ZOOMING IN ON STREET ART
By daytime Jaimie Baird works as a quarantine officer. In his spare time he walks the streets of Wellington, looking for art to photograph. Nicholas Boyack reports..
“Speaking with imaginary enemy at night
An eye in the needle falling red and glowing bright
It’s got balls, it’s written on the walls Graffiti Crimes in the shopping malls .”– Graffiti Crimes by Misex, 1979
In street art lingo, Here Today Gone Tomorrow, by Jaimie Baird, rates as a definite def. In the underground world of Wellington St art, the term def means the best.
Baird, who has worked as a quarantine officer for 53 years, is an unlikely character to have documented Wellington’s prolific street art scene.
That, however, is exactly what the 71-yearold has done. Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a beautifully produced book featuring more than 1200 images of a vibrant art scene that is too easily overlooked.
In his early 30s Jaimie watched a documentary called Style Wars, purchased a book called Subway Art and began a lifelong fascination with street art.
Initially he focused on hip hop but over time his interest spread to all forms of street art.
The magnitude of what he has achieved is hard to comprehend and Baird is keen to deflect attention away from himself and on to the artists.
“I am a quarantine officer, let’s be honest, this is just an interest I have had over the years and it has been a lot of fun.”
It is the street artists, he says, that should be at the centre of any story. “The book is about artists doing their artwork. It is not about Jamie Baird. It is a celebration of Wellington street art.”
Wellington social historian Redmar Yska has provided an introduction recording the arrival of hip hop to New Zealand and the importance of graffiti.
When MIsex released Graffiti Crimes, painting walls was seen as “outright vandalism” and a “bomber” with a spray can could get up to three months in prison,
“No wonder graffiti artists (of all genders) needed balls.”
Yska acknowledges that in many ways Baird was a “lunatic” to spend 40 years documenting an art form that is too easy to ignore. He, however, credits Baird with giving a voice to a group of artists that would otherwise be ignored.
“The hundreds of compelling images in this book are proof of his astonishing commitment to listening to – and passing on – the voices in words and images daubed on walls across the capital.”
The story begins in 1985 when Baird wrote to then Prime Minister David Lange, inviting him to join “Club Graffiti – an international search for interesting graffiti”. The PM declined due to the perceived association of graffiti with crime. He did, however, suggest that his cabinet colleague, the Minister of Police, AnnHercusmaybeinterested.
Baird starts the book with the arrival of hip hop in Wellington in the early 1980s from New York and Philadelphia, and with it what at the time was described as graffiti bombing.
From that beginning the book goes on to document the riot of social comment, wild characters and artistry that have populated Wellington’s cityscape from 1985 to 2024. Also included are fold-out panoramas – some almost a metre wide – of selected works, and a series of vignettes by contemporary street artists.
Baird concedes that there are many ways to interpret street art. Art or vandalism, protest or social commentary – how you see street art depends on where you stand.
He sees street art as a testament to human imagination, innovation and cultural diversity.
There is one famous image that
Baird has missed and is still chasing a picture of.
When the USS Truxtun entered Wellington Harbour in 1982, it generated large protests from the anti nuclear movement. It famously generated graffiti based on a play of words on its name “Truck off Fruxtun” which Baird hopes someone took a photo of.
Many of the images are from central Wellington but there are some from Lower Hutt including “Bomb Prices Not Vietnam”.
Although hip hop features prominently he has examined street art in all its forms, including political, tagging, environmental, words, advertising and murals.
Despite taking thousands of images he has never been tempted to pick up a brush or a spray can.
Rather, he sees himself as a street photographer and recorder of art history.
Yska says Here Today Gone Tomorrow is testament to 40 years of hard work. It is also a reminder that. as Simon and Garfunkel famously sang, there is much more to street art than mere words.
“The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls.”
■ Here Today Gone Tomorrow – Wellington Street Art by Jaimie D Baird is being launched on Tuesday at Unity Books.
Its own language
Like many art forms, street art has its own language, which Baird has recorded.
■ Tag: A signature, usually in one colour with a marker pen.
■ Toy: A derogatory term used to describe a novice, incompetent artist.
■ Run: The length of time the artwork stays up before it is removed or covered up.
■ Bomb: To put up a mural by painting many surfaces in one area.
■ Getting up: Developing your reputation through bombing.
■ Throw-up: A quick mural usually done in one or two colours. Classed as being between a tag and bomb it is used to cover as many sites as possible.
■ Biting: To copy or steal someone else’s work, style or lettering.
■ Going over: To paint on top of another artist’s work. If the original work is superior this is disrespectful and can be considered a declaration of war.