Friday, October 1, 2010

Theme Day: Graffiti

Pasadena's good at cleaning graffiti when it happens. If you see graffiti and you want it removed, call the Pasadena's Graffiti Abatement Hotline at 626-744-7622 and the offending tag will be removed within 24 hours. Sounds like a tall order, but so far I've seen it work every time.

I took this photo two years ago. I'm pretty sure this graffiti's gone by now. Sure, a new tagger will come along. But the City's got more paint.

The City Daily Photo family is now 1286 blogs strong, and many member blogs around the world participate in theme days. Check them out here.

22 comments:

Tash said...

this is a good post and a clever take on the theme. I don't like to post photos of graffiti (except when it's on a junky wall and colorful and well done) - sort of feel like I'd be condoning random graffiti.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

I would like to be the paint salesman there! I thought that this photographed area looked pretty rough but realized that it is probably under a highway.

Jilly said that Menton (France) had a similar "response team" for graffiti. It is reassuring that cities are battling the graffiti.

Bon weekend,
Genie

Petrea Burchard said...

Tash, I'm the same way. I struggled with this one. Thank goodness graffiti is hard to find around here and I had to use an old photo.

Genie, this is a path that goes under a freeway, and at the time there was a lot of graffiti and no one else there! It was a bit intimidating but after several yards you come out onto a beautiful trail.

When we lived in Van Nuys, which is a San Fernando Valley area that's part of the City of Los Angeles, the graffiti abatement in that area was also excellent. If you called, they came. But boy did they have a lot of work to do!

Jilly said...

I wish we had a similar situation in Menton. Here it is left for ages and when eventually it gets cleaned up it is soon back again. There is talk of surveillance cameras but so far no solution.

Bellis said...

Thanks to you and Laurie of Glimpses of South Pasadena for not glorifying this nuisance with a picture of graffiti "art," though I do like the Banksy kind. There's one of a man on a wall of the 110 freeway north near Wilshire,and a sweet one at the entrance to Marz on Mission in South Pasadena (though it must have been commissioned).

Petrea Burchard said...

Jilly, I hope something can be done to combat graffiti in beautiful Menton.

Bellis, I admit I don't even like Banksy. Unfashionable, I guess. I've seen graffiti that's well done, but that doesn't change the fact that it's defacing someone's property. (Spoken by one who once owned a fence that was constantly the tagger's canvas.)

Margaret said...

I do like graffiti art. I think it can be really amazing, but tagging and art graffiti art are different things, and, people should definitely respect one another's property.

Petrea Burchard said...

I'm with you, PA.

Thanks, Hood Photo.

Margaret, I agree, I've seen some terrific street art. As long as the owners of the "canvas" are cool with it, so am I.

BOB BOYLE said...

Great shot.
Where is this trail?

mark said...

Graffiti is a cancer. Theme Day Graffiti only empowers the strike-in-the-night bastards. I am so disapointed that you sold your soul so cheaply.

Speedway said...

At first, I thought the picture was of a wealthy executive's mansion, under construction against a hillside, looking out over the trees. There were the pillars, waiting to be covered with stone -- oh, wait, no! Another concrete overpass. *Sigh.*

On I-70 at the Dayton Ohio exits, the concrete has intaglios depicting the history of flight. There are images of the Wright Flyer, jets and space shuttles cut into the concrete. The area is so congested, only the passengers have the chance to take in the images, but it sure has defeated the taggers! So far.

In recent years, the hwy dept has been installing those noise barriers along long stretches of the highways, hiding what trees are left. Ugly buggers make me feel claustrophobic. It's like driving in a long, narrow gray cardboard tube.

Anonymous said...

If something offends you Mark, better the spotlight than the dark.

Petrea Burchard said...

Bob, this is near the eastern end of the Flint Wash Trail. You enter just across the west end of the Devil's Gate Dam near the Flint Wash Bridge and go under the 210 freeway. Once you've crossed under the freeway, a beautiful trail awaits you.

Mark, either you're being sarcastic or you didn't read my post.

Speedway, it sounds like the I-70 folks have figured out a way to foil the taggers. Would that it were possible to foil them everywhere.

Agreed, Hiker. Some blogs (ahem) have used this theme as an opportunity to talk about ways to combat graffiti. (Love the Hiker Haiku.)

Dina said...

At least this one is in an out-of-the-way place.

What are your suggestions for better Themes?

Petrea Burchard said...

Oh, I've got a million of 'em, Dina. And often we have excellent choices to vote on. But I think the majority tend to vote on what's easiest instead of what's most challenging. Thank goodness we can interpret the themes however we like.

Susan Campisi said...

I like your take on the theme. I like the light on the trees at the end of the tunnel.

TheChieftess said...

I like this post!!! Good for you for stressing to get rid of the grafitti!!! Grafitti is horribly destructive and expensive to the property owners...Unfortunately, I've seen it in many places, the world over...

Petrea Burchard said...

Thanks, Susan. I like that tunnel, too.

Chieftess, I know. It's really disappointing to be looking forward to some Gothic cathedral or great, Roman ruin and find it covered with graffiti.

irinapictures said...

I need this phone number!
I always think why these graffities are so disgusting? Maybe the teens express all the difficulty and dark of becoming adults? At least this theory helps to survive the walls disasters)
Great text, as usual. And photo.

Petrea Burchard said...

Thanks, Irina. I know graffiti is everywhere!

Anonymous said...

teenagers and adults may i say do graffiti to express themselves.
theres different types of graffiti though..the gang graffiti and the graffiti that are done by normal people..oh hell your neighbor can be a graffiti writer..who knows..they want theyre name or design everywhere in everybody's face just like billboards are..just because they dont have money they cant put theyre sign/name in peoples faces? wow...i dont get it....i respect these graffiti artist..theyre so strong..they releive theyre pain by doing something that the SYSTEM can put them in jail with killers, rapist, etc....cut the guys some slack..

-james brock enderson.

Petrea Burchard said...

Hi James, your comments are welcome. I sure don't think a graffiti artist needs to do time with hardened criminals. Maybe some community service hours would be useful. But I got a little tired of these "artists" when I lived in a place where they "relieved their pain" by painting their names/signs on my fence every night.