[Pelham]

“Unfortunately, for every street artist, there are a thousand taggers whose sole contribution to art is “JULIO” in ugly da-glo, or worse, gang-graffitti.”

‘El Baby Gangster’ is one early 70’s tagger whose name has stuck with me. Not an artist, he was your basic black spray paint on a wall tagger.

Unfortunately he turned out to be a warning of things to come, like when you spot that first cucaracha. There’s never just una cucaracha.

[Kenny Bunk]

La Virgen de Guadalupe on the surfboard kinds struck me as valid folk-art sorta like a Mexican Grandma Moses. Maybe like the religious scene on the side of a gasthaus in an Austrian ski town.

But the miles and miles of "El Baby Gangster" stuff merits the death penalty. BTW, I feel the same about this tattoo (and piercing) epidemic sweeping the country. It is cruel and usual punishment on me to have to be confronted by acres of inked skin while picking up vegetables in the market! Served food by a pierced waitperson? WTF? Yuck.

Perhaps as part of the Obama Stimulus Package, could I possibly be issued a Thompson and a travel budget?