Definitely An Error.

It’s not easy to see but the tag TYPO has been applied to the back of an interstate sign. It was also not easy to get a picture of it and I was only able to do so because my wife was driving; if I’d been in the driver’s seat I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it, let alone been able to take a picture of it. I’ve seen the TYPO tag a few other places—always next to the interstate, in one case under a bridge, and in another on a retaining wall. It’s been difficult to get pictures of those too because we were moving at high speed.

I’ve been a defender of graffiti for most of my life, though I have mixed feelings about it. It goes back to a documentary I saw in the 1980’s about graffiti artists in New York, showing how many of them were very talented. Some were even being given gallery spaces and materials as a way of getting them off the streets, though there was a bit of a catch-22: to be recognized they had to first create graffiti, breaking the law and risking arrest. I thought, and still think, there should be another way to recognize and foster talented artists.

The tag TYPO is also interesting. It prompted me to think about how it’s a shortening of “typographical error”, compressing two words and seven syllables into just one two-syllable term whose meaning is still understood.

With that preface what I’d really like to say is this is some of the stupidest, most unnecessary graffiti I’ve ever seen. I could make a lengthy statement about how important art is, how it doesn’t just enrich our lives but makes living worthwhile, but I can’t defend this. TYPO, whoever you may be, you risked your safety, maybe even your life, and you endangered others too. You’ve created a distraction that’s still potentially endangering others. I know it’s not easy but I see real skill in your work, and the effort you put into painting on an interstate sign could have been redirected elsewhere. You can do better.

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6 Comments

  1. M.L. James

    SAMO! My fav.????
    M.L. James recently posted…What’s Up, Doc?My Profile

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      Basquiat! Yes, he’s still a great example of someone who started out doing graffiti and made it big. Also Keith Haring.

      Reply
  2. mydangblog

    I agree. Whenever I see graffiti on places where it would be extremely dangerous to tag, I always wonder why the person didn’t do something more profound!
    mydangblog recently posted…Land Ho!My Profile

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      I can appreciate that it’s hard for graffiti artists to get attention without doing something really bold but, yes, taking unnecessary risks just undermines everything I think they want to achieve.

      Reply
  3. Ann Koplow

    No typos here, Chris. Thanks for all the care you take with your words, making the world a little bit safer.

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      Finding your blog, and you as a friend, was not a mistake.

      Reply

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