Kelly Pendergrast - temporary worker, Wellington
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Metaphysical Graffiti
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I’m no political commentator, but oh! How I love the lead up to general election time. The shifty tactics! The frantic policy-amending! The underhanded billboards! The juvenile graffiti on the aforementioned billboards!
Political party billboards really bring out the best in this country’s vandals. I’m sure there’s all kinds of subversive culture jamming afoot, but in my humble opinion the best defacings are of a far more low-brow nature.
Here’s a couple of recent favourites, both of these seen on the way out to Wellington airport:
1)Act’s new billboard. Ripping off National’s much-maligned red/blue "Iwi/Kiwis" campaign, but with a tri-partite red/blue/yellow colour scheme and Act’s Rodney Hyde perched on the end looking like a disgruntled rhinoceros. “Spin/Talk/ACT” it says. Fortunately, some ratbag has spray painted huge Ernie-and-Bert monobrows over each politicians forehead. It is funny.
2)A big’ol National billboard with Mark Blumsky’s cheerless face on it. Someone has painted over most of the letters so now it just says “B UM”. Good work fellas.
While I’m here, I may as well tell you about the recent evolution of my favourite ever Wellington graffiti.
Many years ago (well before my arrival in this burg) a maudlin graffitist painted:
Political party billboards really bring out the best in this country’s vandals. I’m sure there’s all kinds of subversive culture jamming afoot, but in my humble opinion the best defacings are of a far more low-brow nature.
Here’s a couple of recent favourites, both of these seen on the way out to Wellington airport:
1)Act’s new billboard. Ripping off National’s much-maligned red/blue "Iwi/Kiwis" campaign, but with a tri-partite red/blue/yellow colour scheme and Act’s Rodney Hyde perched on the end looking like a disgruntled rhinoceros. “Spin/Talk/ACT” it says. Fortunately, some ratbag has spray painted huge Ernie-and-Bert monobrows over each politicians forehead. It is funny.
2)A big’ol National billboard with Mark Blumsky’s cheerless face on it. Someone has painted over most of the letters so now it just says “B UM”. Good work fellas.
While I’m here, I may as well tell you about the recent evolution of my favourite ever Wellington graffiti.
Many years ago (well before my arrival in this burg) a maudlin graffitist painted:
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IAN CURTIS
RIP
RIP
on a wall on the way to Newtown.
Some time later, a heartless punk (actually, it probably wasn’t a punk) added to it, so it read:
Some time later, a heartless punk (actually, it probably wasn’t a punk) added to it, so it read:
IAN CURTIS
GRIPS
GRIPS
This amused me highly, and I would smile every time I walked past.
However, recently the G and S were painted over, so it was back to its reverent self, with a new addition:
However, recently the G and S were painted over, so it was back to its reverent self, with a new addition:
IAN CURTIS
RIP
“WALK IN SILENCE”
RIP
“WALK IN SILENCE”
Very nice, very respectful. But can you imagine my unhinged delight when I rounded the corner last drizzly Sunday to see this:
IAN CURTIS
GRIPS
“WANK IN SILENCE”
GRIPS
“WANK IN SILENCE”
