I live in a part of Australia that ..... well I just wish it was closer to the east coast, closer to liberal minded thought patterns and closer to sanity. If you've read YeLPar for a while now you'll be aware that I'm a huge fan of street art and I cringe when I hear about the penalties being enforced by our closeminded state government. If you look in a dictionary for the term 'nanny state' it reads Western Australia.

This article was posted online at thewest.com.au by Ben Oshea, editor of The Wire Mag....

In defence of street art

By Ben O'Shea | View Archive May 13th, 2010, 1:35 pm

Listeners to Simon Beaumont's program on 6PR this morning would have heard the rather bold accusation from a talkback caller that The Wire Mag was glorifying illegal graffiti. I couldn't have put it better myself.

The decision to feature street art as the theme of our Etc Etc page this week was recognition of the wonderfully talented artists of Perth's graf community and to acknowledge the considerable risks they take in the name of their art.

Local legends of the scene like Creepy, for example, risk two years in jail or a $24,000 fine after new State Government laws introduced at the start of the year effectively doubled the maximum penalty for graffiti.

Now, I'm not talking about some 13-year-old kid who scratches his initials on the side of a bus shelter; Creepy is an artist of international renown - well, except in WA where lawmakers view his distinctive work as "anti-social behaviour".

For years, Perth has harboured aspirations of becoming a sophisticated cultural hub like Melbourne, with its inner city lanes adorned with iconic street art, but such aspirations seem misguided in the face of such rabid and ill-informed debate on subjects like graffiti.

Can we not employ a little commonsense and acknowledge the difference between bona fide street art and the much maligned practice of "tagging", where someone scrawls their moniker - illegibly in many cases - with spray paint or marker?

Aren't we smart enough to discern the difference between the damaging activity of scratching a tag on to a shop window and a spray painted stencil with political undertones or a complex mural requiring intricate skill?

Or do we say to the rest of the world that the likes of Banksy, the infamous UK street artist, and his "anti-social" kind aren't welcome in our neck of the woods? Considering Time magazine just named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, to do so would be rather embarrassing.

Though perhaps not as embarrassing as accidently painting over one of his stencils, as Melbourne City Council did last month.

I've noticed that critics of graffiti conveniently exclude Banksy from the debate, as if having a coffee table book of your work or selling it at auction somehow sets you apart from the riff raff we are so desperate to legislate against.

But make no mistake, the Melbourne incident and Banksy's commitment to hiding his identity to avoid prosecution simply prove his spiritual and artistic connection to Perth's graf community.

Then there are those graffiti opponents who want to appear slightly more sophisticated by suggesting "commissioned" street art is fantastic, it's just the illegal stuff they want rubbed out. Better than nothing, I suppose, but such a stance completely misses the point of street art, which, at its best, is to operate outside the establishment so it can hold a mirror up to society itself.

It is created in the knowledge that whatever message it conveys will probably be short-lived, serving literally as a sign of the times before it is painted over - either by the authorities or other artists.

It is a continuation of our species' need for artistic expression, from Indigenous rock art through the Renaissance and beyond, and like any art it has the power to inspire whole communities.

Yes, it costs the State Government millions of dollars to clean up but maybe if some of that money was spent on intelligently encouraging quality street art (and that doesn't mean commissioning "safe" pieces) instead of demonising all who attempt it - talented or otherwise - the total bill may be reduced.

To Simon Beaumont and his listeners, I strongly recommend checking out Exit Through the Gift Shop, a Banksy film that will screen for just two weeks at Luna Leederville from June 10. Here's the trailer.

Ben O'Shea is editor of The Wire Mag. You can follow him on Twitter at @benoshea.