Graffiti for a cause
Years ago, our great aunt asked us to look at an inscription left by an ancestor in the tower of St. Gatien in Tours (12-15th centuries, Loire Valley). It was a foggy, rainy cold day. When we arrived, we asked the guard about the inscription. He quizzical look made us think he did not understand us or care.
We climbed the tower. But instead of the inscription of our ancestor, we found walls covered with chiseled marks and graphics, attesting to the passage of centuries of graffiti artists.
Did that many people have that much to say? Or did they just want to say they had been there?
Cities have devoted millions of dollars to cleaning buildings of graffiti. But in Gainesville, we have a wall, which has been known for decades as graffiti friendly. On a regular basis, what has been called a “cement blog” carries news of engagements, makeups or breakups, birthdays, sports rivalries, as well as a permanent commemorative section to the slain UF students. Some of the graphics are hastily done, sloppy, but others seem worthy of a portfolio of a graphic designer. Usually, students work in teams, often at night, with shopping carts from the nearby Publix loaded with paints and brushes.
In the past week or so, a group of students painted a large portion of the wall pink in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This pink wall attests to a growing recognition of the need to bring talk of the cure into daily parlance and into a series of activities that promote awareness—a tango for the cure, led by our UF tango faculty advisor and his fiancée, emails (in all languages)—une “CHANDELLE pour le cancer
Tout ce qui est demandé c'est de garder cette flamme en circulation.”
The message is early diagnosis can save lives. This graffiti wall, unlike that in St. Gatien (which may have a popular culture value, however) carries a worthy message. But is everyone listening? And is healthcare accessible to all who need treatment?
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