1 in 10,000

Never let it be said that I am a stick in the mud - someone that enjoys looking at boring, grey utility cabinets on the side of the road. I have been gently prodding the RTA and Canada Bay Council over the last few months to get an arts program going to brighten these eyesores up; and to make them less palatable canvases for vandals. The RTA and Council are quite open to the idea, but there is much paperwork to be done before anything can start. Unless someone can find a magic pot of money, it might have to wait until next financial year.

Here is an example of a cabinet that has been "arted up" in a non-authorised manner. Frankly, I quite like it. After viewing thousands and thousands of meaningless, badly scrawled tags, this is a revelation. When viewed against the muck scribbled on the side panel, this cartoon is a work of art comparable to the Mona Lisa.

I suspect that it is unauthorised due to the messy production qualities.

The front panel has been prepped by being painted with a darker shade of grey than these cabinets normally have - but the brush strokes are rough and hurried. Sloppy even. The cartoon has not been painted onto the cabinet - it is actually a cut out. The shadow has been painted onto the prepped surface, and the cut out cartoon then glued onto that. It hasn't been glued on very well - it's peeling at the top. Some sort of varnish has then been hurriedly applied over just the cartoon - presumably to prevent it from being vandalised!

Being a fan of cartoons, I like this piece. I'd prefer that it was authorised, but I'd rather have this sort of stuff going up instead of idiotic tags.

Of all the so called "graffiti art" that I have looked at over the last two years, I have only seen two examples that showed some level of artistic talent. This is one of them. 99.9% of graffiti around our area is not "art". To call it "art" is a vicious and nasty slur on all artists. It is juvenile territory marking and adolescent boasting of prowess and 'fearlessness' (which is why it is done at night, when no one is looking), and it should be recognised as such.

I am not reporting the above piece, because it stands as a reminder as to what art is and what graffiti isn't. It clearly shows that almost all graffiti around here is trash, and displays why graffiti should be removed as rapidly as possible.

I hope the person or persons that did the above work sign up for the RTA/Council program when it gets off the ground. There are lots of boring utility boxes at intersections in Canada Bay that could benefit from their talent.