Graffito
8/5/06 1p Viterbo
An interesting side note to my stay here is my observation of the large amount of graffiti everywhere. I suppose this shouldn't be too much of a shock, since the word itself is Italian and the practice dates back to the Roman era. It runs the range between Carlo é Julia Siempre to large murals of stylized mermaids on the sides of the Rome metro. It certainly seems more interesting than the stuff I've been seeing in San Francisco and its surroundings, although I have seen a disturbing number of swastikas all over the place. It's puzzling as they are extremely badly done, sometimes with the arms of the cross pointing in the opposite direction. I wasn't sure whether to feel threatened or just confused and settled for confused. While there are many neo-fascist movements brewing in Europe, I'm not sure if I should be afraid of one that doesn't know whether to be afraid of one that doesn't know clockwise from anti-clockwise.
Comments
I just watched the movie "Bomb the System" this weekend on Sundance's OnDemand channel. It did not expound upon the significance of graffiti as an art form, beyond people saying that they needed to express themselves. It does convey the feeling that getting respect from the people whose opinions you value is worth everything in the world.
I've seen backwards swastikas before and wondered the same thing... is someone writing this as an ancient religious symbol, or are they ignorant on multiple levels?
Posted by: Les | August 8, 2006 1:56 PM
I vote for ignorance myself but obviously I am some sort of bad person for that ...
I am definitely down with the idea of enjoying the respect you get from folks you respect back. Why do you think I talk to you there Mr Butta-Phat Les?
Posted by: Lo Fat Mo | August 9, 2006 2:05 PM