It begins with training. I was hired sometime in 2006 and rode in a Dodge Ram 3500 truck fully quipped with product and equipment (pressure washer) to get the job done. I learned the process and daily routine quicker than I thought I would have. I should have taken this as a sign to come I would have enjoyed the job a lot more than I thought I would. A scout or a representative is sent out to scour the vastness of Toronto and surrounding areas for graffiti. High, low, big, small, it never mattered. We could remove it with little damage, if any ever done. Once the rep has located graffiti, the next step is to locate the customer to which property the graffiti is located. Customers of course can also locate us by calling us. Once a contact was established, the proposal can begin. The rep would discuss an appropriate time frame, date, and of course, price to which removal would be acceptable. They would also explain the removal process depending what type of substrate it was on.
Once the proposal was set, the rep would take photos of the graffiti. Back at headquarters, a work sheet or proposal sheet would be printed out and put into the work orders. One of the tech's (Graffiti Technicians) would get the work order and the instructions of best suggested way to remove it, location of exactly where it is, and a thumbnail photo is all on the work order. Once the tech has reached the location of the graffiti, an assessment would be made by the tech as do what he or she wanted to really do here. Now, rule of thumb, if on brick, we use a goop based product (sorry, no product names are given), if on a non porous surface, plastic, glass, paint, we use a different method. The 'goop' used basically restores the paint to which it came out of the can, wet, liquid state form. We brush the goop on and wait for about 20 minutes before we fire up the hot water pressure washer. I will not say what the p.s.i was, nor how hot the water got, except it would strip paint off your car with ease. It could dig into concrete. So there was certainly a skill needed here as to not damage anything.
Brick removal was the best. To ready myself to do a removal off brick was fun. I would gear up, overalls, gloves, boots and a full face mask ready....and get to it, meticulously, like a surgeon remove in strips, in the same width of the bricks, remove the graffiti.
I have edited out the company logo on my hat, clothes as to keep within the respected guidelines of the company. The removal process is a fairly easy thing unless it's a color of green, blue or red which can tend to be trouble. Once the graffiti is off, clean up is simple, as all products are biodegradable and environmental friendly. Everything dissolves with the water. No trace of us ever being there was left behind. End result, is a cleaner looking property, and a happy customer.
I miss this job at times and often wonder, were we ever really winning the battle against graffiti? The answer was no. Simply, we were able to maintain it to a reasonable level of acceptance. Store fronts, business owners who got tagged were told they now have 72 hours to have the graffiti removed from the walls of their businesses. Or pay a fine.
So what is graffiti exactly? Where did it originate from? Is it really an art or just scribble? Let's look further into these questions.
Graffiti has existed since the times of the ancient. From the Pharaohs of Egypt to the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece. Even more so, during the times of the cave man. Who would blast dried earth elements such as red, browns and other colours with saliva in the cave walls that were etched with markings of animals, or themselves, or their own hands. Ta-da, you have graffiti. The terminology used in the graffiti world can be extensive and confusing, to save myself time, I have provided a link to which you can explore the terms used here.
Here are a couple of pictures.
A 'throw-up'.
A 'tag'.
Marc Ecko is a top graffiti artist and well known throughout the graffiti world. He is the one who supposedly tagged, Air Force One, the President's airplane with his logo, 'Still Free". As seen in the picture below.
A goal of a tagger, or artist, is to be seen. To become known amongst his or her peers in the graffiti community. Everyday you can spot graffiti if you just look for it. Seems, we have become very immune to it as we can walk right by it and not even ever notice. At times it is hard to read a taggers signature. Next time you come across graffiti, stop and take it in for a moment. Think to yourself, "What did this person have to go through in order to break the law, and what does it say? What message are they trying to convey? Is it art, or vandalism?"
Till next time .......
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