Kenny Scharf, the 55 year old artist, was arrested this past weekend and spent approximately 20 hours behind bars for the little doodle shown above. Hyperallergic spoke to Scharf and has the full story. Basically though Scharf did not enjoy jail, but some of the cops were fans of his work, and Scharf expects to get community service when he is sentenced this summer.
Okay, I know this is just one small piece and he wasn’t busted after some months-long investigation so these aren’t perfect comparisons, but graffiti writers have gotten sentenced to months or even years of time in prison (10Foot, Oker, Tox, Utah, Ralph Mirabal, Revok…). I’m glad that Scharf isn’t facing months of jail time, but the double standard upsets me. Nobody should be facing jail time for graffiti or street art.
Photo courtesy of Kenny Scharf