Yes, I spotted the evil pink Shrek/Yoda on our way down to Texas for Christmas. Out in the middle of nowhere.I was amazed to find graffiti on nearly every car of a very long freight train. It was exciting to see that kind of human creativity in the desolate windswept plains of west Texas.
It was also interesting to see other trains with every car looking factory fresh.
Graffiti is at its heart rebellious; most artists break the law when they whip out that spray can - particularly in the case of train car art. So I find it ironic that there is such conformity in the style of graffiti artists' work. The font selection is limited. The colors are of course limited to the palette available from the shelves of Home Depot's spray can section.
That same rebellion/conformity contrast can be seen in the Army. Many young people who enlist in the Service are some of the most rebellious people I have ever met. Yet they somehow long for the rules being ordered around provides.
By the way, happy new year! I'll be taking tomorrow off of blogging... so I'll see you next year!
ps I am back to Colorado now. I'm just sharing some of my non-Colorado time with you. (More stories to come.)
5 comments:
Looks more like Yoda? Oh well, both of them are green...
Cool! I think the world could use A LOT more street art! It is everywhere in Europe, especially London, and it is so refreshing to see. I actually went to a street art festival in the spring - it was brilliant! It was in an old train tunnel right in the center of London. There is some great street art in Brighton, UK, as well! There are pics in my flickr if you're interested! Happy New Year!
Thank you, stranger :) It's always interesting to see who stumbles across my age, especially since I don't update very often. But again, thank you for your encouraging comment!
I don't know about the US, but it is illegal to buy a spray can on paint until you are of age (18??). A pretty drastic step, but I think it was because graffiti was getting out of hand.
Jenny - the laws here are pretty strict. Mostly it seems to relate to how the cans of paint are sold; most stores have them under lock and key.
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