This may be advertising. I don’t know. I’m not even sure it qualifies as graffiti, although I don’t think graffiti necessarily has to be painted on. The original graffiti was scratched in stone—in fact the word comes from the Italian for “scratch” and the Latin and Greek for “to write” and I really don’t know where I’m going with this.
And even if it is advertising it’s still art. At least I think so. Whether advertising can be art—and whether art itself is a form of advertising since art often compels us to think differently about the world except it tackles big philosophical concepts whereas advertising tries to compel us to think differently about our need a piece of chocolate cake even though we just ate a huge entrée—is a question I can turn over in my mind for hours even though I get bored with it after about ten seconds. I’m still not sure where I’m going with this.
If it’s advertising it’s terrible advertising because even though it’s trying to sell me honey it’s not trying to sell me a specific brand of honey, but it also caught my attention, and frankly I think the best advertising is the kind that gets my attention and is so funny or so compelling or so thought provoking that I remember the commercial but completely forget what it’s trying to sell, and now I’m really starting to wonder if I’m ever going to get anywhere with this.
To wrap up here’s something else I saw in the same area that I thought might or might not have been graffiti. It disappeared pretty quickly which made me think it was graffiti, but it was really well-done graffiti—the stuff I look for that compels me and others to think about the distinction between vandalism and art without providing any simple answers. Simple answers are for advertising.
Is that bee yelling booyah because its honey ended up close by in sophisticated ceramic pots? Or is it just jaded and being sarcastic about the End of happyness? This post provokes questionable questions and provides nary an answer. Is it really just advertising masquerading as a blog post?
All I know is that I’m exhausted and my spider is screaming.
If it’s advertising then I think I’ve just gotten stung. Maybe the bee is angry that the honey is “artisanal”, which is an adjective that seems to have come to mean “the same old thing in slightly fancier packaging and three times more expensive”.
The important thing is you’ve given me an idea for an exciting thriller novel: The Silence of the Spiders.
I love street art. I don’t know where I’m going with this, other than to say, I love art in whatever form. Even when it’s trying to get me to buy something I don’t want or need. Well, except for those Abercrombie & Fitch ads. Those were more like child pornography. Wait … where was I going with this?
I don’t know where you’re going either, but I’m enjoying the ride. And do any of us really know where we’re going in an existential sense? As was noted in a previous comment this raised a lot of questions but no answers. It was Heidegger who said that human nature is in the form of a question. He remains an important philosopher in spite of being a big ol’ Nazi.
I still have no idea where I’m going.
I never know where you’re going, Chris, or where I’m going with this comment, but I’m always glad you take us the exact places you do.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the ride, and that’s really all it’s about. Perhaps it was The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir who said it best…
I was trying to think of something to add to this but the only thing that comes to mind is an incident from a couple of years ago. I was looking for honey at the grocery store and after making a couple of laps up and down the aisle of where I thought it would be, an older worker noticed me and asked what I was looking for. I said, “Honey” and he didn’t hear me so I yelled louder, “HONEY!” and he came back with a reply like, “Well darlin’ I’ll show you”. It was a cute, kind of funny moment.
That’s hilarious and reminds me of the time a couple standing next to the honey in the grocery store asked me to settle an argument: did I prefer a bottle with a honeycomb design or one shaped like a bear? Bears are scary so I went with the honeycomb design. It turned out he was a local beekeeper and was trying to decide on a bottle design.
I’m still kicking myself for not asking where I could buy honey from him because I’m all about supporting local businesses.
Is “Happyness” a massage parlor where you can get a happy ending? Not sure if the bee really goes.
I’m pretty sure it’s a music club, but haven’t you ever heard of a police sting?