Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 - Philadelphia
I recently went into Philadelphia for 3 days for a music festival. It was a really fun experience, just getting to go somewhere different from my day to day. It was a nice break. I saw lots of graffiti while driving in and out of the city. It covered almost every wall I passed, floor to ceiling, almost every train car and back alley. Graffiti is important. First of all it's sort of like a mark of existence for the people for the people who created it, saying "___ was here" and all. But it also could represent something bigger, a collective of people who exist in spite of what society tells them to do. They paint the walls not only when it is illegal, but also in a time when proving your human experience is more necesary than ever.When an authoritarian nazi and his cronies are in control of the government, I get another perspective I haven't had before on this sort of art. Apparently it's been a month since our current president has begun his term. There are millions of people the current administration would rather not be visible. Not only, many people that support this administration, and the administration itself would rather these people be dead. I found an warm comfort in this graffiti. They cannot clean all of the walls. No matter how bad it gets, someone will always know the people were the same. Many people may have bended backwards to accomodate this regime, but they will see the people who had to pretend, who had to hide. While it is not yet the time to hide, we must all have a rubicon where we choose to take a stand. But if you live somewhere where you already have to hide for your safety, your soul survives. Your soul is held in graffiti. And if you make graffiti art, you prove the continuity of society. Keep painting the walls. - Emma
I'm gonna be using this blog to write about things I see as I explore my hometown and travel. This is a blog about places and people. Each post will be formatted as the date of posting and then the place or people the post is about.