Philadelphia artist behind viral "ShamCow" graffiti tag defends his work

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia is known as the mural capital of the world , but the city also has a strong culture and history of graffiti. Whether you like or hate the illegal street art, one artist is developing quite a reputation for his work.

That would be the man behind ShamCow, whose black and white spotted graffiti tag has been popping up all over Philadelphia, especially in the East Falls and Wissahickon sections of the city. CBS News Philadelphia blurred his face and disguised his voice while filming at an undisclosed location to protect his identity.

"Ultimately, ShamCow was just a funny thing, and I was interested to see the effect it was going to have," said the artist, while describing how he came up with the idea and design for the tag.

"It was just sort of a play on the other tag, ShamWow. And we looked around and we played with different things that rhymed with wow. There was a Sham Meow. There was a Sham Mao, after the former communist leader in China. And then ShamCow just came up and with the cow print behind it, and the orange and blue contrast, it sort of looked good. And it was also really funny, we thought," he said.

He's not the only one with strong thoughts on the tag. Many others have weighed in online. From social media comments to Reddit posts, ShamCow even has its own fan site, which the artist denies having any involvement with.

"Actually, it kind of took me by surprise, how popular it became and how many posts, and they were all in defense. There were so many different people from so many different walks of life that were basically enjoying it and saying they want more of it," he said.

Videos posted on the artist's private Instagram account show he's willing to go to great lengths to tag some dangerous and difficult-to-reach locations. But he tells CBS News Philadelphia that he's toned down the risky tags, and now carefully selects safer locations, mostly out of respect for his growing audience.

"We stay away from playgrounds, we stay away from government property. I don't want to take away or make the neighborhood less enjoyable for anybody," he explained. "So I certainly wouldn't want to put something somewhere that's going to mess someone's morning up or, you know, every time they look out the window, they have to see it. I don't necessarily want to create that type of environment with people. It is sort of an extension of my person, in a way. So it has a reputation and respect and it's actually better than my own personally," said the artist with a laugh.

Make no mistake, he's well aware that what he's doing is illegal. But rather than spending money and energy on erasing his work, he argues the anger and resources used to clear his tags would be better directed at more harmful activities.

"Yes, you have to see it when you're driving to work, maybe, but I also have to see lots of people speeding and driving recklessly, putting other children and people at risk. And I personally think that something like speeding should fuel more animosity," he said.

"It's like, 'Yes, I feel like I'm above the law in the sense that I get to go put whatever on a wall that I wasn't invited to paint on.' But it's like, you know, that same person who has a big problem with that, probably also feels that they're above the law and going a few miles above the speed limit," he added.

This story is by no means an endorsement of ShamCow's actions. CBS News Philadelphia does not condone breaking the law for any reason. The artist says his ultimate goal is to partner with a local brewery to create a ShamCow branded beer, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to charity.