Vandalism
For the Australian electro house music group known as Vandalism, see Vandalism (band).Vandalism is the conspicuous
defacement or destruction of a structure or symbol against the will of the owner/governing body. Historically, it has been justified by painter
Gustave Courbet as destruction of monuments symbolizing "war and conquest". Therefore, it can be done as an expression of contempt, creativity, or both. Vandalism only makes sense in a culture that recognizes
history and
archaeology. Like other similar terms (
Barbarian/
barbary, and
Philistine), the term
Vandal was originally an
ethnic slur referring to the
Vandals, who sacked
Rome in 455, but unlike the
Berbers, the Vandals, like the Philistines, no longer exist as an identifiable ethnic group.
The term was coined in January 1794 during the
French Revolution, by
Henri Grégoire,
constitutional bishop of
Blois, in his report directed to the Republican Convention, where he used word
Vandalisme to describe some aspects of the behaviour of the republican army.
Gustave Courbet's attempt, during the 1871
Paris Commune, to dismantle the
Vendôme column, a symbol of the past
Napoleon III authoritarian Empire, was one of the most celebrated events of vandalism.
Nietzsche himself would meditate after the Commune on the "fight against culture", taking as example the intentional burning of the
Tuileries Palace on
May 23 1871. "The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture" wrote
Klossowski after quoting Nietzsche
[See Pierre Klossowski, Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle, first Chapter: What is the value of culture if those who are exploited by it destroy it? "En sorte qu'il nous faut être bien loin de vouloir, du haut de notre sentiment de nous-mêmes, imputer le crime d'un combat contre la culture exclusivement à ces malheureux. Je sais ce que cela veut dire: le combat contre la culture. (...) je me campronnai avec une conviction sérieuse à la valeur métaphysique de l'art, lequel ne saurait exister à cause des pauvres gens, mais doit accomplir des missions plus hautes. Mais, en dépit de mon extrême douleur, je n'étais pas en état de jeter la moindre pierre à ces profanateurs qui, pour moi, n'étaient que les suppôts de la culpabilité universelle, sur laquelle il y a beaucoup à méditer!" (Nietzsche quoted by Klossowski pp.29-30 French edition, who adds: "Le combat criminel contre la culture n'est lui-même que l'envers d'une culture criminelle" ("The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture")[1]].
Throughout history, the ritual destruction of monuments of a previous government or power has been one of the largest symbols showing the attempt at transition of power. In Rome
damnatio memoriae ("damnation of his memory") was normally expressed by erasing the name of the hated individual from inscriptions and removing or replacing statues or replacing just their heads after their death and subsequent disgrace.
Damnatio memoriae was effected after their death by the rivals and heirs of
Caligula,
Nero,
Domitian,
Commodus and
Elagabulus. After the Emperor
Caracalla had his co-Emperor
Geta assassinated, all depictions or references to Geta were systematically destroyed as part of a
damnatio memoriae. Mutilated faces and genitals of surviving Greek and Roman sculpture often show how they have been systematically attacked. In
palimpsests, text has been washed off parchment that have been overwritten with new text; the existence of effaced manuscripts that were not subsequently overwritten reveals an element of vandalism in this process. This is a recurring theme in George Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Further examples of official vandalism include the return of the priests of Amun to power in Egypt after the religious innovations of
Akhenaten was accompanied by desecration of the pharaoh's tomb and the ritual obliteration of his image from temple reliefs and inscriptions.Vandalism of Jewish properties and Jewish-owned businesses was part of the
Nazi program, surfacing in the widespread coordinated vandalism of
Kristallnacht – the night of
November 9 –
10 November 1938, when shop windows all across
Nazi Germany were smashed.
Recent cases of vandalism in this vein include the toppling and destruction of Soviet monuments after the fall of the
Soviet Union, the
Taliban destruction of
Buddhist statuary in
Afghanistan, and the
well-known toppling of a
Saddam Hussein statue by the
multinational force in Iraq. In a country with an unpopular
dictator, vandalism of the leader's
portraits and other elements of his
personality cult can be a common form of dissent.
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A vandalized ("tagged") bus seat. |
Private citizens commit vandalism when they wilfully damage or deface the
property of others or the
commons. Some vandalism qualifies as
culture jamming or
sniggling â€" it is artistic in nature as well as being carried out illegally or without the property owner's permission. Examples include at least some
graffiti art, billboard liberation and possibly
crop circles.
Criminal vandalism has many forms, graffiti on
public property is common in many
inner cities as part of a
gang culture, however other more devastating forms such as those involved with public unrest, such as
rioting, involve the wilful destruction of public and private property.
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Traffic signs are sometimes vandalized with bullet holes. |
In the case of vandalism to private property, the owner â€" the victim, may feel that they were specifically targeted by the perpetrator(s) â€" this is not necessarily the case. An example of such a crime would be the wilful destruction of a car window for no obvious purpose save to give the perpetrator(s) possibly a few seconds of entertainment, with no consideration, or empathy for the detriment to the state of mind or inconvenience of the victim.Reasoning for such actions can be attributed to envy, or spontaneous and opportunistic behaviour â€" possibly for peer acceptance or bravado in
gang cultures, or disgruntlement with the target (victim) person or society. Opportunistic vandalism of this nature may also be filmed, the mentality of which can be akin to
happy slapping.
The large scale prevalence of gang graffiti in some inner cities has almost made it acceptable to the societies based there â€" so much so that it may go unnoticed, or not be removed, possibly because it may be a fruitless endeavour, to be graffitied on once again.
For more information, see the main article about GraffitiThough vandalism in itself is illegal, it is often also an integral part of modern popular culture. French painter
Gustave Courbet's attempt to disassemble the
Vendôme column during the 1871
Paris Commune was probably one of the first artistic vandalist acts, celebrated at least since
Dada performances during
World War I. The Vendôme column was considered a symbol of the past
Napoleon III empire, and dismantled as such.
After the burning of the
Tuileries Palace on
May 23 1871, Philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche himself meditated about the "fight against culture", wondering what could justify culture if it was to be destroyed in such a "senseless" manner (the arguments are: culture is justified by works of art and scientific achievements; exploitation is necessary to those achievements, leading to the creation of exploited people who then fight against culture. In this case, culture can't be legitimised by art achievements, and Nietzsche write: "I {also} know what it means: fighting against culture". After quoting him,
Klossowski writes: "The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture"
As vandalism is sometimes perceived as an artform ]]As destruction of monument, vandalism can only have sense in a culture respecting
history,
archeology - Nietzsche spoke of
monumental history. As destruction of monumental history, vandalism was assured a long life (as
Herostratus proved):
Performance art could make such a claim, as well as
Hakim Bey's
poetic terrorism or
Destroy 2000 Years of Culture from
Atari Teenage Riot. Gustave Courbet's declaration stated:
"Attendu que la colonne Vendôme est un monument dénué de toute valeur artistique, tendant à perpétuer par son expression les idées de guerre et de conquête qui étaient dans la dynastie impériale, mais que réprouve le sentiment d'une nation républicaine, [le citoyen Courbet] émet le vÅ"u que le gouvernement de la Défense nationale veuille bien l'autoriser à déboulonner cette colonne." [
2]
("As the Vendôme column is formally considered a monument devoided of any artistic value, tending to perpetuate with its expression ideas of war and conquest of the past imperial dynasty, that are reprovated by a republican nation's sentiment, citizen Courbet is to emit his wish that the National Defense government will allow him to disassemblate this column.")
Hence, painter Courbet justified the dismantlement of the Vendôme column on political grounds, downgrading its artistic value. Vandalism poses the problem of the value of art compared to life's hardships: Courbet thought that the political values transmitted by this work of art neutralized its artistic value. Anyway, his project wasn't followed, however, on
April 12,
1871, the dismantlement of the imperial symbol was voted by the Commune, and the column taken down on
May 8. After the assault on the
Paris Commune by
Adolphe Thiers, Gustave Courbet was condemned to pay part of the expenses. As any good vandal, he preferred flying away to
Switzerland.
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A common form of artistic tagging. |
tags, designs, and styles of writing are commonplace on clothing and are an influence on many of the corporate logos with which we are familiar. Many skateparks and similar youth-oriented venues are decorated with commissioned graffiti-style artwork, and in many others patrons are welcome to leave their own. There is still, however, a very fine line between vandalism as an artform, as a political statement, and as a crime. An excellent example of one who walks this threefold line is
Bristol born guerrilla-artist
Banksy, who is revered as a cult artistic figure by many, but seen by just as many as a criminal and a thug.
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Iconoclasm*
Wiki vandalism*
Secret wall tattoo*
Graffiti.org
