Reagrading the SEPTEMBER article about “What can we do about Graffiti??”, many readers across the country may have seen a comic posted on many newspapers this past Sunday (Nov 26) which in it’s disgusting nature serves to perpetrate and “justify” this Graffiti trash once again.
The cartoon was BALDO by Cantu and Castellanos. Since I haven’t figured how to manouver the insertion of the scan of the cartoon, suffice to say it is two “characters” looking at a “plastered” box car.wherein one says " Notice the Obvious Overt use of Primary Colors"…to which the other idiot replys " Bold Yet Simple and Arresting, Brilliant"…MORE glorification of this trash.
I work in the railroad industry, and this disgusting behavior HAS to be curtailed and eliminated. Destroying the property we have to work with makes our jobs harder to figure out who’s and what’s in the cars, and barring these idiots from yards and engine terminals. Both Morton Grove, Ill and NJ Transit HAVE PROVEN railfans WILL be arrested for taking pictures of trains…why don’t they channel their “use;ess crusade” into something far more protective and useful in eliminating these “art” scum.
Check out my letter to the editor in the current issue of TRAINS “Advertising on the Railroad”. If my idea for “billboards on boxcars” were to come to pass, I think the so-called graffiti artists would think twice before they try to paint over an image created by a big-budget commercial artist, especially when the image covers the entire side of the car. The vandal’s tag would be so insignificant that it would be akin to p—ing in the ocean. If the vandal’s motivation is to gain recognition, I don’t think his ego could handle the puny result.
Unless and until a large majority of rolling stock is used as billboards, a few comercial ads would not deter “taggeers”…there would still be lots of un-leased message space available! Not to mention, some would take it as a challenge to still find a way to be seen.
I am sure vandals would spray graffiti on one of these cars at the drop of a spray can. Also, almost as soon as a car is painted, or repainted, it is covered with graffiti. The car owners would have to take cars out of service so much to repaint them to satisfy the advertisers that it would not be worth the revenue, it would probably actually lose money.
I see the comic as a parody on art, and art criticism, it would work the same way, if you had two stuffy “rich” looking white guys looking at a childs finger painting on a refrigerator. I don’t see it as a glofirfication of “grafitti”, I see it as a parody on “art”, and “art critics”… to take it further, since Baldo is a Hispanic comic strip, perhaps the comic could be looked at from the standpoint, that the only “art” inner city kids are exposed to is the grafitti on buildings and train cars, and that might speak to the deficit of culture that exists in these neighborhoods. So, before you go an pan this thing as “supporting grafitti” look at it from another angle…
So, that being said, I will agree something does need to be done with the grafitti problem on train cars. I really hate seeing long strings of defiled box cars, hoppers, and tank cars. Not only that, I have a 5 year old who can read simple words, and recognizes most letters, so when an obscenity scrawled car should roll by us, I get the inevitable “Daddy what does [censored][censored] mean?” I just tell him it’s a “very bad word that I had better not ever hear you say”, but, it does detract in some small way from the pleasure of train watching.
Billboards on box cars??? Please, these gang bangers, and other types are going to look at that as a challenge to see how they can alter the ad to say something obscene or othwerwise. About the only deterrent I could think of, is if they were to develop a coating for the cars that would chemically alter the paint that the vandals applay, and make the grafitti “go away” … Of course, how practical would that be?? I have no idea, and it would most likely be expensive., but, on an early Saturday morning, it was all I could think of.
I would suspect that the people painting the cars do not read this site so you are sort of preaching to the choir here. Myself I sort of like as it makes my videos much more interesting. I am trying to figure out a way to go back to my oldest ones then come forward to see if I have seen that car before & when