Graffitist “OZ”, who's been tagging Hamburg buildings for two decades, was sentenced again on Friday to 14 months for continuing to deface property. An underground hero to some, criminal vandal to others, the spray painter insists that not even jail time will stop him from challenging the “cleanliness Nazis”
It comes down to this: is graffiti art or vandalism? For 20 years, a single man with a spray can has forced Hamburg courts to weigh this very question. On Friday, a judge ruled it was in fact vandalism, sentencing the 61-year-old spray painter, who goes by the name “OZ”, to 14 months in prison.
Referred by the courts as Walter F., the Hamburg resident has more than 120,000 graffiti to his name. These consist mostly of smiley faces and the letters OZ, and they are sprayed on the walls of buildings, on gables and manhole covers, and on electrical distribution boxes. He also once painted a concrete block house in the Hamburg district of St. Pauli.
The Hamburg justice system’s position on the matter has remained firm. The courts had already forced OZ, who in the early days of his activity also used the alias “Johnny Walker,” to spend eight years of his life behind bars.
His first conviction was in 1992. Neither that, nor subsequent convictions have done anything to change his outlook or behavior. “He has no intention of stopping,” says defense lawyer Andreas Beuth, who says he took the case because the matter lay “close to his heart.”
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http://worldcrunch.com/oz-germany-s-unrepentant-61-year-old-graffiti-artist-going-back-jail/3527
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