It seems to be graffiti day here at Metblogs so who am I to resist? I found the website Pretty City some time ago and hadn’t gotten around to bringing it to your attention before now, but I look forward to a firestorm of disagreement about it. Pretty City would probably fall into the pro-Borf camp in the Point/Counterpoint story that WFY has linked. Their site name is subtitled “Street art in and around the nation’s capital” and their stated mission includes a desire “to foster more understanding/appreciation of these art forms.”
I’m of two minds on the matter and they’re pretty firmly opposed to each other. My inner cranky old man feels strongly that you’ve got no right to fuck up other people’s property and it’s hard for me as a person who believes in law and order to go against his position. My inner artist thinks that a diverse and styled environment is a much more pleasant one to live in. I live out in suburbia and sometimes it’s so dull and stripmall-y that I could scream. Looking at the picture above it’s hard to think the scribble and tacked-on stencil do anything but improve the look of the perfectly legal yet scruffy and unappealing door and peeling paint.
If you’re not too much in touch with your inner cranky old man and can resist the urge to scream “get off my lawn, you miscreants” for a few minutes then I strongly encourage you to look through their collection of posts & photos. They’re a great slice of city life and some, like the one linked above, are beautiful shots.
Edited to add: Mark Jenkins of Pretty City has kindly agreed to let us mirror the above picture here at MetBlogs and says “The photo you’re linking to shows work by artist Charles Steelman.” Thanks Mark!
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.
Hmm, guess I just did.
My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.
