The mayor vs the murals: Could Joburg's street art be wiped out?

For some, graffiti means unsightly scrawls and vandalism. Through another lens, it is artful makeup applied to a scarred city.

Johannesburg has a progressive attitude towards graffiti. The city has commissioned graffitist superstars to create works such as the 10-storey Nelson Mandela Mural on Juta Street (done by US artist Shepard Fairey).

It is tattooed with zebras, multi-layered characters and abstract murals by acclaimed local artists Faith47, Falco and Rasty Knayles, and thoughtful pieces by graphic activist Mak1one.

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Last week, a missive to the Mail&Guardian from new mayor Herman Mashaba's office hinted that bylaws are being redrafted, including regulating graffiti that is considered "a deterrent to economic investment".

The pro-graffiti wing sees this as a warning sign pointing to a similar DA council decision in Cape Town that literally whitewashed graffiti art in the city, sending South Africa's best artists underground or overseas.

Rasty, one of South Africa's most established graffiti artists and convenor of the City Of Gold annual street art festival, says: "We are gathering support from the public, public enterprises, corporates and property developers we have collaborated with over the years.

"We would like to be able to meet with the mayor and his team to explain the importance of graffiti in the city."

Mashaba's spokesman, Tony Taverna-Turisan, says not all pieces can be considered art. Who will determine the difference is not clear, but "the process will be transparent and fair, with input from the artists."

The graffiti community sees censorship written on the walls.

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Rasty says: "Graffiti is a beautiful art form. It is open to interpretation and it is constantly evolving. It cannot be put in a box or labelled in any one way."

He says that although "tagging" - which often comprises indecipherable signatures - is considered vandalism, it is also the beginning of an amateur graffitist's development.

"You cannot pick up a spray can and paint a 10-storey building. You have to begin with the basics. The big murals inspire the youth to express themselves but if you eliminate the tags then the murals become unobtainable. The youth starting out in the art form become discouraged and the movement dies out. You cannot have one without the other."

Jo Buitendach, an inner-city tour guide who studied Joburg graffiti in her masters thesis, says new anti-vandalism bylaws would defy logic.

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"Johannesburg did not degenerate because of graffiti. The city began to degenerate over 30 years ago and the graffiti began about 10 years after that. The graffiti in Johannesburg is a wonderful gift to its citizens. From constant interaction with citizens of graffiti-rich areas like Jeppestown or Newtown, I can tell you that the majority of residents like it."

Buitendach says most city murals are permission pieces. "The artist will ask a spaza shop owner, for instance, if he may paint on the wall, and he will generally say yes, but also paint the building and my shopfront signage. It is symbiotic. We have had more than 1,000 tourists on our street art tour."

Several of the artists washed off Cape Town walls are travelling the world, creating commissioned murals in other cities.

Cape Town artist manager Shani Judes says that if Joburg adopts the same regulatory process as has been implemented down south, permissions would have to be granted not just by the owner and his neighbours, but by the city itself.

"I understand the need to regulate it, things go a bit wild, but that is what is involved in having a vibrant city," says Judes. "Street art has come to a halt in Cape Town. One of our best artists, Faith47, hasn't painted here for two years. That's because of exhaustion from the paperwork."

Judes says: "Joburg's streets are exciting with movement, artists are using it as a creative political platform. One of the reasons that Braamfontein resurged was because of art. It will become a business district and they will kick out the artists, paint over the art, and it becomes sterile. Woodstock is going through this right now.

"This has also affected the livelihood of families. Yet the city's tourism department constantly makes use of murals they have approved to promote the city and the design capital."

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For Durban-based muralist Mook Lion, graffiti represents "independent and critical thought" - the antithesis of advertising, which is allowed by the authorities.

Joburg's boho suburb Westdene was plastered in 50 works as part of a project spearheaded by photographer Derek Smith.

"I am of the older generation which might be seen to be against graffiti, but I have photographed it for a long time. I understand the meaning of it," says Smith.

"We wanted to art-up Westdene. If you go about it in the right way, you can have very positive spin-offs from having beauty on walls. It has created a sense of community, togetherness and ownership."

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Smith suggests that Joburg should drive a wall-art movement rather than regulate it. "This is a worldwide trend. It can uplift the area rather than push investors away. Graffiti will do nothing to make investors less interested if there are infrastructure problems like inadequate sewerage, poor water supply and bad housing," says Smith.

"The inherent danger is that it will not go away. It will go underground and you will get unsightly 'bombing'. There will not be high-quality art, it will be more tagging."

Rasty says the reason for street art's worldwide popularity is its public accessibility. "Graffiti is meant for everyone, rich or poor, young or old, to experience and make their own judgment on. It is not an exclusive art form shown in private exhibitions for only high society to appreciate. It exists so that even the little kid in the ghetto can be exposed to some form of art and the ability to express himself.

"The existing bylaws are already sufficient to prosecute anyone practising illegal graffiti. Those doing it are aware of those laws and will do it regardless. What this bylaw will do is make it difficult, if not entirely impossible, for those wishing to paint beautiful artworks in public space legally by simply asking the owner of the property for permission. Even if you are not a fan of graffiti, take a minute and think about that."

Follow the author of this article, Shanthini Naidoo, on Twitter: @ShantzN