Foto tomada del sitio de Ripo.  Hay que retomar estas frases.  Es una frase que se empezó a usarse en Nueva York después de nueve once.  Como pidiéndole a la gente que reportaran los terroristas.  Pero pintado así, se convierte en una llamada al arte, a la escritura, al decir algo frente a los poderes burocráticos.  Más imágenes aquí: Ripo Visuals.

°°°

A picture from Ripo.  Gotta take back these sentences.  These 9/11 sentences that ask us to turn in the terrorists: If you see something, say something.  But painted like this, the sentence is converted is a call to make art, to write, to say something in the faces of bureaucratic powers-that-be.  More images here: Ripo Visuals.

4 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

I'm confused. Are you saying that these sentences are racist and inflammatory, but that since it is done artistically, this writing gives the meaning a kind of wrong legitimacy? Or are the sentences saying make art to protest the racism? Wish I knew Spanish.

John Pluecker dijo...

i guess its open to your own interpretation. but yeah, the use of the way the sentence is painted on the street seems to turn the old usage on its head. it's not a call to spy on your neighbors anymore, it's a call to speak out.

Ryan dijo...

First off, JP, thanks for the congratulatory note about the wedding. A great time was had by all, and thanks for passing by Givre to comment on that.

Now, to what I wanted to say: here in New York they have the same TIPS-styled program in the subways...if you see something, say something. They have posters telling passengers to report suspicious people and packages (just how they determine the level of suspicion of each is somewhat spurious). Anyhow, recently they've been posting the numbers of just how many people, last year, saw something and said something: 1,944. I see this number everyday, so it's stuck in my mind. A few weeks ago, the NYPD (I believe) released a statement by way of addendum to this figure: (basically) they have no way of keeping track of all the calls and made up that number.

Do these programs work? Yes, at times. Are they morally and ethically Stalinesque? Yes. Do they work well enough to remain in use? No. Most law enforcement programs seem to lack the organization to handle these tip lines.

For me, it's great to see these words taken out of context, though I wonder if they'll escape the "ironic divide" that might read them as a sincere message to do as they say...

John Pluecker dijo...

To me, the way the words are separated from their typical context as Stalinesque subway watchwords resignifies them to become a different kind of call. I don't see them as ironic, but rather as some kind of relentless positivity or artfulness in the face of the regime. I also think the scale and the location on a public wall makes them a kind of billboard for art. But I am infatuated with the Wooster Collective website these days. I get so much hope from its images of street art.

Thanks for your words though. And happy forevers with your sweetie!