NY graffiti painters see craft as art, not vandalism

NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) As a subway rattles overhead on a bright sunny day, the smell of aerosol paint permeates the air and graffiti artists spray-paint the side of a building with little fear of police.

Their canvas, the facade of a 200,000-square-foot former factory, has been transformed into a legal ''aerosol safe haven'' that attracts both local city kids and commercial artists from overseas in their 30s and 40s.

It is supervised by William Green, 41, known by his ''tag'' or graffiti signature ''Nic One''. He is part of a movement in New York -- the birthplace of modern graffiti -- to distinguish graffiti as an art form rather than vandalism and to fight back against anti-graffiti laws.

As skateboarders gathered near the vibrant, multicoloured complex, Green and his partner Jonathan Cohen, 33, alias ''Meres'', the creator of the space, give teenagers tips to improve their craft.

Cohen wants to establish a permanent graffiti school and gallery.

Five years ago he received the landlord's permission to transform the factory's facade into graffiti art using techniques requiring a high level of skill, such as murals based on movie or comic book scenes.

''Here you don't have to look over your shoulder or start running from the cops; you have people like Nic looking out for you,'' said Diego Garces, 16.

When struggling youths in the 1970s began scribbling messages on subway cars in this once crime-ridden city, few might have suspected it would spawn a worldwide commercial street art and fashion phenomenon.

Now commercial artists are seeking to change negative opinions about the movement closely linked to hip-hop culture.

FIGHTING THE LAW Faced with a new city law that banned the possession of broad-tipped markers or spray paint by people under 21, graffiti artists say lawmakers have lumped vandals in with legal artists, violating constitutional rights to free expression.

''At its core it's sloppy legislation and highlights the cultural disconnect between these politicians and a younger generation,'' said designer Marc Ecko, 33, who is helping seven young artists challenge the anti-graffiti law through a lawsuit.

The youngsters won the first round when a federal judge imposed a temporary injunction stopping it from being enforced until the case can be heard in court.

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