Do You "Love" It?

The ‘i love you’ (ILY) message would appear to be unstoppable, all in the same sloppy cursive hand; new ones seem to appear daily. In its anonymity and simplicity it has become a force free of authorship: easily repeatable, and existing solely in the public domain. While the abundant scribblings have only begun to make waves here in Vancouver, we are merely the newest city to become part of what is a global campaign, the I Love You World Graffiti Project. Its design is largely informed by accessibility with the goal of perfect outreach; thus no one may be exempt from the writing's sentiment. Its form, as street art, certainly reinforces this message of universality. Displayed prominently on bus stops, on fences, on sidewalks, on bathroom stalls, on the sides of buildings many stories up, and even on the bark of trees, the ILY is deliberately placed to contact every urban denizen or visitor. Thus, the message becomes one of universal love as dictated by medium and because there is sure more than one “I,” the source further extends this theme of non-exclusion. Part of the ILY World Graffiti Project’s mission is to contact and interview some of the movement's most prolific taggers, which, in my opinion, detracts from the beautifully universal nature of the tags. With the artists left nameless and unparticularized, the writer becomes an omnipresent, unconditioned presence and thus reinforces the sentiment of universal love.

Just as in cities before Vancouver (Paris, Toronto, New York) the ILY message has taken on a life of its own, far beyond the flesh and blood of the original tagger. Here, in our city, it has performed a kind of evolution, becoming, in many places, “we love you” (WLY) instead. The WLY message as a response or reification of the ILY generates a kind of mini-narrative between the two tags and the connotations of each. “We” seeming to accept “I” with the word of “love” and the other way around in a perfect loop of anonymous self and group affection; again further communicating the message of universal love.

Shepard Fairey

Considering other major achievements in repeatable street art (like the infamous Andre the Giant tags by Shepard Fairey or the globally proliferated characters from the street artist Space Invader) the ILY message lacks a refined aesthetic appeal and comes in the permanent form of spray paint. In the case of Shepard Fairey and Space Invader, their tags (made of poster paper and stuck on tiles, respectively) could be easily removed without damaging the applied surface. ‘I love you’ is, unfortunately, left as an indelible mark upon private and municipal property around the city and the world. Leading some to despise the scrawled statements. Perhaps this permanence is tied to its artistic meaning, as one’s love leaves a permanent mark upon the receiver. Furthermore its simple, crude form could be aimed at similar artistic goals, i.e. conveying the mundane yet magical nature of love. But does that lessen the effects of the vandalism in any way? It’s hard to say. According to an article in the Georgia Straight, business owners, public officials, and the police seem less than pleased with its increasing presence. They endeavor to demonstrate that graffiti is not a victimless crime and that local businesses have run up tabs in the thousands in the name of graffiti removal. If you turn your attention to the comments below, however, this sample of the Vancouver public would not appear to be bothered by the tags, many even come out boldly in favor of them. Regardless of reception, the Vancouver edition of the ‘I love you’ artist(s) has presented the city with a kind of unresolvable issue. Buffing, painting commissioned murals, and increasing police presence in tagged areas (rather expensive countermeasures for a crime deemed merely ‘mischief’) will have little effect on the anonymously created art form. This allows for a kind of ironic, connotative self-preservation of the omnipresent script. Graffiti can be readily labeled as form of resistance, which, in this case, has become irresistible, both in sentiment and physicality. One can imagine an army of anonymous juggernauts armed with a paint-cans and the message of unconditional, universal love. How could you not love it?

Sources:

I Love You World Graffiti Project
   2011 Website. ILoveYouWorldGraffitiProject.com. http://www.iloveyougraffiti.com/index.html

Lupick, Travis
   2010 Around Vancouver, graffiti appears in waves. The Georgia Straight, Sept. 29, 2010.
       http://www.straight.com/article-350511/vancouver/graffiti-appears-waves