it all started in grad school...

I have been an observer of graffiti in Richmond, Virginia for about fifteen years, but it wasn't until grad school in VCU's new Media, Art and Text program that I began to write about it. Initially, my interest was captured by some amazing murals painted on the walls of the empty Vepco plant on Belle Isle. Though this space is still used for graffiti, I have not seen anything recently to rival the artistry of the old murals I saw there so long ago. Aside from their aesthetic appeal, graffiti often represent one half of a dialog with authority - and a powerful half at that.

The nearly ten foot Grateful Dead "Steal Your Face" image painted on the riverside rocks facing Hollywood rapids is a good example. Originally painted in protest when Richmond City Council banned the Dead from playing back in the early 1970's, this image has been painted over by the city and re-painted by a series of anonymous artists for over thirty years!

Since graffiti is an ephemeral art form, subject as it is to weather and being painted over by the authorities, I thought it might be worth capturing some of the images in Richmond that catch my eye to compile them in a blog before they disappear forever. Though I include some of my more academic observations about the graffiti I've seen, you can skip all that and just enjoy the images if you like. If you recognize an image as one of your own, or that of someone you know, I would welcome your comments on that posting. I am especially interested in any information about graffiti images on the sides of transient train cars since they make a stark contrast to work done on local unmoving surfaces.

I'm not a professional photographer and most of these images are captured with a Nikon Coolpix digital camera so I make no claims to the artistry of these digital images but I do hope you enjoy them.

If you know of any other Richmond graffiti I should include here, please post a comment and let me know!