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July 1, 2004
Temple, Etched
When I lived on the UES, one of my favorite places to visit was the Temple of Dendur. While most people mill around and take in its amazing construction and purposeful carvings, I have always spent my time examining the graffiti (some of which dates back to the 19th century) scratched into its brick.
My favorites piece is the J Livingston, Janury 1, 1818. Got to love the misspelling. Every time I visit Dendur, I wonder if we could define its defacements as some of the earliest forms of scratchiti. Regardless, it is further proof that graffiti can be an art form, an artifact, and above all, a marker of time...and timelessness.
Of course, the above photograph is not of the Temple of Dendur. The bricks were part of a park building in New Mexico, the location of which I cannot remember. There were so many names etched into the walls that the graffiti looked like a natural pattern, like veins beneath skin.
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In other news, the NYTimes has a fascinating article about recently revealed, almost perfectly in tact, artifacts and ruins found in Horse Canyon, Utah, called Range Creek. The remains, which are attributed to the of the Freemont Indian culture, span thousands of acres and date back to AD 900 to 1100.
Posted by callalillie at July 1, 2004 6:07 AM | History
, Visual Musings
There has been ancient graffiti discovered in Rome that honored specific gladiators. As the cliche goes, the more things change the more things stay the same.
Posted by: ccs178 (Chris) at July 1, 2004 10:29 AM
Our street art has gotten prettier over the years though. And funnier. Well, some of it. I'm imagining a Roman Neckface..
Posted by: corie at July 1, 2004 10:33 AM
I just read this on a website about gladiators:
Among the graffiti slogans still scrawled on walls at Pompeii, the famous Roman town preserved under a layer of volcanic ash, are: "Caladus, the Thracian, makes all the girls sigh," and "Crescens, the net fighter, holds the hearts of all the girls."
So, I guess some girls like neckfaces. ;-)
Posted by: ccs178 (Chris) at July 1, 2004 11:07 AM
Posted by: corie at July 1, 2004 11:11 AM
