Vandalism

Vandalised facade and bicycle in Hamburg

Shopping cart, thrown into a canal, Netherlands

Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public
or private property.[1]
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed
towards any property without permission of the owner. The term finds its roots
in an Enlightenment view that the Germanic Vandals were a uniquely
destructive people.

Etymology

The Vandals sacking Rome

The Vandals, an ancient Germanic people, are associated with senseless
destruction as a result of their sack of Rome under King Gensericin 455. During
the Enlightenment, Rome was idealized, while the Goths 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 British
poet John 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
the vandalism of art. The term Vandalisme was coined in 1794 by Henri
Grégoire, bishop of Blois, to describe the destruction of artwork following
the French 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, popularising the pre-existing idea that they were a barbaric
group with a taste for destruction.[2]
Historically, vandalism has been justified by painter Gustave Courbet as
destruction of monuments symbolizing "war and conquest". Therefore, it is
often done as an expression of contempt, creativity, or both. Gustave Courbet's
attempt, during the 1871 Paris Commune, to dismantle the Vendôme column, a
symbol of the past Napoleon 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 the Tuileries Palace on 23 May 1871. "The criminal fight against
culture is only the reverse side of a criminal culture" wrote Klossowski 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 (delicta juris 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.

Vandalism on a street sign

Private citizens commit vandalism when they willfully damage or deface the
property of others or the commons. Some vandalism may qualify as culture
jamming or sniggling: 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 some graffiti art, billboard "liberation", and possibly crop
circles. Criminal vandalism takes many forms. Graffiti on public property is
common in many inner cities as part of a gang culture, where they might be
used as territorial markers.[5]
More serious forms of vandalism that may take place during public unrest such
as rioting can involve the willful destruction of public and private 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. In
response, local governments have adopted various legal measures to prevent
vandalism, but research has shown that the conventional strategies employed by
the government in response to at least unapproved graffiti are not the most
effective.[6]
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, throwing shoes on power lines or similar structures, ransacking a
property, flooding a house by clogging a sink and leaving the water running,
and pulling up plants from the roots without permission.

Political

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 other street 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 of property 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. by animal rights activists destroying
property owned by farmers, biotech companies, and research facilities and
setting free animals (which is sometimes referred to as eco-terrorism by
opponents). Vandalism is also a common tactic of black blocs.
Motives
Actions of this kind can be ascribed to anger or envy, or to spontaneous,
opportunistic behaviour, possibly for peer acceptance or bravado
in gangcultures, or disgruntlement with the target (victim) person or society.
Opportunistic vandalism of this nature may also be filmed, the mentality of
which can be akin to happy slapping. The large-scale prevalence of
gang graffiti 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 can some political ideologies, wish to draw attention
to problems, frustration, even playfulness. Youngsters, the most common
vandals, frequently experience low status and boredom. Vandalism enables
powerless people to attack those above them, take control and frighten others.
Unpunished vandalism can provide relief which reinforces 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.
Sociologist Stanley Cohen describes seven different types of vandalism:[9]
Headless statue in Ely Cathedral; ideological vandalism during the English
Reformation.

1. Acquisitive vandalism (looting and petty theft).

2. Peer pressure – Teenagers spend more time away from home with peers
whether they act constructively or destructively can depend on the
contacts they make. Disobeying authority can appear cool.
3. 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).
4. Ideological vandalism (carried out to further an explicit ideological cause
or deliver a message).
5. Vindictive vandalism (for revenge).
6. Play vandalism (damage resulting from children's games).
7. 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 by Mike 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 of subvertising⁠ ⁠— 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 to imprisonment for up to 3 years
and may also be punished with caning. Vandalism in the UK is construed as
an environmental crime and may be punished with an ASBO (Anti-Social
Behaviour Order).
In the 1990s, former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani cracked down on
"quality of life crimes", including graffiti. NY Parks Commissioner Henry J.
Stern described graffiti as "a metaphor for urban decay perhaps best shown in 'A
Clockwork Orange'" adding that "New York City will not be like that".[13]
Cybervandalism
This section needs
expansion. You
can help
by adding to
it. (January 2015)
Cybervandalism is vandalism on the internet. For example, vandalism on
Wikipedia involves adding questionable content, removing content, or changing
content in order to make it questionable, generally with the objective of harming
Wikipedia's reputation. Forms of online vandalism have been recorded, the most
common of which is website defacement. Vandalism on web maps has been
called "cartographic vandalism".[14]
Another form of cybervandalism is the creation of malware such
as viruses, Trojan horses, and spyware, which can harm computers. A
particularly virulent form of cybervandalism is ransomware, which is used to
extort money from computer owners, and can even go so far as to carry a
destructive malware payload that harms the system if payment isn't forthcoming
within a certain time limit.[citation needed]
Defacement
People defacing the walls of the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India

Defaced coat of arms (probably of Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc) in Santa

Venera, Malta
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.

As art
See also: graffiti
A sticker reading "The HELL with SHELL" photographed in Michigan in 1973
Traffic signal lightvandalism portraying cannabis in Bogotá, Colombia
Though vandalism in itself is illegal, it is often also an integral part of modern
popular culture. French painter Gustave Courbet's attempt to disassemble
the Vendôme column during the 1871 Paris Commune was probably one of the
first artistic vandalist acts, celebrated at least since Dada performances
during World War I. The Vendôme column was considered a symbol of the
recently deposed Second Empire of Napoleon III, and dismantled as such.
After the burning of the Tuileries Palace on 23 May 1871, Philosopher Friedrich
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 of monumental history. As
destruction of monumental history, vandalism was assured a long life
(as Herostratus proved): Performance art could make such a claim, as well
as Hakim Bey's poetic terrorism or Destroy 2000 Years of Culture from Atari
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 the Paris Commune by Adolphe 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
of Giottoand Rauschenberg. New York Authorities responded by coating
subway walls with Teflon paint, jailing taggers and requiring hardware stores to
keep spray paint under lock and key.[17]
Tags, designs, and styles of writing are commonplace on clothing, and are an
influence on many of the corporate logos. Many skateparks 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 a political statement, and as a
crime. Bristol-born guerrilla artist Banksy's claim is that official vandalism is
far worse than that perpetrated by individuals, and that he is decorating
buildings of no architectural merit.[citation needed]
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 of Stefan Sagmeister, including his Lou ReedCD
cover. A unique use of the defacement technique is the CD cover
for A.P.C. by Jean 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 for MNW Records by Sweden
graphic uses gold 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.
 CROSS CULTURE UNDERSTANDING

VANDALISM

SIGIT DWIYANTO BAMBANG

BG6C

105351111016

PENDIDIKAN BAHASA INGGRIS

FAKULTAS KEGURUAN DAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN

UNIVERSITAS MUHAMMADIYAH MAKASSAR

2019