Big time. I absolutely hate it, despise it even. What's more upsetting is that the worst place for toilet graffiti is my lovely Adelaide University.
Here is what Adelaide Uni looks like from North Terrace:
Isn't it's exterior lovely? Well, I wish I could say as much for the interior. Most specifically, the interior of the toilets. Now brace yourself because this is absolutely nuts:
Now come on fellow university students. I don't know about you but I can't say that visiting public toilets is my favourite thing in the world. It's sorta nasty. I'm always trying to avoid touching anything, alternating between squatting over the toilet bowl and layering the toilet seat with an abundance of toilet paper. Then, once I've finished my business, I get the hell out of there. Quick smart. There is none of this sitting around day dreaming or writing vulgar profanities all over the walls. I think that it looks really untidy, dirty and quite frankly it's just rude.
So every once in a while I do notice that someone has written something incredibly witty and hilarious and I actually catch myself cracking a smile. Goodness me! But this is very rare. Mostly people are writing really annoying comments about who is a skank or who will provide you with a bit of 'fun'. And then you get those people who write angry comments about world poverty and others reply with quite racist comments. And you know what - I don't enjoy any of this! It's a waste of ink, pencil, whiteout or whatever!
Okay, I am sorry about this ranting. but in our very first post Tash confessed that sometimes we complain (but only if something is really annoying. It's good to vent sometimes, get things off your shoulders). That's human nature right? And just in case you didn't read our very first post (naughty you!) this is exactly what Tash wrote:
'Basically, this blog will be about things we enjoy, things we discover, things that we just want to complain about and things we come across in the media.'
Well, until now I haven't done any of this and honestly, I hope I'm not doing it again any time soon. But for now, if you do understand the weird and ugly world of toilet graffiti maybe you can enlighten me. I just don't get it and next time I visit the loo I'll be imagining throwing mental spears at my fellow toilet visiting peer's head as I wonder if it was them who wrote the C-bomb on the toilet cubicle's wall.
So tell me, do you now a toilet graffitist?
Have you ever written on a wall?
Do you know what compels people to do it?
What do you think about it?
P.S I want to clarify that I can appreciate real, arty farty graffiti that you sometimes see put deliberately on walls. You know, when the council provides a specific location for graffiti artists to 'spray' (is that the right term?). I can dig that. It looks good! Actually, there is a really cool design on the back of my favourite brekkie cafe, 'Agathas Food Store' , created by a bunch of teenagers. I do like that stuff, in fact, I'll get you a picture of it so that you can appreciate it too. Good one!
5 letter(s) to the editor:
here's my opinion on the whole graffiti saga:
1. Street art: LOVE IT. Whether legal or not I love it. I think it brightens up alley ways or just creates fun things to do by spotting things over town like those Einsteins riding bikes all around Adelaide. It's great when bare spaces are donated but it just doesn't happen enough.
2. Tagging: I hate tagging. Stupid pointless and lacking of any artistic talent in my opinion. The people who just go along writing their names on anything they find, or worst just go drawing lines on things like my parents letterbox back home or Kirby's car. These people should learn respect and also if they're going to go around wasting ink like that they should at least try and get some artistic talent first.
3. Toilet Graffiti: LOVE IT! Sorry Roxy, but I love the stuff and can't get enough of it. Obviously location pending, wouldn't like to see it in the classy David Jones public loos, but Napier level 1 toilets... HELL YEAH. I'd rather spend my time reading some vulgar, ignorant or just plain stupid argument on the back of a door than the same ads about STDs, Pap Smears and tampons. Can't say I would ever feel the need to voice my opinion on the back of a toilet door, but gee I love laughing hysterically about those that do.
OK, so maybe I was in a Nasty Bitch mood last night so I lashed out on the toilet graffiti situation. BUT, I still don't like it becuase it's ugly. YES, I laugh hysterically at the 'TOILET TAGGERS' too, but becuase they suck!
Meh, it really does just grind my gears. I think it's rude.
I've already said that I like street art so no further comment.
Tagging...Well that's an issue that usually has me getting all gnarly mad. BUT, the world of tagging is really quite interesting (there is this doco on it - but its name escapes me, sorry). Apparenntly its all like 'who ever can get their tag in the most out-there crazy place gets the most respect and is massively awesome', obviously! And I've seen some tags in pretty incredible places. I find myself standing there in awe for a while wondering how the hell they got it there.
Now I want to do a crazy tagging blog. It's on like donkey kong, Tash.
Haha yeah with tagging I just don't care. I think that's another reason why I don't like it. respect? Film a video of you getting up to some crazy place, don't mark it with your ugly shit.
and laughing at how pathetic people are with toilet taggers is the best part. :P
I just think that tagging gives a bad name to people with actual skill and talent. Although saying that I'm sure some people who actually do cool creative graffiti probably tag or have at some time in their lives. I just don't think I will ever have any ounce of respect towards it.
Oh, I'm not advocating tagging. Gosh no! But in my angry opinion, toilet graffiti is just as bad as tagging. Yeah, sometimes it can be funny but lately there have been some really nasty comments!
But I totally agree with you on the graffiti art issue; it's a shame that graffiti artists get a bad name becuase some of them are amazing. To prove this, we should go on a cool graffiti picture taking adventure and inculde some good eats in that adventure too!
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