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There are 14 comments on A Midnight Ride with BU’s Graffiti Cop

  1. I like to thank officer O’Loughlin and her fellow officers on trying to catch the graffiti offenders.

    How about we require the offenders clean up their vandalism with a tooth brush during the summer ;)

  2. Good write up. I wonder if BU ever works with artists to figure out ways to collaborate and allocate commissioned works/murals – not only as a way to deter repeat offense to large spaces, but also as a way to show BU’s commitment to celebrating the arts and its “urban mission” so often touted?

    This (as in “art,” not using property w/o permission and being an expense to others) is part of the city-life landscape and I wonder if there are ways to embrace parts of it – legally and creatively.

    1. the Dean of Students Office about an art installation. There’s that hideous rock that everyone spray paints each year. Talk to them about installing a mural, maybe repurpose concrete slabs. Same thing with Boston, talk to city hall about art installations around town. And hit up Brookline while you’re at it. There is a way, but you need to ask and offer good suggestions with backup as to why it works and who it benefits, and how.

  3. And you wonder why BU and even Boston police in general get the reputation of being out of touch and aloof. Boston really needs to overcome its puritanical misgivings in general if it truly wants to recognized as a modern world class city. Seriously, what kind of joke university cop takes pride in throwing world famous artists in jail with enormously cultural impactful art. There is clearly a difference between destructive vandalism and urban art that BU has yet recognize.

  4. I feel like this article horribly represents graffiti culture. Graffiti artists, at least the ones who aren’t largely known with huge installations, do not brag about their work to others, especially not online. Artists keep a low profile and do not go around bragging and proclaiming to others that they tagged a certain spot. If they tell others, it’s a small group of people that they know. The article makes it seem as if there’s an online popularity contest for who can become the most Instagram famous based off of where they are able to tag. That’s just not the case at all. This interpretation completely misrepresents a lot of graffiti artists and their work which is not damage. They create art on surfaces and do not render train cars or buildings non functional. I absolutely love seeing graffiti when I walk around because it breathes so much life and color into the city. The more you pay attention and travel around, it can be fun when you remember and notice a certain artist in multiple places. Graffiti art isn’t an activity that’s widely organized, but there is an established code that most respectable artists abide by and consider when they pick the spots they want to tag. Most artists understand that you shouldn’t go tagging impressive architecture or old historic landmarks because of how valuable and unique they are. Individuals that do this are definitely disrespectful, and perhaps if the city doesn’t want landmarks to be tagged, they should have security that watches over those areas that are actually of value to our culture and history as a city. Graffiti can also create an industry for the city if it is embraced. In the Arts Distract of LA, artists move into the city specifically to have the chance to showcase and share their work on the streets (which the city allows them to do). There are entire businesses founded off of teaching people about graffiti and giving tours to tourists who are eager to glimpse graffiti and street art. If Boston embraced street art, it would create a more positive environment.

  5. They complain about graffiti but then use the very same influence for their article design. Like a “spray painted” font for the drop caps ? Come on now choose a side or don’t write about it.

  6. To me it is very sad to seeing Nancy O’Loughlin bicycling around in now a smaller jurisdiction, but largely the same circles that It looks like she’s been emotionally lost in for more than 30 years. This article presents her as a dogged solider in a just and present war. Those with experienced eyes and knowledge of the landscape see a ghost holding on desperately to a battle that ended long ago.

    Missing from the article are Nancy’s own troubles with the law and why she is no longer with the MBTA police force. Her role in Massachusetts having some of the most draconian laws regarding graffiti in our entire country could only be a badge of honor to those who have their eyes closed to its effects. The phrase ‘banned in boston’ is only one of pride to those stuck in a mindset void of cultural openness and awareness. Arresting Shepard at the height of his mainstream acceptance illustrates this superbly.

    Law enforcement personnel who focus on graffiti find themselves doing a complicated psychological dance with it. They obsess over the writers, collect any and all artifacts of their work and often after apprehending them, get them to autograph a black book of their own where they collect the tags of their prey. They effectively transform themselves into fans of something they simultaneously love and hate.

    I’ve noticed that sometimes when we can’t acknowledge our own fears and misguided actions we instead focus on pursuing and punishing others. I suspect that the level of intensity the Nancy has shown us in her fascination with Boston’s graffiti writers for more than 3 decades would indicate the level of inner journey that may sadly remain unattended to.

    I sincerely wish that someday Nancy will be able to find peace with herself and her surroundings.

  7. Any professional’s fame and great achievements deserve much credit and respect. I really appreciate Nancy’s contributions to the society.

  8. Siobhan wrote, ” and perhaps if the city doesn’t want landmarks to be tagged, they should have security that watches over those areas that are actually of value to our culture and history as a city.” Well that is a rich perspective. How about this idea – don’t deface anything not yours? I for one appreciate an officer biking at 2am while I sleep at night. For my part, I find that using Krylon Royal Blue covers up the ‘art’ on mailboxes quite nicely.

  9. Over the years she has collected and made shrines of people she “hunts” her prolific arrests like the one of Sheppard Fairey was days after the mayor shook his hand while him and his wife were headed to his art show that wasn’t a secret affair but put in the local newspaper. Her scare tactics relying on catching and releasing to get bigger prey has built her career of 30 years of chasing petty crime. One step up from a meter maid is a graffiti detective. The notch on her and Kelley’s belt are that they turned infractions into financially crippling felonies in order to protect their futures as…”graffiti experts”. I’m glad her routine of looking behind dumpsters and grey walls along the mass pike was documented her showcasing her expert skills to use over the last some odd years. Some of her other famous arrests have been askin people at legal permission graffiti walls to come look at something while coercing them to walk upon mbta property in order to arrest them for trespassing, going to high schools asking for information to terrorize people acting out in adolescent defiance, relying on other people as informants to lighten sentences and scouting the Internet.

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