Art and Politics on the Red Line

[iandavid]

Did anyone notice/hear about this?:

http://www.tripleply.org/artdepository/

This guy made up a bunch of sticker replicas of the Red Line map, replacing the stop names with political topics. He's been putting them up over the existing maps in some red line cars.

Despite the fact that it makes the map pretty much useless to passengers, I think it's a pretty interesting guerilla art installation.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Hahah, that is so awsome. I can't wait to see.

[jwhite07]

Well, how nice (and rather stupid) for the vandal to let the T know what his name, email address, and website is. I hope they go after him.

Oh yeah, and I hope they had a photo permit when they took the pictures of the perps putting the stickers up!

[Robert Paniagua]

That's also known as "sticker grafitti" by putting so many stickers on a traincar. I've seen it in New York's subway cars, bumper sticker graffitti and even now window scratchitti has appeared as well.

Also the Red Line (a few cars) have even window scratchiti of its own including some 01800s as well.

[Reddy Rocker]

Personally, I think that stinks and agree with Jon that the T better go after this loser. The ads are bad enough but now we have to look at political propaganda too? I don't think so.

[parovozis]

I don't like the joke. The "map" is not even politically correct: some "lefty" topics are on the right, and some "righty" topics are on the left! I don't buy it The guy needs to take POLSC101 in addition to whatever art class he has taken...

[TomNelligan]

Count me among those who have no use for artists who deface public property that then has to be cleaned up with my tax dollars. I'm sure that out-of-towners who actually need to use the map are thrilled too.

[Ron Newman]

It's a cute idea, poorly executed. Next time, cover up some of the ads instead of a map that's useful to tourists.

[BC Eagle]

Has anyone seen the advertisements for the new bioterrorism research center BU wants to build in Boston? I've only seen them on the Orange Line, but they're probably on other lines as well. Each one is a different reason on why the new research lab would be safe for the city, and should be built, etc, etc.

Anyways, today on the Orange Line, I noticed that someone had made up computerized stickers that says "BU Lies" and placed them on each of BU's advertisements in the particular car I was in.

It was a much simpler form of this "sticker grafitti", but along the same lines.

[CSX Conductor]

Has anyone seen the advertisements for the new bioterrorism research center BU wants to build in Boston? I've only seen them on the Orange Line, but they're probably on other lines as well.

Probably only see those ads on the Orange Line because the research center is proposed to be built in Roxbury, closer to the Orange Line than any other line.

[Pete]

All you authoritarian types can carp away but I love it. I think they're great and done on a small enough scale that they're not particularly disruptive. I wouldn't live here if there weren't creative people screwing around with things all the time, leaving little surprises to catch people off guard.

It reminds me of the realistic-looking orange road construction sign someone had up in Coolidge Corner a few years ago that read

PLEASE BE ADVISED

BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 7:15 AM and 8:30 AM


you may be fired.


We apologize for the inconvenience.

[efin98]

You can laugh it up, meanwhile the T has to waste money paying for the removal of the "art" and loses customers due to the confusion that they cause.

It's simply not art- it's vandalism. No different than stickered grafiti or scratchiti.

[Pete]

Hey, you have your opinion and I have mine and it's obvious we're not going to agree. I understand the cost involved. Art don't come cheap. Next time I see these guys putting things up, I'll be sure to block for them.

In the car I saw this in, not all of the signs were covered. It clearly wasn't a malicious act to inconvenience the riding public.

Hell, there are people quite convinced that the public art for which a lot of MBTA stations are well regarded is a profligate theft of taxpayer money and valuable station space, too. Just because some committee decreed it inoffensive (as all public art surely should be, right?) doesn't make it any better in my eyes.

At MIT, in fact, this stuff happens so much that people look forward to the next time they discover something like it. Community officials understand and deal with it good-naturedly, and the great majority of people affected seem to think it makes a positive contribution to quality of life. The hackers themselves are very good-natured about it, abiding by guidelines to do no damage, not to endager people, etc. This seems in keeping with that philosophy.

I didn't hear anyone griping when the "Reverse Curve" sign kept getting "vandalized," not even the state officials who finally legitimized the "vandalism" in a special ceremony that backed up traffic for miles.

[CSX Conductor]

You can laugh it up, meanwhile the T has to waste money paying for the removal of the "art"

And it's not just the T's money, it's mine and yours, and every other Massachusetts resident that pays taxes.

[Robert Paniagua]

Fine and ban him from riding for defacing RR property with the intent to disrupt. Its not a joke its vandalism which requires money and labor to clean up.

You're right.

I'd like the idiots responsible to be canned for this and be dealt with harshly, severely and swiftly.

This so-called "bumper sticker" grafitti needs to stop.