Vandalism
The term finds its roots in an Enlightenment view that the Germanic Vandals were a uniquely destructive people, as they sacked Rome in 455 AD.
This new use of the term was important in colouring the perception of the Vandals from later Late Antiquity, popularizing the pre-existing idea that they were a barbaric group with a taste for destruction.
Courbet's attempt, during the 1871 Paris Commune, to dismantle the Vendôme column, a symbol of the past Napoleon III authoritarian Empire, was one of the most celebrated events of vandalism.
Some vandalism may qualify as culture jamming or sniggling: it is thought by some to be artistic in nature even though carried out illegally or without the property owner's permission.
Vandalism per se is sometimes considered one of the less serious common crimes, but it can become quite serious and distressing when committed extensively, violently, or as an expression of hatred and intimidation.
[7] Examples of vandalism include salting lawns, cutting trees without permission, egg throwing, breaking windows, arson, spraying paint on others' properties, tagging, placing glue into locks, tire slashing, keying (scratching) paint, ransacking a property, flooding a house by clogging a sink and leaving the water running, and pulling up plants from the roots without permission.
In addition, activists may use the tactic of property destruction[8] as means of protest, e.g. by smashing the windows of banks, shops and government institutions and setting fire to cars.
Vandalism is also a common tactic of black blocs.Actions of this kind can be ascribed to anger or envy, or to spontaneous, opportunistic behaviour, possibly for peer acceptance or bravado in gang cultures, or disgruntlement with the target (victim) person or society.
[citation needed] Criminological research into vandalism has found that it serves many purposes for those who engage in it and stems from a variety of motives.
In Singapore, for example, a person who attempts to cause or commits an act of vandalism may be liable to imprisonment for up to three years and may also be punished with caning.
NY Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern described graffiti as "a metaphor for urban decay perhaps best shown in 'A Clockwork Orange'" adding that "New York City will not be like that".
French painter Gustave Courbet's attempt to disassemble the Vendôme column during the 1871 Paris Commune was probably one of the first artistic acts of vandalism, celebrated at least since Dada performances during World War I.
As destruction of monumental history, vandalism was assured a long life (as Herostratus proved): Performance art could make such a claim, as well as Hakim Bey's poetic terrorism or Destroy 2000 Years of Culture from Atari Teenage Riot.
In 1974, Norman Mailer glorified the art of vandalism in his essay "The Faith of Graffiti", which likened tagging in New York City to the work of Giotto and Rauschenberg.
Bristol-born guerrilla artist Banksy's claim is that official vandalism is far worse than that perpetrated by individuals, and that he is decorating buildings of no architectural merit.
by Jean Touitou, where the designer wrote the title, volume number, and date with her own hand writing on the pre-print blank CD.
