January 10, 2009
Unfortunately, that's what the French postcard artist Philippe Pissier faces in "obscenity" charges for sending the piece above in the mail as part of a mail art exhibition entitled “Erotic Moments” that was curated by Mark Falkant.
Here's Philippe's description of the situation translated from French:
” As you probably know, I am currently enmeshed in a legal situation where I am at risk of three years of jail time and a fine of 75,000 euros for a misunderstood creative project.
To summarize, in May or June 2008 I sent four postcards intended for an exposure of Mail Art entitled “Erotic Moments” curated by Mr Mark Falkant (Sodener Str. 20 / 65779 Kelkheim / Allemagne). The artworks are collages made from postcards of the pastoral village of Castelnau-Montratier (in Southern France), and old photographs of a girlfriend, taken around 1991-92, with two to three clothespins on her nipples.
I sent them, without adding them in an envelope, as is the norm, for purists of “postal art”. After having participated and showing my erotic Mail Art for the past 25 years, I didn’t think that they could pose problem.
Of course, there was a problem. The Postal Director of my village informed me one day that the Director of the Sorting office of Cahors had been “extremely moved” by the postcard. I know well that I’m not a terrible erotic photographer, but it was seemingly good that the work moved him.
I paid little attention to this business, although from then on I had the telephone number of the Director. I do not have time to confer with him on the issue, I was working for nine months developing the First International Festival of Email-Art of my village: The famous «Rencontres de l’Art Postal» (blog : http://montratier.canalblog.com).
A few days before the inauguration of this festival, I received an notice insisting I present myself to the Gendarmerie of Castelnau-Montratier because of a “file related to me”. I go there, and they end up interviewing me, within the framework of a preliminary investigation, on the behalf of people who do not have the decency, to introduce themselves (I later learned I was summoned by the “Brigade of Search of the Gendarmerie of Cahors”.). First, they asked me questions about my professional life, they showed my postcards (under court seal) and tell me that someone filed a complaint against me using the article 227-24 of the New Penal code, which stipulates that - the simple act of making, traveling with or transporting, and promoting by any ways a message with a violent or pornographic content or with the intention of hurting human dignity can be punishable with 3 years in jail and 500 000 euros when the message can be seen by an underage person.”
I answered : “the mailbox is managed by an adult, the postman and the other employees are also - and the same goes for the recipient.”
And my interrogator countered with: “Yes, but imagine that the postman has your cards in his hand, that they happen to fall, and then suddenly a minor appears who happens upon them. This is likely to happen.”
I was genuinely speechless.
In the same context, imagine a flying saucer full of aliens flying above the mailbox to take the postcard and send it to a kindergarten. It seems just as likely.
They keep questioning me, over and over again. They want to know everything about my private life and my girlfriends. They ask me if I’m sane and they also asked me if I’m a freemason who has attained “perfect self-control”.
Then, they left me with a “democratic” choice between going to jail or a search warrant.
I choose the search warrant for two reasons. First: we are July 3rd. Our festival starts July 15th and I’m right in the middle of finishing the last important details. I don’t want to waste any time. Secondly, even though I appreciate BDSM, I don’t really want to spend the night with these good men.
What a mistake! After messing up my apartment, they took my computer, my loyal iMac, all my professional contacts - all ready to inflate their case against me.
Life goes on. I succeeded in organizing the festival, thanks to the unexpectedly kind assistance of the many villagers and their neighbors. My sincere thanks to those kind people, but the challenges have been driving me to take sedatives.
The Festival’s schedule, the list of arts, the guest list (among them guests from as far away as Belgrade), everything is in the seized computer.
On the morning of the 15, twenty minutes before the opening of the festival, two local police came to visit the show (without buying a ticket), to undoubtedly check the morality of this one.
Despite all these adventures, the event took place and had a degree of success. One could only imagine what could have been the real success without these obstacles and distractions. But my organization, the RGBD (“Rue des Graphismes et de la Bande Dessinée”), will not lose money.
The festival closed on July 20th, and after that I relaxed a little. On August 26th, I saw my laywer Maître Baduel of the Bar of Paris, We decided on a system of defense, and the counter-attack was launched.
It is clear that all the procedures of the local police were completely abusive and illegal. Everything in this business is ludicrous: abusive use of an article of the New Penal code (originally the article wasn’t created for this purpose), abusive procedure, and violations of my private life. Moreover, the state answered to journalists that “the investigation continues”. But an investigation on what? The complaint was deposited against me using the article 227-24, the authorities have the postcards, they know the context (german show) and the culprit (me). Or, there is an investigation on something else, the abuses I received, maybe?
Step by step, the story was broadcast, first in the local press (thanks to Florian Moutafian from the French newspaper “La dépêche du midi”), regionally (“L’echo”), nationally with the articles of L.L de Mars in “CQFD” and Agnes Giard (blog of the newspaper “Liberation”). The international press followed (“the New Yorker”, “El Universal” in Mexico, etc). “France Info” will interview us little later. A blog of artistic support, penned by various political cartoonists was also created (in French : http://soutienpissier.canalblog.com/).
That’s the present situation.
I don’t believe it’s necessary to give up, even if the situation seems incredible in a “so-called” democracy. And sometimes I wonder how they can even call our system democratic
A Committee of Support has been started for those interested :
Comité de Soutien à Philippe Pissier,
c/o Libraithèque
« Le Droit à la Paresse »
68 rue Saint-James,
46000 Cahors, France.
Phone. 05.65.22.01.51.
Contact : Michel Guillaumin,
06.79.89.13.18.
miguillaumin@wanadoo.fr
Presently, we need to bring the maximum amount of attention to this story in the sincere hope that with enough voices behind us, this case may be dismissed.
Thank you for support and for reading this lengthy story!
Philippe Pissier, october 2008. “
Posted by marc at 8:16 AM in Crimes |
February 14, 2006
John Tsombikos (aka Borf) was sentenced this week to 18th months in prison with 17 months suspended for a felony destruction of property charge relating to BORF graffiti in NW, DC.
He will serve one month in jail starting Thursday 2/9. He has also been sentenced to pay $12,000 in restitution and serve 80 hours of graffiti removal related community service.
If you can, please write John a letter to help keep his spirits up while he is in prison and remind him just how much support he has!
BORF graffiti has brightened the faces of thousands around the DC area and the world, show your appreciation, and support the person bearing the brunt of this repression.
John's address at the DC jail is as follows:
John Tsombikos
DCDC 308325
North 2 Cell 44
D.C. Jail
1901 D Street SE
Washington DC 20003
We don't know the official mail policy yet so keep it simple:
-black ink on white paper
-put a return name and address on both the envelope and letter
-remember all mail is read by the authorities
-don't send anything extra with your letter, to make sure he gets it.
For John's address in jail and other news and updates on his case:
http://www.borfsupport.blogspot.com/
Here's the article from the Washington Post:
Borf Gets Month in Jail And Rebuke for Graffiti
Graffitist to Spend Month in D.C. Jail
By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 10, 2006; B09
The teenage graffiti vandal known as Borf got tagged yesterday -- with 30 days in the D.C. jail and a dressing-down that no one in the courtroom will soon forget.
Borf, aka John Tsombikos, chose not to address the judge who was deciding his fate. But D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz had a lot to say to the young anarchist from Northern Virginia. She didn't paint a pretty picture.
"You profess to despise rich people," she said. "You profess to despise the faceless, nameless forms of government that oppress. That's what you've become. That's what you are. You're a rich kid who comes into Washington and defaces property because you feel like it. It's not fair. It's not right."
Prolific like few local taggers before him, the 18-year-old Tsombikos left the Borf mark at dozens of places all over the District, from daring, eye-catching expositions such as the tagging of a wall above a Cosi on Connecticut Avenue to cruder, less memorable efforts such as the spray-painting of a dumpster on a side street.
The moniker, prosecutors said, was the nickname of a friend who killed himself in October 2003 in Silver Spring, and references in court to a confidential pre-sentence report on Tsombikos suggested that he has been deeply troubled by his friend's death.
Whatever the inspiration, the tag seemed to be everywhere for a time, to the frustration of property owners, police and city workers responsible for cleaning up graffiti. The judge said there was no justification for it.
"That's not artistic expression," she said. "That is not political expression. That is not grief therapy. That is vandalism."
Caught early one morning last summer as he defaced a Howard University building, Tsombikos was charged with destruction of property. The arrest and subsequent media attention seemed to heighten his notoriety. Copycats emerged, eager to fill the breach.
In December, he pleaded guilty to the felony charge. Yesterday, the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Wright, urged the judge to lock him up. It was an unusual request for a first-time offender in a property crime.
But the judge did not need much convincing. What mattered to Leibovitz -- and what Tsombikos seemed not to understand -- was that ordinary people had been affected by the mess he created.
"It's not about whether you want to express yourself," she said. "Washington, D.C., is not a playground that was built for your self-expression. It's a place where people, real people, live and care about their communities."
Nothing that took place in the months before he pleaded guilty in December and nothing that has happened since seems to have awakened him to that fact, she said.
He showed up for one hearing last fall wearing paint-splattered clothing. And while his case was still pending in the District, Tsombikos got in more trouble. He was arrested on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on suspicion of defacing a streetlight box, ruining his chances of probation.
"You should have been walking out of the front door of this courtroom today," Leibovitz told him. "Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that you require more than that to impress upon you the seriousness of what you've done. Not because it's a wall, not because it's a building, not because it's a fixture in some abstract sense. But because of people."
Standing next to his attorney, Michael Madden, Tsombikos stood in silence as the judge spoke. His father watched from among a courtroom full of spectators.
The 30-day jail term is just the start. If Tsombikos breaks the law again within the next three years, he could be jailed for the 17 suspended months of his sentence. Regardless, he has to complete 200 hours of community service, including 80 hours of cleaning up graffiti. And he must pay $12,000 in restitution, money that better not come out of his parents' bank accounts, the judge said.
"In other words," she said, "not the bogus jobs that your father gives you in New York . . . a real job, going to work like the people you demean, earning it with paychecks and the sweat of your own brow."
But it was the prospect of a month at the jail that most worried Madden, who had asked for probation and pleaded with the judge to at least send Tsombikos to a halfway house.
She wouldn't budge, and she made it clear why.
"I want him to see what the inside of the D.C. jail looks like," she said, "because unlike every other person you've seen in my courtroom this morning, who have a ninth-grade education, who are drug-addicted, who have had childhoods the likes of which you could not conceive, you come from privilege and opportunity and seem to think that the whole world is just like McLean and just like East 68th Street.
"Well," she said, "it's not."
Posted by marc at 6:13 PM in Crimes |
January 19, 2006
Good news on the Roadsworth front.
Facing stiff fines and jail time for 53 counts of vandalism, earlier this week Roadsworth pleaded guilty on five counts of mischief, which will keep him out of jail and able to continue painting. All in all, this was the best outcome that one could have asked for.
Here's the article from today's Montreal Gazette
Graffiti artist free to paint - but he has to ask first
Plateau's Roadsworth strikes plea bargain to avoid hefty fines and criminal record
ALLISON HANES, The Gazette
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2006
It will take a bit of the spontaneity out of his work, but popular Plateau Mont Royal graffiti artist Roadsworth jumped at a plea bargain this week that will allow him to continue painting his colourful murals and avoid a criminal record.
Roadsworth - otherwise known as Peter Gibson - was supposed to go on trial Tuesday in Montreal municipal court on 51 charges of mischief for graffiti he sprayed in and around the Plateau. If convicted, he could have been liable for fines of between $200 and $1,000 per infraction.
But instead, Gibson ended up pleading guilty to five counts, while 47 others were withdrawn, his lawyer Jean-Philippe Desmarais said.
In exchange, Desmarais explained, Gibson was given a conditional discharge - meaning he will have no criminal record and pay no fines if for the next 18 months he abides by three conditions.
He must keep the peace, do community service in the form of a public art project, and, most importantly, seek permission from the borough or city before doing any more graffiti.
"He's OK with that," said Desmarais, acknowledging that a key part of the philosophy behind tagging, as graffiti is sometimes known, is spontaneity and free-wheeling rebellion against authority. "It's one thing he'll have to accept."
Helen Fotopulos, the mayor of the Plateau borough, said yesterday the city had always wanted a settlement that strikes a balance between artistic expression and respect for public property.
"This issue has been resolved in a civilized fashion that recognizes the artistic contributions of Roadsworth to the community," she said. "It's one where everybody wins."
While she proudly called the Plateau a neighbourhood renowned for incubating artistic talent, Fotopulos warned that the plea deal does not mean it's open season for graffiti.
"Vandalism is vandalism and it's going to be prosecuted and it's going to be erased," she said.
The distinguishing factor between vandalism and art will be whether a permit was awarded by the borough beforehand.
Accepting the deal will free Gibson up to continue to paint, Desmarais said. While awaiting trial, he had been prohibited from even possessing the tools of his trade.
Desmarais said it seemed as if police and the city had tried to send a message to vandals by prosecuting Gibson.
"But I don't think Mr. Gibson was the right person to pass the message with, because his work is not what is traditionally considered graffiti," he said. "It's beautiful and nice for the public to look at."
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006
Posted by marc at 9:51 PM in Crimes |
January 17, 2006
Late last week CBS 4 in Boston reported that three taggers were arrested on vandalism charges through myspace.com.
Alex writes: "it doesn't seem that these guys were trying very hard to conceal themselves i thought you might be interested in how rupert murdoch's latest acquisition is cooperating with the police on busting street artists. sadly, it's hardly surprising.... BTW the video is a bit more informative than the article."
Chris writes:
"A lot of people have Myspace, and I think this could carry over to Flickr as well, which would have major implications on a number of graff artists."
Here's the article (You can see the video here):
STOUGHTON Stoughton police say they used the popular teenage website, myspace.com, to help solve a widespread vandalism spree. Three teenagers are currently under arrest and facing charges in the spree which cost an estimated $75,000 in damages.
18-year-old Charles Diggs has been charged with 28 counts of tagging property and 11 counts of malicious damage of more than $250; Eric Tankerly, 17, has been charged with 17 counts of tagging and 11 counts of malicious damage of more than $250; and Raymond Lacasse, 18, has been charged with 14 counts of tagging.
Investigators found the suspects after searching myspace.com, a web site where users often post personal information and photographs. The suspects' names were not listed on the site but the officers were able to track them down by their tagging signs and by investigating a group called "Graffiti Artists."
Police say two of the suspects have been forthcoming with information and have contacted some of the victims to arrange for restitution.
Posted by marc at 3:25 PM in Crimes |
January 14, 2006
From Adam comes a link to this story in today's Sydney Morning Herald:
"Police have seized 150 unclassified videos and DVDs along with almost 300 magazines showing acts of graffiti, in raids across Sydney.
The raids, on a paint supplies store in Newtown and a record store in central Sydney yesterday afternoon and evening, uncovered the material, which showed people committing acts of graffiti.
Chief Superintendent John Hartley said the swoop was part of an ongoing operation targeting graffiti and vandalism on CityRail trains.
"NSW police is working in conjunction with Rail Corp to reduce the incidents of graffiti upon the rail network," Chief Supt Hartley.
"The cost of graffiti runs into the millions of dollars and also contributes to considerable delays to the public transport system."
The state opposition last month slammed the government's rail security program following a 300 per cent jump in graffiti last year.
Graffiti attacks jumped from 8077 in November 2004 to 35,627 in November 2005."
AAP
Posted by marc at 7:45 AM in Crimes |
December 30, 2005
From Michael DeFeo comes the following article:
New Graffiti Law Orders Property Owners To Clean Up
NEW YORK -- A new graffiti law in New York City orders commercial property owners and owners of apartment houses of six units or more to clean graffiti from their buildings or face fines.
The fines can be up to $300. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says property owners will not face any penalty if they inform the city through the 311 hotline of the graffiti on their property and sign a waiver allowing the city to clean it.
The law also says no one under the age of 21 can buy graffiti instruments such as spray paint, broad tip markers or etching acid.
Stores are also prohibited from selling graffiti instruments to people under the age of 21.
The law says anyone convicted of a graffiti-related crime will perform community service in a graffiti removal program as their punishment.
Posted by marc at 10:37 AM in Crimes |
December 19, 2005
So this morning we started to build the map of the specific locations in New York where people have been arrested for graffiti or street art. We should have it integrated into the site soon. Send in the location (street intersection is fine) and a three or four line story about it and we'll pin it to the map. We're interested to see where the highest concentration of graf related arrests are in the city.
You can check out the map as it grows by clicking here.
Send us your details to woostercollective@gmail.com
Posted by marc at 1:25 PM in Crimes |
December 13, 2005
The Washington Post reported today that Borf pleased guilty yestersay to one count of "felony destruction of property", a charge that can lead to a sentance of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $5,000. The judge will hand down his penalty at a sentencing hearing on Feb. 9.
You can read the article here
(Thanks, Robin!).
Posted by marc at 10:25 PM in Crimes |
December 12, 2005
"when we heard of schwarzeneggers negative decision yesterday at night we were very sad. my partner SMAN (ZONENKINDER) angrily painted a streetart piece in memory of stanley williams, which we immediately put out in the streets. i just wrote down my
thoughts which i want to tell you..
"DON`t LET THEM KILL YOUR LOVE+HOPE"
i?m convinced that one of our deep inner feeling is the compassion /sympathy to and interest in other human beings (emerging in situations like this one). Nevertheless we shouldn?t let us be manipulated by the NONSTOP influence of the craving for sensation of the massmedia culture. by showing us such unbelievable cruelty like the "legal" killing of human beings by their own state they want us to be part of a passive and indifferent audience, feeling hopeless and alone. They want us to be afflicted by our helplessness and dejectedness keeping us down and feel like slaves although we just want to feel like and be treated like human beings. So let us feel
our deep regret and sympathy for Stanley Williams without getting hopeless and discouraged!
peace,
Donna, ZONENKINDER
Posted by marc at 10:01 PM in Crimes |