January 13, 2005
graffito 2
I saw this graffito one block over from where I live. I'm not sure if a spray-painted stencil can be officially described as a "graffito," but then there's hardly anything official about graffiti. I thought it an interesting example of street art. I've seen other examples of this stencil, and others, which I hope to capture on film.
I should say that this image is slightly Photoshopped. It had an inscription above it, added by another hand (I think) which said: "MUST KILL [a certain person of power who will be celebrating a special something next week]." Not only did I not want to risk putting something that inflammatory up on my blog, I also, as an adherent of Gandhian non-violence, do not share the sentiment. So I took the liberty of digitally wiping it away, though there is no love lost between me and the person alluded to above.
I also was intrigued by the placement of the stencil graffito on a Washington Gas control box. Not seen (in the picture) is the solar panel that is standing above the box like a big sunflower. Interesting technology to put in such a place and one wonders whether the stencil ended up there as a commentary on obtrusive technology, on how our society is saturated with it, in effect, perhaps, leading to the roboticization of culture. If so, it's not a commentary with which I concur, though I encourage stencil artists to keep reminding us of the dangers of the machines we let into our lives.