Graffiti and the Shirt

Like most visual people, I have a love/hate relationship with graffiti.  When pristine white walls are defaced with cheap black spray paint, this is vandalism, no doubt about it, but when a wall is covered with graphic art in a rainbow of colors, I stop dead in my tracks.  "Wow," I can't help myself.  "That is really cool."

I keep scouring e-bay for a Stephen Sprouse Louis Vuitton bag.  One of these days I'll bid on one and actually win.  There are other people out there who get it--the deliberate defacing of a beautiful object to create one of equally gritty appeal.  And so it is with the world of fashion.  Isn't the current rage with tattoos a form of graffiti?  Or buying a $200 pair of jeans already ripped and splotched with bleach?  Perfection is a virtue to strive for, but let's face it, imperfection is far more interesting.

I applaud the City of Santa Barbara for its quick removal of unsightly graffiti, but I wish they'd leave the good stuff alone (at least for awhile).  Let the artist create and let those of us who walk on the grittier side of life have our pleasure, too.  The owner of the above vacant building has given permission to local artists to "go for it".  The art changes on a weekly basis and as you can see, it is a step above graffiti.  It is "street art" at its best.

"This is the ugliest shirt I've ever seen."

"It's a Yohji "Y" shirt.   How can you say that?  It's gritty.  Urban.  Think Berlin.  The New York Subway."

"I want flowers.  You promised me flowers."

"Mimi, I swear, if you don't stop with the flowers, you're going back to the dumpster."

"You wouldn't dare."

"No, of course not."

"Then how about more butterflies?"

"You're getting cockroaches."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop with the flowers."