We did the second Desolation Row shoot yesterday. In the afternoon, though still not late enough for some, apparently ;-). We still had a fair few people turn up, some at the beginning and some nearer the end. This obviously meant two trips to the pub. We did a couple of interviews and a bit of singing by the river. There was even a glorious moment when I thought that security were coming to tell us off, but even the prospect of a gnarly confrontation couldn't quite distract me from the fact that I needed a wee again and it was bloody freezing.
But more annoying than the weather, was the missing Bob Dylan; the second one had been painted over too. He'd been stencilled onto a filled in railway arch on a scrubby bit of wasteland, so who would paint over it and why? Given that other graffiti had been left behind, including an indecipherable, artistically-devoid tag about six feet high, I was a bit mystified as to why Bob had been removed.
The only theory I could come up with was this: It was too artistic. And who would care enough to remove something brilliant and leave behind all the crap to remind us all how much Medway needs regeneration? The council? I reckon so. We can't have the general public seeing validity in vandalism. By leaving the crap behind, the council can manipulate the public into believing that all graffiti is ugly, pointless vandalism. If people saw Bob, they would have to conclude that art takes many forms and actually graffiti is as valid as any other. But no! The council can't have that. It also can't have local musicians performing at the castle concerts. It must import McFly. What the fuck?
Originally posted on www.sweetfanny.co.uk 30/03/09
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