Love is Patient
Love is Patient, Abandoned courtyard at DUMBO, Photo Credit: Chelsea Batista
Photo Credit: Chelsea Batista
Dumpster at DUMBO, Photo Credit: Chelsea Batista
These three simple graffiti pieces are all of the same street artists. You can tell by the common theme and the signature tag image of the hear with x’s for eyes and arms and legs. I found this art when I was out by the DUMBO carousel celebrating my baby cousin’s first birthday. I went to grab something from the car and took my time walking back and spotted these tags. The first two were right next to each other on the outer walls of an abandoned courtyard. There was no other art or posters on the walls besides these tags and it just stood out to me. I’m so used to graffiti being about status and risk and bubble letter and gang signs, that seeing something so kind and romantic really brought me to pause and stare.
Now, the artist may have no greater meaning behind his art than to simply promote love–a hopeless romantic after my own heart–but then, if you look at the third picture, the phrase “one love” written on the dumpster, it seems like its not only love he or she is promoting. It’s unified love. All one kind of love, a good kind of love. Love that is simple just like the graffiti. Love that is patient. The love that you would overlook if you hadn’t taken the time to look for it, like this graffiti. I may be reading too much into. But at the heart of it, I think it was just a simple piece placed in a well trafficked and accessible location and thought of with the best intentions.
Graffiti isn’t all about bubble letters and gang signs.
I think that it’s great that you made an argument here – not all grafitti is about tagging and gangs and you have supported that idea well.