The writing on the wall

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Often, I feel like an archeologist in this neighborhood. And the hieroglyphs around here are graffiti. But sometimes the message is loud and clear. This evening, I saw this exchange at Santa Fe and 7th St. I know there is an etiquette in this culture—and disrespect like this is not taken well.

I myself am not fluent in this language. But I do know that some of this work is incredibly beautiful (as I wrote about here), and like all street art, accessible. There are no formal opening nights or wine served in plastic cups. It just appears overnight. Like the rain here in Southern California, you wake up and it's done. And people like me are left to brush away the dust and try and decipher what it all means from afar, after the fact.

But this message is unmistakable. And I look forward to the next chapter.


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

UPDATE: I've been informed the original piece was done by Revok.