Famous Japanese artist arrested for graffiti in NYC says he enjoyed jail
(Photo on right by Jeff Newman of TheArtCollectors.)
Famous Japanese pop artist Yoshitomo Nara says he enjoyed his stay in a NYC jail recently. He had been arrested for graffiti the day before his show opened at the Marianne Boesky Gallery. (The owner is the daughter of the even more famous "greed is good" criminal Ivan who served two years at Lompoc Federal Prison Camp for insider trading.)
Usually associated with his paintings and sculptures of doe-eyed figures, the Japanese artist had been caught tagging a graffiti portrait of two Japanese friends in the Union Square subway station.(Via Japan Probe)Nara was optimistic about his two days in lockup, though, saying it was “a nice experience in my life,” and that the environment he found himself in was “like in the movies.”
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He probably picked up some great new graffiti ideas while he was inside.
It's easy to look at two days as an adventure. Two weeks? Two months? Two Years? -Not so much.
Wow. Just like in the movies... so, he got sweated by the cops, and then put into a holding cell with a bunch of sweaty bikers or gangsters who had their way with him? I suppose some people could view that as a vacation... not me though.
I found it ironic that the people on the board where the story was posted were surprised that it wasn't just a fine. Then again, he could have been opening in Singapore, and then been waiting for 3 to 6 months for his caning. In that sense, he should consider himself quite lucky he was opening in NYC rather than somewhere else.
I had a friend who faced either ~$10,000 in fines or 2 weeks in jail. She picked jail (as would I) and said it wasn't really that bad at all, just lacking any real privacy or autonomy.
I've never been, not even the drunk tank, and I hope I never do.
Depends a great deal on where he was held (facility, population segment, etc) The difference between not so bad and terrifying beyond expression can only be a tier away
But having been arrested does that mean that he may be banned from entering the country again? Do they flag him when he comes in through customs everytime now? Would paying a fine as opposed to going to jail avoid having to have a record of the incident?
Jail time might be easy, but the consequences of tainting a spotless record can be devastating in some cases.
Still crazy that graffiti sends people to jail when it is obviously not a gang tag, I mean couldn't that have resolved this by making him clean the offending mark.
Lizardman: True, but when someone is in for just 2 days, they don't send you to the bighouse. He probably didn't even go to county.
Prunk / Arkady: The conviction / offense is the same on the books regardless of the sentencing.
Phikus: He almost certainly didn't go to county but there are holding cells/facilities (NYC & Boston leap to mind) that can be worse than some real prisons and there you haven't even been convicted yet
There's a big transit cop station in Union Sq, and a LOT of undercover cops out of there. It would be be a very stupid/unfortunate place to try graffiti.
I did a week in County. It was a one-week, all expenses paid vacation to me. I learned to play dominoes, and how to make a playing card make a WHAP! sound when played.
I walked back among the bunks one day where a bunch of musclemen were flexing. "you guys are a bunch of sissies!" Says I. That got their attention. "Let's see ONE of you guys do this:" I grabbed the vertical rail on a bunkbed and extended my legs straight out horizontally.
They tried, but none could it.
When I went to bed that night, a big black fella on a top bunk says "You're all right, kid!" and he threw me a pack of cigarettes.
Big arms, skinny legs.
"criminal mischief, possession of graffiti instruments, making graffiti and resisting arrest,"
yeah...right.