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Reverse Graffiti: Clean Street Art Hits San Francisco!

inhabitat.com — The Reverse Graffiti Project imbues the guerrilla tactics of street-art with an eco-friendly element, detourning the definition of graffiti by actually cutting through and cleaning up grit to leave a lasting impression. The artist scraped through the grit and grime of the tunnel walls to reveal a stunning portrait of a lusher San Francisco.

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FamilyGuyFan 111 days ago, made popular 110 days ago

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D14BL0, on 06/21/2008, -7/+52That's amazing. I hope they don't clean that off.
- fudged71, on 06/21/2008, -4/+12lol
- freqk, on 06/22/2008, -1/+14they did.
- pedepy, on 06/22/2008, -4/+2heheheh1!!!!!!!!
- btbtravis, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1You think over time it would just wear off.
magicjohnson, on 06/21/2008, -4/+71Although I think the green element is a little over-hyped her, this is still a cool concept.
- frotastic, on 06/21/2008, -1/+17yeah she is a little over-hyped
- megamod, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1does this mean they could do this during the day and not have to hide from cops since technically it's not vandalism?
  - btbtravis, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1You would think. "They are Cleaning!"
- faatbuddha, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Yeah... what about all that water and energy it took to produce that? :P
gskill, on 06/21/2008, -16/+5At least one good use for graffiti.
- dh122, on 06/21/2008, -2/+5Banksy.
  - Slackdragon, on 06/22/2008, -2/+9In my opinion, there are two types of graffiti. The gang tagging that ruins property values, looks like crap, and is indicative of a failing socio-economic region.
    
    Then there's graffiti for arts sake. Graffiti for social consciousness. That's where you see some truly interesting and inspiring stuff. Sarcastic, witty, thought provoking and iconoclastic.
    
    This other stuff... gangland territorial pissings... ugly as sin and should be fought tooth and nail.
    - Ymeg, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1I would still not want it on my property. You can't seperate ''art" and vandalism or "territorial pissings" just because of your opinion of how it looks.
    - jakem1, on 06/22/2008, -0/+4@Ymeg - Banksy could come and stencil my place whenever he wants. Apart from the fact that his artwork is fantastic, people are literally tearing down walls he's painted on or even selling their homes just to sell the artwork.
ninerskeet, on 06/21/2008, -7/+2That's pretty cool!
Matt2k, on 06/21/2008, -5/+54Is it still eco-friendly when you use massive amounts of water to draw pictures on a wall?
- Animal, on 06/21/2008, -8/+4Not to mention whatever cleaning products they used to accomplish this feat.
  - Spaceomega, on 06/22/2008, -0/+12From the article : .. "Curtis approached the project with dozens of stencils, a high-pressure stream of water, and eco-friendly cleaning solutions provided by GreenWorks" ..
    
    GreenWorks is a "natural" cleaner, apparently. http://www.greenworkscleaners.com/
    - Animal, on 06/22/2008, -0/+4... which is the new eco arm of everyone’s favorite bleach company Clorox...
  - Slackdragon, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2With a high-pressure power washer, you really don't need anything but water.
    
    But from the article "Curtis approached the project with dozens of stencils, a high-pressure stream of water, and eco-friendly cleaning solutions provided by GreenWorks (which is the new eco arm of everyone’s favorite bleach company Clorox)."
    - brjndr, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1And all that grime is going to come off the wall and run into the storm drains and flow into the bay.
- benburned, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2It's probably true, they also used large wooden boards as stencils.
- Slackdragon, on 06/22/2008, -3/+29Yeah, it's not like that stuff falls from the sky or anything.
- wolferz, on 06/22/2008, -9/+27.... yes? Is that a trick question? What? You think using water makes the water unavailable forever? Water is a renewable resource. Using it to draw pictures on a wall is no more harmful to the environment than "allowing" rainy weather. I'm sure there were some weeds and mildew in the cracks of the sidewalk that were very happy to get that water
  
  BTW despite what captain planet might say there is no need to worry about leaving the faucet running in your bathroom while you brush your teeth or otherwise, though it doesn't hurt to ether. Eventually that water will be treated and pumped... free of all harmful elements... back into the rivers and streams.
  
  If it's not clean then that is an issue with the treatment methods... not whether or not you should turn off the water between brush strokes.
  - kukurio, on 06/22/2008, -1/+13It's true that water itself is renewable, but pumping and treating that water costs energy.
    - itsthebrod, on 06/22/2008, -8/+4And so does debating pointless topics on websites.
  - miatafan, on 06/22/2008, -1/+5You must not live in a desert.
    - Puffles, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2And San Fransisco is in a desert?
  - BarriedaleNick, on 06/22/2008, -1/+3You really seem to have missed the entire point about water conservation. Apart form the fact that in many places in the world water is a scarce resourse you also seem to miss the point that it takes energy and chemicals to treat water to make it clean. So absolutely once clean water is used it can't be used again until it is processed. It is nothing like "allowing rainy weather" as the water used here has had energy/chemicals expended on it already.
    
    This is just greenwash - much better in environmental terms to let it stay dirty.
- poxonyou, on 06/22/2008, -3/+6Yeah, sorry, but this is simply another artsy marketing campaign designed to look homegrown. Remember Sony's ads in California? Spray-painting cryptic, Sony referencing ads? Now Clorox (bleach company) is promoting their "green" products by co-opting this UK-based trend. Nice big "greenworks" logo next to this "reverse graffiti". No doubt, they're marketing this to the SF city government to clean their walls with. Lame.
  - migatikon, on 06/22/2008, -1/+7Does this mean the artistic value is invalidated? Corporations patronize the arts all the time. There's nothing wrong with that.
- diggimator, on 06/22/2008, -1/+3The artist was clearly unaware of the dangers involved in using Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) when he carried out this project.
  - Slackdragon, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1You made me squirt dHmO though my nose!
- semvhu, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1Wow, people are already forgetting about the severe droughts the southeast US had last year. It doesn't fall from the sky all the time everywhere.
Glorydies, on 06/21/2008, -5/+1So wouldn't the walls of the tunnels just get dirty again and cover up the clean portions of the walls? Or do they spray something over the walls to keep them from getting covered in the dirt, grim, and soot that they just removed?
- wolferz, on 06/22/2008, -0/+6The whole wall gets cleaned by the city at a later time. These things rarely stick around for more than a few days before the city erases them by cleaning the whole wall... which is kinda the point.
- johndi, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Why wipe your ass? You're just going to ***** again. Of course it will have to be cleaned again. Just like most people will wash their dishes again and again and again.
benburned, on 06/21/2008, -1/+10http://youtube.com/watch?v=5lX-2sP0JFw

Video about the project.
- ep53, on 06/22/2008, -2/+1http://youtube.com/watch?v=MZf2W3S7gV0
  
  Similar grafiti, but with lights....
SkateItsGreat, on 06/21/2008, -9/+1Graffiti will always be dirty because it causes people to question their beliefs. The government and the media want nothing to do with that.
- wolferz, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2*adjusts skatitsgreat's tinfoil hat for him*
- attackpanda, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1...you forgot "the corporations".
Airjoe, on 06/22/2008, -8/+1I swear I saw this on digg 2 days ago but I cannot find it.

You mother ******. You divided by zero, didn't you.
Reisr3, on 06/22/2008, -8/+1I'd like to know how this was done.
- theshalit, on 06/22/2008, -0/+8if only there was some kind of statement by the artist delivered through the internet. An article on a blog for example.
- Technohamster, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Water and really big stencils.
gannondork, on 06/22/2008, -10/+4San Fransisco is full of hippies, the youtube video proves this.
- pedepy, on 06/22/2008, -1/+9And your mother is full of herpes, the redtube video proves this.
freqk, on 06/22/2008, -1/+33Some guy did a similar thing in a tunnel, removed the muck from walls in a tunnel, made tons of skulls, the city cleaned the entire wall the next day. I honestly think if there could be Anonymous art like this all around a city, it would be pretty damn cool.
- praisethelard, on 06/22/2008, -2/+2Yeah, it was in Brazil, I think.
- acetv, on 06/22/2008, -1/+8Here's a video of that project:
  
  http://youtube.com/watch?v=JwsBBIIXT0E
- wolferz, on 06/22/2008, -2/+1The one I saw like that they actually cleaned it right then and there. Last shot of the clip was the black muck water rolling down the street into the drain.
  - smellytim, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1u didnt watch the video i take it?
    - wolferz, on 06/24/2008, -0/+1Which vid? Oh! You mean the one that was posted AFTER I started my comment and that I didn't see till after mine had been posted. Yeh... I'll admit I didn't watch it before I posted.
- crywolf, on 06/22/2008, -2/+1You just dont look hard enough buddy.. Every city's got its famous graffiti writers and graffiti symbols, not all of it is 13 year olds with spray cans.
  - freqk, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Oh, there's some brilliant ***** here in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Just not enough of it, esti.
- megamod, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1you've got to admit that carrying around a power washer in the back of your buddy's truck to do this isn't nearly as convenient as a spray can...unless they come out with water spray cans or super soakers powerful enough to get the muck off?
  - freqk, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1I wouldn't mind if it was paint, as long as the results are pretty. :)
artofficial, on 06/22/2008, -4/+11Word, I like this idea.

of course, anything endorsed by a large corporation kinda leaves a bad aftertaste.
- pedepy, on 06/22/2008, -1/+2comment dugg for use of 'word' word.
  
  word.
- itsthebrod, on 06/22/2008, -0/+4Why are corporations such a four-letter word on Digg? Not every company is 100% evil...
  - freqk, on 06/22/2008, -4/+1TAKE DOWN THE EVIL CORPORATE EMPIRE!!!
  - sparsely, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1I don't think it's that as much as people just generally don't like being advertised to, particularly when it comes in disguise.
bitrate72, on 06/22/2008, -2/+3that is sick as hell
- pedepy, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1don't you mean .. healthy as ***** ? or somethin? ..
  - cathpah, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1healthy as heaven.
aenegeling, on 06/22/2008, -1/+8Great... something I can do with the mold growing in my bathroom.
jull1234, on 06/22/2008, -5/+20I prefer to call it half assed cleaning.
- wolferz, on 06/22/2008, -3/+3Forest for trees dude. The idea isn't to clean the wall. The idea is to raise awareness of these things so that the walls are not allowed to get that dirty again. The idea is to make the tax payers pressure the people who should be dealing with this deal with it. It's not about cleaning, it's about promoting keeping the world we live in clean.
  - elnerdo, on 06/22/2008, -1/+4No, the idea is to advertise for Clorox
    - wolferz, on 06/24/2008, -0/+1so there is some one out there even more jaded than me. Only one problem, not all of the people out there doing this are funded by clorox... so yeh, you're talking out your ass.
0260, on 06/22/2008, -1/+13drawing swastikas on dirty cars is very effective
Vash3001, on 06/22/2008, -9/+2I guess buttsex makes you want to clean things.
In other words it makes you anal.
- freqk, on 06/22/2008, -3/+1you mean butsecks.
  stick it in her pooper.
  
  ...god DAMN it 4chan, what have you done to me?
jawbreaker4fs, on 06/22/2008, -6/+1I think we all watch Epic Fu... kthxbai
ThReAtEnEd, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1http://digg.com/educational/Reverse_Graffiti_Polic ...

that was one that was on digg a while ago that was also really well done. it's a shame that the police got people to clean it off though =
heliox, on 06/22/2008, -7/+6Why don't they go all the way, and just clean the ***** wall.
- pandawho1212, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2seriously who's to say someone would rather see a clorox advertisement than anything
pedepy, on 06/22/2008, -3/+1this is just nice.
obipwnobi, on 06/22/2008, -7/+3...it's not any "cleaner" than the original graffiti, it just looks cleaner
it's not "green" because it uses drinkable water
graffiti (not tagging) sends messages too if you acknowledge it as art
- ChromaVita, on 06/22/2008, -1/+2Because in this particular scenario, a wall that is half clean and half dirty is more beautiful than a wall that is completely clean or completely dirty.
philwalsh, on 06/22/2008, -0/+7There's a guy called Alexandre Orion who's been doing this longer (i think) here in São Paulo.

http://www.alexandreorion.com/ossario/ossario_eng. ...
christopherRB, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1I like the art, not the company that did it.
asherchang, on 06/22/2008, -0/+3The ideas of guerrilla beautification and reverse graffiti have been around for a long time now... Strange to see it supported by a giant cleaning chemical company which in the past has participated in inundating the American public with messages of how we need brightly colored artificial chemicals that contain sudsing agents and are heavilly perfumed and/or full of pungent fumes.

I'm also surprised to see that this article overlooks one amusing side effect of reverse graffiti: it sometimes agitates city officials alarmed at the art to get the entire surface wiped clean, which, while sad in one sense, is a perfectly positive outcome.
pcsperson, on 06/22/2008, -3/+2Very impressive! We can only hope you come to Michigan in the future.
benburned, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2This one is much better in my opinion.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JwsBBIIXT0E
audiophiliac, on 06/22/2008, -0/+3In Portland last year, several people did this in the sunset tunnel and the city still considered it as "graffiti" and would prosecute offenders. I certainly hope whomever decided that got their head checked- I can't wait until I can be prosecuted for cleaning the walls. :P
jameshales, on 06/22/2008, -2/+2If someone did something like that to my property, I wouldn't mind. It's cool because it isn't tagging. It would piss me off if someone tagged my property, even using a technique like that. Or when people do things like write "clean me" on dirty cars (it's not funny because it's been done thousands of times).
deeperthewound, on 06/22/2008, -4/+2Graffiti is easily the best form of expressive art.
XternalHD, on 06/22/2008, -2/+2So that website definitely stole Diggs, digg up/down comment button icons, or is it just me?
- ChromaVita, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1When it's a story about graffiti, you say that site bit digg's comment button icons.
bdc83, on 06/22/2008, -2/+2On the one hand, a cool, innovative urban art form.

On the other, a shameless corporate shill.
Iskate4salomon, on 06/22/2008, -8/+2This is *****.

I would rather look at tags and pieces on a freeway ANY day over this "beautification" and corporate *****.

This is not graffiti. This is not REVERSE graffiti. It's just stupid.

Legends probably wrote on those walls, and now its covered by "real art".
- pandawho1212, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1damn ***** straight!!!
- notwizt, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2So art suddenly stops being art when it's created by a certain sort of people?
  
  If I didn't know it was rabid anti-corporatism I'd say it sounded like racism.
happyseamonster, on 06/22/2008, -1/+2I'm going to do this with my underwear. =/
Shpox, on 06/22/2008, -2/+3Who's to bet a 15 year old will just rock up and start scribbling his alias all over it ?
- pandawho1212, on 06/22/2008, -3/+1"start scribbling his alias all over it"
  
  omfg how old r u? ur a joke
popwesa, on 06/22/2008, -6/+1OMG amazing!!!!!!!jsgjhdfgkdfhjk
come on seriously u guys havent seen this before?
this didnt just "hit" lol
kcorbo, on 06/22/2008, -2/+3How about they clean the entire thing instead of trying to gain notoriety from it? Seriously...."green" people these days are more about having other people see them smell their own farts than the world actually becoming a cleaner/better place.
- Twisty, on 06/22/2008, -5/+2lollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollol
  lollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollollolloll
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  south park reference
- adasha, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1how about YOU clean it if it bothers you?
BarriedaleNick, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Green - mmm not so really. Uses nice clean drinking water, uses electricity to pressurise it, petrol to get everything to the right place. It would be much greener to let it stay dirty. It's also sponsored by a huge corporation which just seems to be trying to greenwash itslef..
Flashman, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2Ha - my local butcher was doing this ten years ago on the local railroad viaduct.
notwizt, on 06/22/2008, -0/+2This reminds me of "Guerrilla gardening", which is also a completely awesome idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerilla_gardening
kriTdAnki, on 06/22/2008, -0/+0this so ugly. it looks like a stupid print for a comforter set that you'd buy at ross which reminded you of yr beautiful home depot garden that was inspired by a tv show that brought you closer to nature.
juliend2, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1its genius
hendrixlives64, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1woohoo "sponsored" graffiti!!
thumbs up!

not
soniyashrma, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1cool concept
funkdr, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1i like where they are going!
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Reverse Graffiti: Clean Street Art Hits San Francisco!

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