james de la vega is an artist from east harlem. he has recently been charged with making graffiti & posessing graffiti instruments. or saying things like "beauty magazines make my girlfriend feel ugly." for chalk pictures representing how people can feel trapped in society. and the jusge won't accept a settlement that doesn't include jail time.
excerpt from the nytimes article:

Robert T. Johnson, the district attorney, would not comment on the case except to say: "Our attitude towards graffiti is that our community has asked us to eliminate it. We find it offensive that people come here and treat our walls as their canvas."

Sandra Palomino, who runs a nonprofit housing group in East Harlem, said she did not think the neighborhood saw Mr. De La Vega's work in that category. "He is a hugely successful muralist and an icon in East Harlem," she said. "Kids with artistic ambitions look to him for inspiration. And for adults, he makes us laugh and think."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/nyregion/13art.html?8hpib

i guess the question i have is this: if artists don't make us think, if they don't remind us we're human, or help us laugh, or show us our world and ourselves in a different way, who's going to?