I'm not sure to what extent "Grafitti Studies" has (as a discipline) permeated academic institutions, but I'd be surprised if the below offshoot of the artform has recieved much scholarly attention.
The circumstances in which such graffiti is created are quite specific: customer enters a shop looking for a nice pen; customer decides to try out a selection before making a purchase; customer finds a scrap of paper reserved for pen testing and gets scribbling.
The results of this activity are usually fairly unremarkable - squiggly lines, the individual's signature etc. Occasionally, however, the customer - faced with this opportunity to express him/herself - opts to engage in some quick doodling (a spurty penis perhaps?) or to compose a cryptic/crude message.
I can never resist browsing through these scraps of hastily composed wit and wisdom. I even pocket them occasionally - as I did while buying stationery the other day. Here's a sample:
Ah Daisy and Andross (?), I hope those crazy kids make it. Let this be an enduring testament to their 4Life Luv (2Getha 4Eva).
This strikes me as from the same hand (or school of thought) as "Dave F Has A Bonner All The Time". Is it an insult or merely a statement of (alleged) fact?
This is one I intend to keep in my back pocket at all times. When the ceaseless rain and life's slings & arrows start making me blue, I'll reach for this fragment and read it quietly to myself: "Brendan Loves You", "Brendan Loves You"…
All the pain and doubt will just melt away. It's amazing what love can do.
There is a third possibility. “Dave F has a bon[n]er (that is, a hard-on!)all the time” may be self-promotional.
Somewhere a question is probably being asked to which the answer is “Well, you know, Dave F has a bon[n]er all the time, so he’s probably your guy”.
July 13th, 2007 at 1:19 amHadn’t thought of that. Perhaps “Dave F” is fishing for a job in what the Yanks euphemistically call the “Adult Entertainment” industry. Permanent and on-cue bon[n]ers are, I believe, highly-prized in that world.
How does one interpret “Maria Ward Loves Tit” (note the singular use)?
July 13th, 2007 at 1:15 pmIf you love Graffiti that much… would you like to get lost?
shelterrific
I’ll admit that the finder is me. Haven’t used it much…
July 14th, 2007 at 5:19 pmWill,
If you love Graffiti that much…why don’t you marry it?
July 15th, 2007 at 1:14 amI’d reconsider before deciding to bring that scrap of paper with you at all times, Fustar. On closer examination, the possibility arises that what is not being conveyed is a message of goodwill to all humanity, and yourself in particular, but rather the news that “Brendan loves you(sic) Ma”.
If graffitti studies has begun the analysis of pen testing paper, it will no doubt mention the appearance of such a page, bearing inks of all colours, in Johnathan Safran Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly close. The novel was ultimately a failure, but the jotter page was a nice addition.
July 15th, 2007 at 5:25 pmFergal, I’m unconvinced. The “Ma” (if that is what it is) doesn’t look from the same hand as the rest of the Brendan message.
Brendan does love me. Stop trying to ruin it…
July 16th, 2007 at 10:13 pmMaria Ward appears to have something in common with your old friend Murt!
July 18th, 2007 at 12:33 pm