For those of you who caught it, the Times-Dispatch had a surprisingly subtle, but powerful image on their front page today.
For those of you who caught it, the Times-Dispatch had a surprisingly subtle, but powerful image on their front page today.
As part of their “Why, Richmond, Why?!” column, writer Phil Riggan tackled the complex problems our fair city has with graffiti, and the image he used was an old favorite of ours, located near the heart of VCU.
Turns out a reader pointed out the issue, a sign which read “EAT (PUSSY) AT HOME,” to Riggan and he told the land owner who then had the offending sign painted over.
(Spoilsport!)
Here’s a bit from the article:
I’m not going to pretend I understand graffiti, street art or the people who create it. It doesn’t matter what I think. However, I do appreciate professional projects like the Richmond Mural Project and RVA Street Art Festival. Those murals were curated (to an extent) by professionals from Art Whino (a DC-based art gallery) and were commissioned by permission from the property owners.
Calling graffiti vandals and taggers “artists” is akin to putting a mask on a burglar — you are hidding a criminal. While some graffiti may take a lot of effort to produce – like the tags on the Martin Luther King Bridge high above Interstate 95 – it does not take courage to tag properties. It takes a coward. If you are that addicted to graffiti, have the guts to buy your own space to practice your art. Put your name to it. Don’t damage people’s properties for your own selfish reasons.
Riggan has some good insights in his write up – check out the full piece here – We just wanted to point out that time The TD had “EAT PUSSY AT HOME” on the front page of their website…
