Graffiti
Text & Photos: Francisco Collazo
Translation: Julie Schwietert Collazo
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Spanish Harlem, New York City
Graffiti is like a place: each “tag” has its own language. One of the characteristics of graffiti is that it reflects the social and mental state of the society in which it’s made to a certain extent.
“DEMOCRACY does not equal COLONY,” San Juan, Puerto Rico
Graffiti is an open letter. A thermometer measuring society’s temperature. A signal that communicates the health of a community better than the media.
“A salute to the Cuban Revolution on Its 50th Anniversary. And ours… when?” Puerto Rico
Some cities become renowned for their graffiti– like New York in the 70s, when the subways, stations, parks, and buildings were covered with tags.
Long Island City, New York
But in New York, graffiti is, to a certain extent, a relic of the past, not as fresh in our collective memory as these more recent examples of political graffiti from Oaxaca, Mexico, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“Fighting for a working class government, popularly elected by the people.” Oaxaca, Mexico
I’m compelled by them–or repulsed by them–depending on where I find them or what their messages refer to. Often, there’s an anger that seems to have motivated them into existence, and it’s costly to remove them. And there’s the anonymity of the artist: I’m so curious to know who left this message here; that person evaporates, leaving just the image or words behind.
“Long Live the EZLN!” (Zapatista movement) Oaxaca, Mexico
In fact, now I’m thinking about the time I saw a graffiti artist working away in the shadows, only to realize it was someone I knew from work. I was waiting for the 7 train when I saw a well-dressed person in the distance who seemed to be coming from work. I recognized him because he’d been an important manager in the agency where I worked. Suddenly, he looked from one side to the other, took a permanent marker out of his bag, and started scribbling something I couldn’t make out from where I was standing.
Long Island City, New York
My curiosity was so strong that when the train arrived, I didn’t take it. I wanted to stay behind so I could see and read with my own eyes what this person had left as a “gift” for all of the city’s subway riders. On the wall of the station, he’d scribbled symbols and initials that had no meaning for me, but must have represented something important to him.
I’ve never forgotten that moment, and it comes to mind each time I see graffiti wherever I travel.
For more graffiti photos, check out our Flickr photostream.
And if you happen to enjoy graffiti, check out the article “10 Places Where Graffiti is Legal,” one of which (Queens, New York’s 5 Pointz), is just a few miles from where we live (and is shown in some of the photos in this article).
August 14th, 2009 at 8:48 am
This post takes me back to my youth in Long Island in the 1970s. When my family would visit NYC, we’d often ride the subways. Both the stations and the cars were covered in graffiti.
Most of it was just tags, with no artistic merit. It really contributed to the sense that NYC was basically a no-man’s land where danger was lurking around every corner.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book the Tipping Point, he writes about how NYC turned its image around in the 1990s by adhering to the “broken windows” theory of policing.
Basically, it says that allowing or tolerating minor crimes like graffiti contributes to the sense that a certain level of lawlessness is acceptable. As a result, it creates an atmosphere in which more serious crimes are likely to occur.
Some of the graffiti out there is really amazing. But I’d be pretty mad if someone painted it on a building or house where I lived without asking for my permission.
August 16th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Some of these artists are very gifted and, yes that do have a large impact when you see them (for the good or bad). They also, unfortunately, are defacing other people’s (or public) property. Great photos as usual!