The mural space on Bryant at 24th Street has changed again. Most likely as a reaction to somebody tagging over it.
Reader Rob sends in the above picture and says:
Stoned, Occupy-targeted caterpillar has morphed into a stripey-panted, kowtowing, piece of poo/penis. Never a dull moment around here.
Commenter Dolissa says that as a public art wall the space is already reclaimed from advertisers who used it as a vehicle for unwelcome messages:
In the 1970s Latino artists and activists took over a billboard with tobacco and alcohol ads because they felt it was harmful to the community. The took over the space and used it to create art.
So now we have this thing. Soon to be replaced/defaced by something else. Hopefully this is respected long enough for people to appreciate it. Hopefully the next thing adds value to what’s there now, but since that’s completely subjective there’s just no way everyone can be satisfied. I guess the best we can hope for is that anyone can get in their piece at some time and that everyone gets a chance to appreciate at least one incarnation in the rotation. Free, open and public space is valuable to our neighborhood (especially if you consider that an alternative might just be another corporate billboard), and it can be anything you want it to be, but you will inevitably be forced to compromise what you want to make room for what someone else wants. And no amount of challenging a participant’s aesthetic or motives will change that.
UPDATE: In the comments, Matthew points us to the history of the Digital Mural Project on this wall.
Could this be meant as a commentary on sycophantic hipster-trend followers with no ideas of their own? I like to think so.
Naw… it seems more like a commentary on shit-head taggers. YMMV, but so do dick lengths, and yours is looking mighty small from here.
As of this morning it had already been tagged on with some lame little scribbly name across its back.
Nice, glad to see the artists aren’t giving in to the scumbag taggers.
History:
http://www.galeriadelaraza.org/eng/programs/murals.html
Updated site (never trust a Google search):
http://www.galeriadelaraza.org/eng/events/index.php?op=list&type=8&time=0
WE OUT HERE!
Eureka!
It’s a PARTY POOPER!
No hands, no feet, but rainbow shorts and the will the crawl.