Could tagging become the new hot youth ministry activity?
James Powderly and Evan Roth consider themselves artists; but instead of painting on wood panel or snapping a photo on silicone, their canvases include buildings, overpasses, bridges, and billboards. Yes… they are “taggers” – the same sort that leave eyesores to the unappreciative all over many urban centers around the globe.
However, the new tagging styles of Powderly and Roth have created a way for artists to be as creative and daring as they want to be without destroying public property. “While most graffiti crews use spray paint to mark buildings and urban infrastructure, Roth and Powderly, the artists behind the Graffiti Research Lab, have perfected a unique form of temporary high-tech graffiti spray they call laser tagging that utilizes a laser pointer in lieu of paint, a projector in place of a spray.” Once they’ve had their fun and turn off the projector, no evidence remains that they were ever there.
The grand scale projects of Powderly and Roth have become so popular on YouTube that they’ve even caught the eye and the interest of the New York Museum of Modern Art, but the tagging duo claim to consider their technology more as a vehicle for free speech and for making a loud visual statement than for art appreciators.
New technology, according to Roth, has made tagging a more viable and accessible vehicle for people to take action on things that mean something to them.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
Could “laser Tagging” ever become a youth group activity? What are your opinions on Roth and Powderly’s claims about free speech? Do you feel that creating a tag carries a message, or is it more about the growing need for young people to make a mark in the world? How might Youth ministers help give positive direction to this need?
FULL TIME ARTICLE Youth Culture Update online is an article summary compiled by Damien O’Farrell