Today's find is an interesting conglomeration of things and I think a fairly appropriate way to end the year. Instead of ending on a hopeful tone or commiserating about how terrible this year has been, I've decided to go with the bizarre and semi-celebratory. Granted this is generally more my style anyway, as seen by the fact that this blog even exists, but during a time of rather bleak Facebook posts I felt people could use a break. This sticker caught my eye because of the elephant and the fact that I could framed the photo with the spire in the background. It wasn't until I cleaned it up in Photoshop that I noticed an essential element of the sticker's uniqueness. Like Monday's post, it looks like the person behind this piece used a Federal label for it's base. If you look above the elephant's head you can clearly see the words Hazardous Waste. It isn't until you zoom in that you can see below the drawing the phrase "Handle with Care" and the blank field lines under the drawing. It's rather hard to tell which exact label it is but I'd say it's a pretty safe assumption that it is an official one. The drawing itself is fairly interesting. It's a pink elephant which, if you've managed to avoid Dumbo and many other references, is typically associated with drunken hallucinations. There were a couple of other creatures with varying descriptions that were also associated with hallucinations but the pink elephant became the idiom of choice by the early 1900s. In addition to the elephant, the phrase "Where am I, send me home" in a rather stylized font is amongst the many items on the sticker. In combination the whole sticker tells an interesting story. I feel like the pink elephant is asking to be sent home after being dragged into the drunk's mind. That the ingesting of booze not only creates a hazardous waste but can, in a way, be considered a hazardous waste. While I'm sure the sticker serves as a warning or a statement against alcohol, I enjoy how all of the pieces work together to tell the story. All in all I thought that this was a great way to end the year. Since a main element associated with New Years Eve is champagne and parties, I think there will be plenty of pink elephants out and about. There's also some room for a bit of trippy fun at this time where people start getting serious with ideas of change and resolutions. Hopefully you have a great New Year's Eve, don't get too caught up with your pink elephants, and enjoy this final entry for 2016. Oh and just because I can, here's some pink elephants on parade.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
Categories |