Graffiti

When it’s painted on a wall I consider to be mine, I don’t like it. Perhaps I’d feel differently if the teenagers who regularly vandalised our laneway were using interesting stencils, or making some sort of political comment, but all we get are tags, derivative of a US culture these kids have only experienced via You Tube and Punk’d. Probably.

See, this I like:

What’s not to like? It’s a panda! And a sloth! And it’s interactive! Somebody has added “My name is Stuart” and this makes it different from the pandasloth across in the next lane.

This is also good. Alienation, communicated. Or maybe a commentary on past practices.

Yesterday I railed against the graffiti-ist having prepared stickers ahead of time. Clearly I don’t mind prepared street art when they are stencils. And I really don’t even have anything against the sticking-things-on-stuff concept, if it’s done well…

…which here, I think, it is.

This, however, is what random graffiti guy was doing yesterday:

And this:

Maybe I’m just functionally illiterate when it comes to the vernacular of today’s urban youth, but I just don’t like this.