutt #15 7 years ago

    When I was at school, I engraved 'Coksukka' on my wooden desk. It took ages, but I was quite pleased with the results.

    However, I can't say it was because of any artistic spirit within me waiting to emerge - it was because I was bored and vaguely pissed-off.

    I suspect the same can be said of the other people whose 'work' defaces my local neighbourhood.

    If these gits really feel the need to express themselves artistically, why dont they get a sketch book and a HB pencil - it'd cost less than aerosol paints.

    Hutt out

  • Furbs #16 7 years ago

    Isnt there an arguement that as soon as something is done for money and not just artistic endeavour, it ceases to be art and becomes "product"? And yeah, I'd include the Cisteen (sp?) Chapel in that.
    /is not art critic

  • Teeth #17 7 years ago

    Many of the artists of the time were working on a contract basis, it's pretty funny isn't it? They could reproduce those paintings hundreds of times over. They employed people who could do their paintings for them cos so many people wanted their stuff. Makes the modern fakes seem less like fakes if you ask me.

  • RabidMonkey #18 7 years ago

    The graffiti that the game, Marc Ecko's Getting Up, displays is art. However, the graffiti that can be found on most metropolitan cities walls of cuss words, tags and womans wobbly bits is vandalism.

    Well thats just my opinion anyway.

  • Furbs #19 7 years ago

    Wobbly bits = true art imho

  • afray #20 7 years ago

    Tricky-- "I know a lot of people hate him but I absolutely love Banksy's stuff - there's quite a bit of it here in Bristol and it always brings a smile to my face to see it."

    Agreed. I especially like the teddy fighting the coppers on Cheltenham Road/Stokes Croft. :-)

  • Browntracky #21 7 years ago

    Marc who?

  • w00t #22 7 years ago

    Marc who?

    Did you see what I did there...

    /coat

  • Browntracky #23 7 years ago

    Bravo! Give that man a cigar.

  • Salvia #24 7 years ago

    "Graffiti is a valid artform and has been recognised as such. Now if he'd banned the party soley on the grounds of promoting criminal activities..."

    I don't think he was saying it wasn't art. He banned the event as it was obvious that it had less to do with art and more to do with the launch of a commercial product.

  • Browntracky #25 7 years ago

    It may be a valid form of art. But still, Marc who?

  • Lothar Hex #26 7 years ago

    Wasn't there a similar row over Jet Set Radio?

  • el_pollo_diablo #27 7 years ago

    Marc Ecko is something of a tosspiece.

    Nothing to do with this article or anything, he just is.

  • Tricky #28 7 years ago

    "afray - Agreed. I especially like the teddy fighting the coppers on Cheltenham Road/Stokes Croft. :-)"

    Yeah, absolutely love that one - "The Mild Mild West"

  • Teeth #29 7 years ago

    Marc Ecko is something of a tosspiece who has a fashion line over int' US.

    Edited by Teeth at 22/08/05 @ 22:01

  • RandolphScott #30 7 years ago

    Has www.marckeckocangofuckhimself.com been registered yet?

  • Xerx3s #31 7 years ago

    "The thing about graffiti is that there are genuine artists out there who really do produce wonderfull works of art, but the majority of people who do grafitti don't fall into that catagory but are just scummy teenagers spraying the word "fuck" on trains." - So, they are kinda like webdesigners then?;p

    "America, the land of freedom and opportunity eh?" - Thats just the illusion that they have been trying to sell to all the dumb f**** that bought their freedom with their blood and got shit in return.

  • tenma #32 7 years ago

    http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/08/22/news_6131703.html


    can't say that I really care, either way. Jet Set Radio Future seems like it could do laps around this game, easily.

  • deaner #33 7 years ago

    What people (especially Americans) conveniently forget, is that the freedoms the founding fathers built the country upon, were to tax dodge and to keep slaves.

    0.1% of graffiti is art. Though these artists undoubtedly learned their trade as a part of the other 99.9%... which as Freek said "are just scummy teenagers spraying the word "fuck" on trains".


    [EDIT] Grammar.
    Edited by deaner at 23/08/05 @ 12:08

  • Zuiyo #34 7 years ago

    "0.1% of graffiti is art. Though these artists undoubtedly learned their trade as a part of the other 99.9%... which as Freek said "are just scummy teenagers spraying the word "fuck" on trains"."

    If you knew anything at all about what you're talking, which obviously you don't, you would have stopped short of making those comments. Ignorants always speak louder.

    So let me teach you a couple of things, then your ignorance will not be cause for you being in an embarrassing situation again... regarding this matter, of course. Another areas will be your responsibility. If you know what the word means.

    A teenager spraying "fuck" on a train is not graffitti.

    A teenager writing his name or the name of his crew or group of friends on a train out of self-expression and marking the territory STILL is not graffitti, but is closer to the graffitti culture and it's called tagging.

    Graffitti is virtually always big-sized, ellaborate with a variation of colors and with a distinct artistic purpose behind it, along with a desire to compete in a sportive manner with other graffitti artists that may see the piece and to gain notoriety amongst people who will see it.

    In other words, graffitti is art, always. Even if it can be technically considered vandalism, it is still an art. And then, we would need to revise the concept of vandalism. But not the concept of art. Any attempt to rule graffitti out of the realms of art is destined to a total failure. And I invite you to try.

    And please, before you try, use my advice and read a book or two. Know what you're talking about before you speak.

    Peace.


  • prettyboytim #35 7 years ago

    I'm sorry, but you sound like all those people who get all up tight about the correct use of 'hacker' and 'cracker'.

    I'm sure it's very useful to those who do graffiti to whinge and complain about people using the term for tagging, but let's face it: both tagging and the majority of graffiti is painting shit on other people's property without their permission. For pretty much everybody else it's the same thing: vandalism they'd rather do without. Art or Fart, we don't care. Paint on your own damn wall.

    I like to think someone will practice a little graffiti on Mark Ekco's house or car. Preferably with human faeces.

  • deaner #36 7 years ago

    graf·fi·to
    n. pl. graf·fi·ti

    A drawing or inscription made on a wall or other surface, usually so as to be seen by the public. Often used in the plural.

    ---

    graf·fi·ti
    n.

    (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Plural of graffito.

    ---

    graf·fi·ti

    n : a rude decoration inscribed on rocks or walls [syn: graffito]

    ---

    Well Zuiyo, the <a href=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=graffiti>Dictionary</a> says I'm right.

    Dictionary's are books, aren't they?

    But thank you for 'teaching' me that the people who do plague our city walls with their inane scribblings in spraypaint, really do think they're justified.

    There's nowt as queer as folk.

  • Zuiyo #37 7 years ago

    Gentleman, thanks for your comments.

    Now allow me to express my point of view.

    It is inadequate to classify graffitti as "shit". It is a worldwide art form that requires a special and difficult to acquire set of skills from the artist. It also needs hard and time consuming planning, time and money investment for all the artistic tools and a set of knowledges. Even if it is not of your personal taste, it is wrong to call it "shit" just because you don't like it. In the same fashion, you could call ballet, street performers and other forms of art "shit" as well, just because you don't know them or don't like them.

    Would you consider graffitti as an art and a legitimate activity if it was always done "legally" (with the approval of the owner of the wall)? Is it then the illegal or legal aspect of it what makes it fall into the category of either "shit" or "art"? That would put public painting of nude models fall in the "shit" category, since there will be a nude body exposed in the public and that is considered as illegal.

    The dictionary made us both right, not you only, and if anything, what was closer to my definition came out first, ("A drawing or inscription made on a wall or other surface, usually so as to be seen by the public";) than what was closer to yours ("a rude decoration inscribed on rocks or walls";). Then we would need to see whether it being rude deprives it from being art.

    And dictionaries have the shape of books, granted. But it is rather difficult to grasp the complexity of phenomenons on ten word definitions. For instance, everything related to "sex", an extremely important element for humans and our daily behaviours and relationships, would be resumed in "sexual activity involving the penis or vagina, especially when a man puts his penis into a woman's vagina". What I meant was for you to read either whole books on the subject, or a whole books related to the widest area to which graffitti belongs, that is, art.

    You are obviously entitled to your rather short sighted views, but beware that in public speaking places like this there will be always people like me ready to give a little depth to your grumpy statements.