Splasher, a modern day 'Spit'?

Do you remember 'Spit', the hater who ruined graffiti pieces in the film Beat Street by spraying the word 'Spit' over the mural? He was inspired by a real-life 'vandal' called 'Cap' who was featured in the 1983 documentary, Style Wars.

Classic 'Cap' quote from Style Wars: "There's two styles of graffiti that are trying to, you know, co-exist with each other. But it ain't gonna work like that. Blood Wars, buddy. Blood Wars."

Ironically 'Spit' inspired a hundred imitators and even a cool line of clothes from New York-based, Acapulco Gold. Love it!

Splish Splash So, in today's NYC there is a 'Spit' type character, known ominously as 'The Splasher'! The Gothamist wrote: "Over the last few months, someone has been splashing paint over major streetart works all over the city. The "Splasher", as he's come to be known, has a taste for targeting major pieces by Swoon, Obey, Momo, and others. His trail of paint-dripped terror extends from Williamsburg, to Soho, and back again-- and he's already obliterated dozens of pieces."

This comment from one of the boards sounds like an episode of Carrie in 'Sex and The City', but it made me smile: "I was in LA over the weekend, and saw some street art splashed in the same exact way depicted in these NYC pics. Is "the splasher" bi-coastal?"



So what's it all about? Splasher has a written manifesto which he prints and pastes at the scene of the 'crime'. There are a series of statements with titles like "Avant-Garde: Advance Scouts For Capital", or "Art: The Excrement Of Action". But, each one comes with standard wording at the end: "Warning. The removal of this document could result in injury as we have mixed the wheatpaste with shards of glass." Pure evil!

So what do I think? Yes, wheatpasting and stenciling is getting out of hand and as is the transition from street to art galleries (again); yes, online art forums are too easy to get published on and gain instant fame...but to 'Splash' someone's work? Too much!