Some people have such a visceral reaction to graffiti that they will go through great lengths to cover it, even if it means making the whole wall, door or gate look way worse than the newly scrawled tag or fill-in. In an effort to document and evaluate these eccentric acts of post-vandalism, ANIMAL is launching a new series called “Buffed Up.”
Who: TRAP [pictured above]
Where: Bowery subway station
Grade: C+
Why: Whoever buffed this piece did a good job obliterating virtually all traces of the “TRAP” that was there and had we not known about the spot, we would have never guessed it was him. But why not just finish erasing the rest?
Who: BTM
Where: Williamsburg
Grade: D
Why: Why even bother? This outline is still perfectly legible. Now it just looks like it was written in chalk. On the flipside, they didn’t fuck up the rest of the wall, so it gets just above a failing grade.
Who: DEBT
Where: Williamsburg
Grade: D
Why: Like the image above, this buff attempt is a pure waste of time and resources, but at least they didn’t damage area around the tag either.
Who: CASH4
Where: Williamsburg
Grade: D
Why: The tag is still very readable and the only difference between the before and after is that the after looks worse.
Who: SEKA
Where: SOHO
Grade: F
Why: The graffiti is easily readable and the wall is now more of a mess. Great job and by that we mean terrible.
Who: PIXOTE
Where: Bowery
Grade: D
Why: What a mess! You call that a buff? Even the most casual fans of graffiti and street art can recognize PIXOTE’s iconic lettering. We can’t imagine the person who did this and figured their splotchy application of paint looks better than this writer’s handiwork.
Who: Banksy
Where: LES
Grade: F
Why: This Banksy was doomed from the start and it started getting ragged soon after it was first discovered, but this “fix” is not aesthetically pleasing. The tags can still be seen under the gray paint, which was even applied evenly and what’s up with that little untouched square? Is that some ode to modern art? Fail.
(Photos: Aymann Ismail/ANIMALNewYork)
