A couple of weeks ago, I was on a train traveling towards Connecticut and took a few photos. They're from my cell, so they definitely not stellar.It was sort of a rare day - there were clouds and blue skies mixed with light and and a sort of coolness in the air. Apart from today, everything has been pretty dreary weather wise.
I started taking a little more notice of
something that is standard fare for urban living: graffiti. I started thinking about the thought processes behind it. I started to think about the alternatives.There seems to be a stark reaction from some when graffiti is encountered - I think, more often than not, the reaction tends towards fear or disgust. There is a disdain from some for those who would tend towards defacing another's property. Though graffiti is nothing new. When
Laura and I traveled to Italy, we noticed that many ancient structures also had ancient graffiti. One of the stark differences between those [structures] and these is artistic intent. There was an architectural artistry endued to much of what was created as opposed to erecting of a short term and functional building 
[much of what is built in our current world].Altogether, there's nothing that I saw on my train ride that just blew me away.
The thought came: is it a rebellion against the premise of ownership (that being that ultimate control is maintaine
d from behind the veil of the capability of financing a loan or making payments; i.e. money equated to power and control) or is ita sort of mutated form of artistic function that holds the artists expression above that of the perceived rights of others?For equality's sake, I've tried to post both in a negative context above.
Personally...I'm starting to like some of it.
I think that the world might seem more oppressive [to m
e] if everything was a white walled cube made of corregated tin for the sake of meeting the needs of a consumerist culture. Trust me, I don't mean this as a counter-culture rant, but as a 
reality of the types of things that are built today (because, it is apparently much cheaper to build a Colleseum type structure with slave labor, so we tend more towards the big box establishment making).There are other thoughts behind this that I might post later - but I'm really wondering what do you think about graffiti and why do you think about it the way that you do? If you respond, I may repost here. I look forward to hearing from some of you on this (though, I already know what some of you think...)
2 comments:
Interesting thoughts, Gene! I was also recently pondering the graffiti I saw from the train between 30th Street Station and the Airport. My main negative response to graffiti is not so much fear or anger at defacement, but anger (and some awe, I suppose) at the blatant trespassing often into (or onto) dangerous places for the sake of leaving one's mark. On the other hand, I do agree that these cold industrial landscapes probably look better because of it.
Most of the graffiti I saw from the train was "tagging"---painting one's artistic signature. Many of the tags were repeated in several locations along the railroad lines. I was amazed at the density of painting along some sections of wall---it seemed like every inch had been painted, yet each tag existed in its own space, not attempting to overlap the others around it. The creativity and variety of styles employed in these signatures was fascinating!
In the case of these graffiti, it seems like they may serve as territory markers, proof of feats of daring, or just artistic expression in a bleak landscape. I may, however, feel very differently about graffiti on my house or in some location that seems to invade space that was already part of a more vibrant cityscape. Maybe graffiti in contested urban neighborhoods is evidence of the differing perceptions of the neighborhood's residents: vibrant versus bleak views of the future, hope versus hopelessness... It seems that we've already passed judgment on these rusting industrial complexes in a way that we're not willing to do for inhabited urban neighborhoods. Is this justifiable??
Anyway, lots of thoughts. Thanks for sharing yours!
Joyia, thanks for the feedback; I may do a followup this evening...
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