Graffiti and trains

I think I have decided to make "the Sociology of Libraries" an ongoing series, because I have way more than 3 things to talk about, but I don't want to turn this into a fully fledged library blog. There are enough library blogs as it is, and most of them are better than mine. So you will have to stay tuned for more library goodness in the future. Instead, I'm going to talk about graffiti.

I have always enjoyed catching the train into the city because of the great graffiti that lines the walls of the stations, particularly from about Glenferrie station in. I know a lot of people hate graffiti, and I don't agree with tagging private property, but I think that public property, such as areas around train stations, are fair game. Quite frankly, I'd rather see some nice art than stare at brick walls. The reason I enjoy looking at it is because it's so bright and colourful, and new pieces are constantly being done so it never looks old. Also, from a completely non-technical, non-artistic point of view, I admire the skills required to complete a complicated piece, not only in terms of being able to control the spraycan but also to have the design in their head and being able to complete it relatively quickly.

My favourite piece of graffiti used to be at Burnley station, and it was a blue/green dragon type thing, which was quite large and superbly done. It stayed around for a number of years (artists don't paint over things they admire) but finally was replaced with something else. At the moment my favourite piece is outside Chatham station (further out than usual for graffiti goodness!) and it depicts a full Alice in Wonderland scene, including Alice playing croquet with a flamingo (I think it was) and the Queen of Hearts. It takes up a whole wall and is very very cool. Another piece I like is in one of the tunnels leading into Flinders street and is a giant "SDM" which is all coloured yellow. I like this simply because it is so big and I am amazed they were able to finish it before being discovered!

I'm not a huge fan of plain tags, though. They're not as pretty. But if you have ever caught the train anywhere in Melbourne, you've probably seen the name "Stanley Bonez" tagged - usually in white paint, often very big and in difficult places - tops of buildings etc. He's been around as long as I can remember. Apparently the police recently caught up with Stanley Bonez, who, it turned out, wasn't the glamourous dashing man we all thought he was - instead he was a 40 something year old still living with his mother. Oh well. In conclusion, graffiti can sometimes be good and certainly liven up dead spaces like train stations. And we should all admire the skill it takes to create brilliant pieces like the Alice in Wonderland scene.