Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

©Bert Gildart:  I guess I was supposed to be offended by graffiti that covered the hundred-yard concrete wall that flanked the Bay Shore Bike Trail  Don Dennis and I were riding in San Diego, but I was not.  Quite the contrary, for there was nothing written or painted that seemed vulgar.

Perhaps I am naïve, for the letters that had been strung together had no meaning to me.  Nor did the image of the skull, though I’m sure it was conveying a message of death.  If that’s the case, I have no idea to whom the message was directed.  The area through which we rode seemed free of gang violence and except for a short distance, the trail meandered through areas with park-like settings.

 

Apparently the city has made attempts in the past to control graffiti on this wall – up that is until a year ago.  Each year prior to 2012, the city of San Diego hired crews that would whitewash the wall and return it to their notion of purity.  That, at any rate, is what another biker told Don and me.

Often times, graffiti is used to express underlying social and political messages and this wall, which spans well over a hundred yards, probably contains political “art.”  By using a whole genre of artistic expressions, various objects had been spray painted on the wall manifesting a graffiti style.

Graffiti has a long history.  Research on the internet says that the first known example of “modern style” graffiti survives in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus.  Local guides say the art was an advertisement for prostitution.

Closer to home more research suggests that Bozo Texino was responsible for much of the graffiti that tours America daily on our railroad boxcars. Though Patrons of urban art scenes may wrinkle their nose at Bozo, his art has garnered an audience most artists can only dream about.  People in Maine and Michigan may have seen his work, but so, most likely, have people in San Diego, California.

In San Diego, reports say that the vast majority of graffiti has been created by “taggers.” Tags can be recognized by their particular style, which consists only of the tagger and/or crew name. Tag names are typically one short word, like “BUSTER,” or perhaps one of the word inscribed in this wall paralleling the bike trail.

 

 

Don and I stopped often along the wall, invariably prompting others to stop as well. The drawings elicited quick conversations and though none of us could ever quite decipher underlying meanings, we all thought some of the work was a good quality, and did, in fact, approach the level of “art.”

And now, if anyone can explain other meanings that might be attached to these works, I’d like to know.

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THIS TIME FIVE YEARS AGO:

*Montana’s National Bison Range

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 15th, 2013 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Biking, Photography, RV Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.