While walking over Echo Bridge on the Newton/Needham line this morning I spotted a truck at the end of the bridge with a hose running out the back and down under the bridge. The truck belonged to the MWRA (Mass Water Resource Authority) and this was their anti-graffiti crew on the job.
A fair amount of new graffiti recently went up under the main arch on the Needham side of the river and these guys are the erasers. They told me in recent years they’ve come up with a relatively new citric acid based cleaner that does a great job and is harmless to the river. They spray it on, let it sit a while, and then power wash the graffiti away.
The rather philosophical workman explained that the key to dealing with graffiti is to try to deal with it relatively quickly. He said that you need to thwart the teenage perpetrator’s delusions of immortality. They “tag” to leave their lasting mark. If you erase it quickly, eventually they realize that its futile and take their spray cans elsewhere.
Sorry for so many posts… Since I walk in this area, I’ve seen lots of samples of young people’s tags. Most could be called “interesting”, some are artful, but occasionally, a couple times a year if that, there’s something that ruins your day. None was more offensive that the hate symbol that I saw this week. If I see this again, now I’ll know to call MWRA.
Yes, the MWRA anti-grafitti crew I spoke to said that they always get their marching orders based on the calls that the MWRA gets from citizens reporting the newest tags.
While I’m good with them “washing” away the tags, I want to correct one misconception. Most taggers are not seeing their work as immortal. Some are pure and simple vandals (“I have no boundaries and F*** you if you think I should play by anyone’s rules but mine”), some are political (“Free “) and some are artists (Banksy, Roadsworth, Shepard Fairy, etc.).
It is rare that any one graffitting an area believes their work will last forever. Banksy was not surprised when his Follow Your Dreams/Cancelled, which went up in Chinatown a couple of years ago, was tagged almost immediately, nor did he really seem to care. In fact, it is rare when you have incidents like when a store owner recognized a Banksy piece and had a protective covering installed over it to preserve the work.
I don’t condone tagging, graffitti, street art, etc UNLESS it is condoned or invited – such as the recent proposals to paint utility boxes in Newton. But, as someone fascinated by the work and the temporary nature of it, I do know that most taggers know their work will come down and the “game” is sometimes how quickly.