Marc Ecko: Ho With Cause
Tuesday, April 25th, 2006
Back when I was a juvenile delinquent (although I am still looked upon by many as such although my juvenile status expired about nine years ago) I used to care a lot about graffiti. To tell the truth, I still care a whole lot about graffiti -although my inability to catch more than a couple of tags without being arrested caused me to stop writing years ago. As it is though, I still pay close attention to who is doing what and I try to take flicks when I can. I’m not going to claim I have any sort of unique or in-depth knowledge on the subject, but I sure know a fraud when I see one.
Enter Marc Ecko. Some people may know Marc Ecko from his clothing line Ecko -in fact I am wearing an Ecko shirt right now (laundry day). By using hip-hop artists like The Beatnuts and (I think) Method Man in their ad campaigns Ecko was able to break into that cash-cow demographic known in the industry as "suburban white kids." During the years I was at college I noticed that lots of white kids who listened to Ja Rule and thought splitting an O with their roommate counting as slanging started wearing Ecko - at that point it was safe to say the line had a noticeable presence in the market.
Hardly content making millions of dollars selling white kids t-shirts with rhinos on them and playing up his faux urban roots - Marc Ecko decided it was time to branch out into the world of video games. With the release of "Getting Up" a video game about graffiti (I dunno, I stopped playing video games a while ago, albeit when my X-Box got jacked from the crib) featuring actual graffiti writers, Ecko started making noise outside of the fashion world. The trouble began when Marc "Marcy Marc" Ecko decided he wanted to hold a block party in Manhattan which featured graffiti writers bombing canvases designed to look like subway cars. New York City and Mayor Bloomberg tried to stop the block party from happening on the grounds that it was encouraging graffiti. When Ecko sued and won the right to hold the block party -you could tell the city was not thrilled.
Ecko, not content making millions selling kids video games and t-shirts has announced plans to lobby against the proposed anti-immigration bill.
I joke, he is actually suing the city over a controversial new law that bans people under 21 (who are old enough go to war and die) from possessing spray paint and broad tipped markers for any reason. I don’t really understand what sort of right the city has to raise the age from 18 to 21, but it should be noted that most graffiti writers are actually over 21. Either way, when I was a kid we had these things called fake Id’s which we would use to get around the fact that you needed to be 18 to buy paint.
Anyway, while I applaud Marc Ecko for pointing out how ridiculous this law is -I find it funny that he thinks this will somehow enhance his street cred -dude, your name is Marc with a C.
As allhiphop.com put it:
Fashion designer and entrepreneur Marc Ecko announced the filing of a First Amendment lawsuit yesterday against the Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Councilman Peter Vallone and the City of New York.
Filed on behalf of seven artists under the age of 21, Ecko’s lawsuit challenges anti-graffiti legislation that directly impacts the First Amendment rights of young citizens and aspiring artists in New York.
The amendments, which went into effect on January 1, 2006, make it a criminal offense for simple possession of spray paint and broad tipped markers for all persons under the age of 21- regardless of whether they are possessing those materials in connection with a college art class, a high school project, or are on the job as a union painter’s apprentice.
The laws also establish a blanket prohibition to purchasing spray paint for people under 21.
"I have learned of these and other aspiring artists whose rights to pursue legal graffiti-inspired art were being suppressed due to overly broad legislation here and in numerous cities across this country," Ecko said. "That is why I have chosen to dedicated my time and resources to calling attention to the absurdity of laws and ensuring the rights of these individuals aren’t being preemptively censored."
The artists will ask a federal judge for an order preventing the City of New York and the New York Police Department from enforcing recent amendments to New York City’s anti-graffiti laws.
The plaintiffs have filed affidavits in the case alleging that they are unable to express their artistic freedoms under the existing legislation.
In August 2005, Ecko waged a successful federal lawsuit against censorship when Mayor Bloomberg and Councilman Vallone tried to stop his graffiti block party by revoking a street permit for the event.
Ecko proceeded to file suit against Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York and won, clearing the way for the permit to be immediately reinstated and the graffiti block party to take place successfully as planned.
