TheVandals, an ancientGermanic people, are associated with senseless destruction as a result of theirsack of Rome under KingGenseric in 455. During theEnlightenment, Rome was idealized, while theGoths and Vandals were blamed for its destruction. The Vandals may not have been any more destructive than other invaders of ancient times, but they did inspire English poetJohn Dryden to write,Till Goths, and Vandals, a rude Northern race, Did all the matchless Monuments deface (1694). However, the Vandals did intentionally damage statues, which may be why their name is associated with thevandalism of art. The termVandalisme was coined in 1794 byHenri Grégoire,bishop of Blois, to describe the destruction of artwork following theFrench Revolution. The term was quickly adopted across Europe. This new use of the term was important in colouring the perception of the Vandals from later Late Antiquity, popularizing the pre-existing idea that they were a barbaric group with a taste for destruction.[2]
Historically, vandalism has been justified by painterGustave Courbet as destruction of monuments symbolizing "war and conquest". Therefore, it is often done as an expression of contempt, creativity, or both. Courbet's attempt, during the 1871Paris Commune, to dismantle theVendôme column, a symbol of the pastNapoleon 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 theTuileries Palace on 23 May 1871. "The criminal fight against culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture" wroteKlossowski after quoting Nietzsche.[3]
In a proposal to the International Conference for Unification of Criminal Law held in Madrid in 1933,Raphael Lemkin envisaged the creation of two new international crimes (delictajuris gentium): the crime of barbarity, consisting in the extermination of racial, religious, or social collectivities, and the crime of vandalism, consisting in the destruction of cultural and artistic works of these groups.[4] The proposal was not accepted. A figurative accusation of vandalism was applied towards the theology ofMarcion of Sinope.[5]
As a crime
Private citizens commit vandalism when they willfully damage or deface the property of others or thecommons. Some vandalism may qualify asculture jamming orsniggling: it is thought by some to be artistic in nature even though carried out illegally or without the property owner's permission. Examples include at least somegraffiti art, billboard "liberation", and possiblycrop circles. Criminal vandalism takes many forms.Graffiti onpublic property is common in manyinner cities as part of agang culture, where they might be used as territorial markers.[6]
More serious forms of vandalism that may take place during public unrest such asrioting can involve the willful destruction of public andprivate property. Vandalism per se is sometimes considered one of the less serious common crimes, but it can become quite serious and distressing when committed extensively, violently, or as an expression of hatred and intimidation.
Examples
Examples of vandalism include salting lawns, cutting trees without permission,egg throwing, breaking windows, arson, spraying paint on others' properties,tagging, placing glue into locks, tire slashing,keying (scratching) paint, ransacking a property, flooding a house by clogging a sink and leaving the water running, and pulling up plants from the roots without permission.
Armand Călinescu's memorial with the bronze plaque stolen and the name of the assassin written over
In elections, opposing candidates' supporters may engage in "political vandalism"—the act of defacing opponents' political posters,bumper stickers, billboards, and otherstreet marketing material. Although the nature of this material is temporary, its effect can be long-lasting as it may reflect both negatively and positively on the candidate whose material is being vandalized as well as on the presumed candidate whose supporters are engaging in the vandalism.
In addition, activists may use the tactic ofproperty destruction[7] as means of protest, e.g. by smashing the windows of banks, shops and government institutions and setting fire to cars. This often takes place during riots but can also happen as a stand-alone event, e.g. byanimal rights activists destroying property owned by farmers, hunters, biotech companies, and research facilities and setting free animals (which is sometimes referred to aseco-terrorism by opponents). Vandalism is also a common tactic ofblack blocs.
Motives
Actions of this kind can be ascribed to anger or envy, or to spontaneous, opportunistic behaviour, possibly for peer acceptance or bravado ingang cultures, or disgruntlement with the target (victim) person or society. Another common motive is to seekattention, and for personal gain. Opportunistic vandalism of this nature may also be filmed, the mentality of which can be akin tohappy slapping. The large-scale prevalence of ganggraffiti in some inner cities has almost made it acceptable to the societies based there, 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. Greed can motivate vandalism as cansome political ideologies, wish to draw attention to problems,frustration, even playfulness. Youngsters, the most common vandals, frequently experience low status andboredom. Vandalism enables powerless people to attack those above them, take control and frighten others. Unpunished vandalism can provide relief whichreinforces the behaviour. Vandalism by one person can lead to imitation.[8] Teenage boys and men in their 20s are most likely to vandalize, but older adults and females are also known to sometimes vandalize, with young children occasionally vandalizing, but in a much smaller form, such as making small crayon drawings on walls.[citation needed]Criminological research into vandalism has found that it serves many purposes for those who engage in it and stems from a variety of motives. SociologistStanley Cohen describes seven different types of vandalism:[9]
Peer pressure – Teenagers spend more time away from home with peers, and whether they act constructively or destructively can depend on the contacts they make. Disobeying authority can appearcool.
Tactical vandalism (to advance some end other than acquiring money or property – such as breaking a window to be arrested and get a bed for the night in a police cell).
Ideological vandalism (carried out to further an explicit ideological cause or deliver a message).
Vindictive vandalism (for revenge).
Play vandalism (damage resulting from children's games).
Malicious vandalism (damage caused by a violent outpouring of diffuse frustration and rage that often occurs in public settings).[10] Cohen's original typology was improved upon byMike Sutton[11] whose research led him to add a seventh sub-type of vandalism – Peer Status Motivated Vandalism.[12]
Reaction of authorities
Two billboards with the same original content, the billboard on the right being an example ofsubvertising—vandalizing with a political message
In view of its incivility,punishment for vandalism can be particularly severe in some countries. In Singapore, for example, a person who attempts to cause or commits an act of vandalism may be liable toimprisonment for up to three years and may also be punished withcaning. Vandalism in the UK is construed as anenvironmental crime and may be punished with anASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order).
In the 1990s, former New York City mayorRudolph Giuliani cracked down on "quality of life crimes", including graffiti. NY Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern described graffiti as "a metaphor forurban decay perhaps best shown in 'A Clockwork Orange'" adding that "New York City will not be like that".[13]
Cybervandalism is vandalism on the internet, most commonlywebsite defacement. Certain kinds ofmalware that have no financial intent may also be considered cybervandalism.
Vandalism onweb maps has been called "cartographic vandalism".[14]
Defacement
Defacement is a type of vandalism that involves damaging the appearance or surface of something. The object of damage may be architecture, books, paintings, sculpture, or other forms of art.[15]
Examples of defacement include:
Marking or removing the part of an object (especially images, be they on the page, in illustrative art or as a sculpture) designed to hold the viewers' attention
Scoring a book cover with a blade
Splashing paint over a painting in a gallery
Smashing the nose of a sculpted bust
Damaging or chiselling off sculpted coats of arms
Altering the content of web sites and publicly editable repositories to include nonsensical or whimsical references
Iconoclasm led to the defacement of many religious artworks.
A sticker reading "the HELL withSHELL" photographed in Michigan in 1973Traffic signal light vandalism portrayingcannabis in Bogotá, Colombia
Though vandalism in itself is illegal, it is often also an integral part of modern popular culture. French painterGustave Courbet's attempt to disassemble theVendôme column during the 1871Paris Commune was probably one of the first artistic acts of vandalism, celebrated at least sinceDada performances duringWorld War I. The Vendôme column was considered a symbol of the recently deposedSecond Empire ofNapoleon III, and dismantled as such.
After the burning of theTuileries Palace on 23 May 1871, PhilosopherFriedrich Nietzsche himself meditated about the "fight against culture", wondering what could justify culture if it were 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 cannot be legitimised by art achievements, and Nietzsche writes: "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".[3]
As destruction of monument, vandalism can only have sense in a culture respecting history,archeology: Nietzsche spoke ofmonumental history. As destruction of monumental history, vandalism was assured a long life (asHerostratus proved):Performance art could make such a claim, as well asHakim Bey'spoetic terrorism orDestroy 2000 Years of Culture fromAtari 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 vœu que le gouvernement de la Défense nationale veuille bien l'autoriser à déboulonner cette colonne.[16]
('As the Vendôme column is a monument devoid of any artistic value, whose expression tends to perpetuate the ideas of war and conquest from the imperial dynasty, but that reject the sentiment of a republican nation, citizen Courbet declares that the government of National Defense should allow him to dismantle 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. His project was not followed; however, on 12 April 1871, the Commune voted to dismantle the imperial symbol, and the column was taken down on 8 May. After the assault on theParis Commune byAdolphe Thiers, Gustave Courbet was condemned to pay part of the expenses.
In 1974,Norman Mailer glorified the art of vandalism in his essay "The Faith of Graffiti", which likened tagging in New York City to the work ofGiotto andRauschenberg. New York Authorities responded by coating subway walls withTeflon paint, jailing taggers and requiring hardware stores to keep spray paint under lock and key.[17]
Tags, designs, andstyles of writing are commonplace on clothing, and are an influence on many of the corporatelogos. Manyskateparks 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 fine line between vandalism as an artform, as apolitical statement, and as a crime.Bristol-born guerrilla artistBanksy's claim is that official vandalism is far worse than that perpetrated by individuals, and that he is decorating buildings of no architectural merit.[18]
Graphic design
Defacing could also be one of the techniques that many graphic designers use, by applying their own hand writing on a graphic itself. Sometimes the use of this technique might be mistaken as vandalism to the original work, as exemplified by the work ofStefan Sagmeister, including hisLou Reed CD cover. A unique use of the defacement technique is the CD cover forA.P.C. byJean Touitou, where the designer wrote the title, volume number, and date with her own hand writing on the pre-print blank CD. Creative vandalism of this sort is not limited to writing and sketching. For example, the spraying on the KPIST album Golden coat forMNW Records by Sweden graphic usesgold spray, which may be considered an act of vandalism, but the customer may also appreciate the unicity of each cover that had been sprayed gold in different ways.[19]
^abSeePierre 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")
^Sutton, Mike (1987) Differential Rates of Vandalism in a New Town: Towards A Theory of Relative Place. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, October
^D.E. Funk (7 October 2013)."Banksy the Artist".www.Medium.com. Medium-All things art.Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved21 October 2022.
^Odling-Smee Anne (2002) the new handmade graphics: Beyond digital design. RotoVision SA
Cohen, S. (1973), Ward, C. (ed.),Property destruction: Motives and meanings, London: Architectural Press, pp. 23–53
Goldstein, A. (1996),The Psychology of Vandalism, New York: Plenum Press
Ley, D. & Cybriwsky, R. (1974), "Urban Graffiti as Territorial Markers",Annals of the Association of American Geographers,64 (4):491–505,doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.1974.tb00998.x
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