Graffiti is in it's nature a temporary thing. Cities remove the tags and pieces by power washing or painting over them. Other artists reuse the space either erasing the previous tenant or creating a unique interplay between the two. The cultural references they use to make their point fade in their relevance. Even the weather contributes to the dissolving of these creative moments. But finding these temporary moments and seeing how they change in their environment is part of the fun.
The sticker above is a perfect example of the temporary nature of sticker graffiti. I'm pretty sure that this sticker used to be an advertisement for the now closed 31st Street Pub over in the Strip District but it's hard to say for certain. The weather and rust from the pole have caused it to lose the name of the bar, leaving behind live music, food, and booze in the Strip District. The remains of the sticker becoming a poignant statement about some of the appeal of the neighborhood. While the area may be in a discussion about redeveloping itself to become a bigger attraction, it remains a big element in the food arena for Pittsburgh. Part of what I love about this photo is the way the sticker has melded in with the tarnished rust on the pole. Along with the lost of the name of the bar, it takes on much of the color from the rust. It is almost indistinguishable from it's surroundings and isn't something that you would immediately notice. I know I found it because I'm always on the look out for things like this, ones that exemplify how easy these stickers change with time. These kind of finds are a large part of what I enjoy about this project.
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Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
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