Inspirational Camino 'graffiti'?

[Jennifer1959]

The Camino does provide, in many different ways.
I have many photos of motivational words I came across, written by pilgrims in various places on the Way.
I found that often I came across just the words I needed to hear, just when I needed them. Has any one else had this experience?
I thought I would post a few.... no idea who Polina is, but loved these words. Do you have photos to share?
I also know 'graffiti' is not everyones cup of tea. I'm not referring to the banal 'Harry loves Sally' kind, but wise, meaningful messages ... thoughts?

 

[RJM]

Personally I dislike graffiti. Nobody has the right to deface and damage someone else's property without permission, and that includes public property. I'm sure the locals along the Camino don't like it either. I find no motivation or inspiration from musings childishly scrawled on public and private property. I can only hope the locals don't judge all pilgrims by the selfish and actually illegal actions of a few.
Too bad they can't make that moron "Polina" go back and remove their attempts at being a wannabe beat poet with a scrub brush and cleaner.

 

[Former member 92300]

I disliked the Graffiti. I was sad to see how much there was along the way. I even remember seeing the name Michael Jackson at least 9 times by the same "fan"... and it made me mad. And I was equally annoyed by the inspirational messages. They took me out of the moments I was in. They distracted me from my own thoughts and reflection.

Now the art? Well some of that was beautiful - but still prefer not to see graffiti art. I did love the art that was an entire wall of a building and the Camino art work on buildings and fences.

 

[Kathy F.]

I did like much of the beautiful Camino art along the way. I appreciated it when I saw a work that an artist gave time, effort, and thought into creating for me. But these sayings by this ”Polina” person? Pithy and uninspiring. I am also offended by tagging - keep your Michael Jackson fandom to yourself.

 

[jungleboy]

 

[JohnLloyd]

I think there are some important differences between tagging, street art, and graffiti.

A well-drawn and thoughtful message received at the right time can gladden the heart and lighten the legs.

 

[JohnLloyd]

Compare and contrast, as my old English teacher used to say...

 

[RJM]

View attachment 123914

Unfortunately on the Frances few kilometer markers and waypoints have not fallen victim to mental midgets armed with permanent marker pens or spray paint cans. How sad.

 

[Jennifer1959]

Compare and contrast, as my old English teacher used to say...

Love these, especially the Kate Tempest. Thanks for posting.

 

[RJM]

I think there are some important differences between tagging, street art, and graffiti.

A well-drawn and thoughtful message received at the right time can gladden the heart and lighten the legs.

As long as the message wasn't scrawled out illegally and without permission on public or private property. I'm going to guess that most of the graffiti is not done by locals or Spanish citizens. It's done by visitors. Someone just passing through. A guest. A guest who never learned to be respectful to their hosts.

 

[Former member 92300]

Compare and contrast, as my old English teacher used to say...

Yes - I loved the painting of the woman (there were others in that area as well), and the Ponferrada painted name near the bridge. The rest? I would rather not see. The painted sign attached to the post - I am semi-OK with - as they did not deface personal property - but the sign can also be viewed as liter that needs to be cleaned up. But at least it can easily be removed if the owner doesn't want it on his property.

 

[davebugg]

I also know 'graffiti' is not everyones cup of tea. I'm not referring to the banal 'Harry loves Sally' kind, but wise, meaningful messages ... thoughts?

Without permission, graffiti is vandalism no matter the cuteness or artistry. If I want to see graffiti vandalism, the streets of any urban area would give me my fill. I would prefer a camino without the scrawling's of a thoughtless person imposing their narcissistic 'look at me' footprint.

I do not need inspiration or giggles from a vandal.

 

[JohnLloyd]

Of all of the human messages I saw on my first Camino, this was the most unexpected.

 

[RJM]

Of all of the human messages I saw on my first Camino, this was the most unexpected.View attachment 123939

Now that's funny and best of all, temporary.
I wished I had temporary, biodegradable stickers I could have slapped on graffiti as I passed. The stickers would have said something like "Look for inspiration from something less destructive and invasive."

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Graffiti has, whether we like it or not, been around since the dawn of mankind. Are the cave paintings at Lascaux not graffiti? Excavations at Pompeii uncovered "Hello! We Are Wineskins!" and when Sir Christopher Wren wasn't designing St Paul's Cathedral he was busy carving his tag into the rocks at Stonehenge.
I do find it distasteful to enter a major city and see the buildings along the railways plastered with multi-coloured tags but, on the other hand, who would not want to preserve the Camino de Santiago mural at
Rabé de las Calzadas (now "spoiled" because the owner has erected a door stop post in front of it - tsk tsk)
But sometimes, just sometimes you come across things like this:



a movable stone as ephemeral as an autumn leaf. This was 2016 - I hope it's still around and laud the creator for having the sense to write on a loose stone and not the mojón itself.

 

[wayfarer]

What RJM said above in post #2. Anyone caught should be sent back along the Camino to do a clean up. We can live without the banal messages that flood social media being scrawled on public property.
I saw message boards in a few places in 2012, now they are a good idea.

 

[Kathar1na]

I regard these text slogans, scribbled onto any surface available along the Camino Francés, especially when outside of urban areas or towns, as platitudes and as visual pollution of the environment.

 

[Paladina]

Better by far to take trite sentiments home on a fridge magnet.

 

[Kathar1na]

Graffiti has, whether we like it or not, been around since the dawn of mankind. Are the cave paintings at Lascaux not graffiti? Excavations at Pompeii uncovered "Hello! We Are Wineskins!" and when Sir Christopher Wren wasn't designing St Paul's Cathedral he was busy carving his tag into the rocks at Stonehenge.

They did not have blogs on the worldwide web and they did not have Twitter, Instagram and Facebook where, as far as I know, inspirational words are posted and viewed and forwarded daily in huge numbers. Why I wonder is it that this is not enough for Polina and others like her? Why does she have to travel to the Camino Frances and leave her marks there?

 

[Former member 99290]

View attachment 123914

How do I hate the defacement of the stone markers and other graffiti along The Way … let me count the ways. Destructive, selfish, senseless, narcissistic, childish and … by the way to those who do it - this property does not belong to you

 

[Jeff Crawley]

They did not have blogs on the worldwide web and they did not have Twitter, Instagram and Facebook where, as far as I know, inspirational words are posted and viewed and forwarded daily in huge numbers. Why I wonder is it that this is not enough for Polina and others like her? Why does she have to travel to the Camino Frances and leave her marks there?

Perhaps we're hard-wired to attempt to make ourselves "immortal" or at least leave proof that we existed?
(Shrugs sadly)

 

[Kathar1na]

Oh, that was unexpected. Polina met a pilgrim who blogged about her in 2019.

Here are two further slogans crafted by her on the Camino Francés: You can't run from your problems but you can walk and The best plan is no plan.

From the blog: Her name is Polina and she calls herself Polina Nomad. Polina often volunteers at pilgrim hostels and currently is serving at a hostel in Hospital de Orbigo. Today she didn’t have to report for her shift until 4 so she was walking to Astorga and would be taking a bus back to Hospital de Orbigo.

According to the blog entry Polina is a graphic artist.

 

[Kathar1na]

Perhaps we're hard-wired to attempt to make ourselves "immortal" or at least leave proof that we existed? (Shrugs sadly)

Surely some wise words can be found that say otherwise? Leave no trace perhaps or something even more inspiring?

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Surely some wise words can be found that say otherwise? Leave no trace perhaps or something even more inspiring?

How about "Mankind, far from perfect but the best we have available at present"?
Be glad the Camino isn't up Everest - from what I hear it makes the CF sound pristine

 

[Philtration]

After a lifetime of seeing nothing but crude, narcissistic, and distasteful graffiti in the US, I was pleasantly surprised to see people expressing such positive messages along the camino. An occasional few though, is enough, and as long as they aren't defacing historic items.

 

[Former member 99290]

How about "Mankind, far from perfect but the best we have available at present"?
Be glad the Camino isn't up Everest - from what I hear it makes the CF sound pristine

don’t even go there. Everett base camp is now a rubbish tip monument to ego. Not to mention what happens further up. An abomination and the lives lost. Think this thread might have touched a sore point for me But … straying off topic

 

[CWBuff]

and when Sir Christopher Wren wasn't designing St Paul's Cathedral he was busy carving his tag into the rocks at Stonehenge.

N!!!!!!!!

 

[sunwanderer]

... when Sir Christopher Wren wasn't designing St Paul's Cathedral he was busy carving his tag into the rocks at Stonehenge.

I can't tell, but it seems your statement is saying that since a famous person was a vandal, it's OK if everyone is a vandal.

I would hope that we would try to be more respectful of public and private property, rather than use Pompeii of 2000 years ago as acceptable standard.

 

[Kathar1na]

Isn't this issue rather Camino specific and in particular Camino Francés specific?

I walked about 1800 km to Santiago and it was only during the last third of the way, after the Pyrenees and further towards Santiago, that these 'inspirational' quotes started to appear in the environment outside of towns. For some pilgrims such 'graffiti' fits into their Camino narrative while others, perhaps the majority, could do without it, and regard it as intruding and as eyesores.

And the more there is already, on waste bins, on electricity poles, on waymarkers, on trees, the more there will be in future. I'm sure I could find a meme on the internet for this, too, if I tried.

We are stewards of our environment ...

 

[Former member 99290]

Isn't this issue rather Camino specific and in particular Camino Francés specific?

I walked about 1800 km to Santiago and it was only during the last third of the way, after the Pyrenees and further towards Santiago, that these 'inspirational' quotes started to appear in the environment outside of towns. For some pilgrims such 'graffiti' fits into their Camino narrative while others, perhaps the majority, could do without it, and regard it as eyesores.

And the more there is already, on waste bins, on electricity poles, on waymarkers, on trees, the more there will be in future. I'm sure I could find a meme on the internet for this, too, if I tried.

I think that’s right @Kathar1na I don’t recall it on other Caminos - but I could be wrong. I haven’t walked the Frances for many years, though I was on thé Primitivo in late 2019 and once we joined the Frances at Melide I don’t think I saw even one ‘clean’ stone marker.

 

[Former member 92300]

Now that's funny and best of all, temporary.
I wished I had temporary, biodegradable stickers I could have slapped on graffiti as I passed. The stickers would have said something like "Look for inspiration from something less destructive and invasive."

Maybe some sidewalk chaulk? LOL

 

[Kathar1na]

Maybe some sidewalk chaulk? LOL

Brilliant idea! We have to develop creative ideas and not simply moan on the forum. More pinboards in the albergues, whiteboards at 5 km intervals, free multi-coloured chalk for all pilgrims ... the rain will wash it away, the sun will bleach it quickly.

 

[Former member 92300]

Brilliant idea! We have to develop creative ideas and not simply moan on the forum. More pinboards in the albergues, whiteboards at 5 km intervals, free multi-coloured chalk for all pilgrims ... the rain will wash it away, the sun will bleach it quickly.

Could even write a message on the sidewalk and it would wash away with the rain.

 

[Former member 92300]

Now I am picturing some Camino Hopscotch in the Meseta LOL

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I can't tell, but it seems your statement is saying that since a famous person was a vandal, it's OK if everyone is a vandal.

I would hope that we would try to be more respectful of public and private property, rather than use Pompeii of 2000 years ago as acceptable standard.

No, far from it. I disapprove of vandalism in any shape or form.

Perhaps you missed the bit where I wrote "I do find it distasteful to enter a major city and see the buildings along the railways plastered with multi-coloured tags"?

 

[sunwanderer]

No, far from it. I disapprove of vandalism in any shape or form.

Perhaps you missed the bit where I wrote "I do find it distasteful to enter a major city and see the buildings along the railways plastered with multi-coloured tags"?

Actually, I did see that but I thought your distaste only applied to multi-coloured tags along railways at the entrance of big cities.

Sorry for generalizing.

 

[Jennifer1959]

What RJM said above in post #2. Anyone caught should be sent back along the Camino to do a clean up. We can live without the banal messages that flood social media being scrawled on public property.
I saw message boards in a few places in 2012, now they are a good idea.

...yet your account photo ....Don't STOP Walking?

 

[wayfarer]

...yet your account photo ....Never STOP Walking?

It has special meaning, but touchè.

 

[RJM]

I'm curious to hear from the pro graffiti members of this forum. In the sense of why they think it is okay to deface public and private property without permission. I don't want to hear it for debate's sake, I just want to know why they think it's okay, and if they do think it's okay if they could just answer the question, would it be okay if somebody sprayed, wrote, marked etc graffiti on their house or car? How would they react to that?

 

[Jennifer1959]

I think there are some important differences between tagging, street art, and graffiti.

A well-drawn and thoughtful message received at the right time can gladden the heart and lighten the legs.

Yes, this was my point, that for me, the Camino provided. My first walk was to overcome personal trauma, I was 56 and unfit. Messages I needed arrived for me during very difficult moments and helped. (not on personal property!)

 

[Former member 92300]

From the blog: Her name is Polina and she calls herself Polina Nomad. Polina often volunteers at pilgrim hostels and currently is serving at a hostel in Hospital de Orbigo. Today she didn’t have to report for her shift until 4 so she was walking to Astorga and would be taking a bus back to Hospital de Orbigo.

This just makes me want to know if she is still volunteering at pilgrim hostels and wondering which ones - so I can avoid them. Wondering if those who run the places know if that she is vandalizing all along the Camino. There are just so many ways to express yourself without defacing property all across Spain (or wherever you are).

 

[RJM]

...yet your account photo ....Don't STOP Walking?

Yes, I've seen that stop sign. It's just as bad on public property as it is on private. Somebody turned a stop sign, a traffic safety device into a gaudy, trashy piece of rubbish.
I find no motivation in silly shite like that. I mean it is not like I was dragging along, practically crawling when suddenly I saw that sign and it was like an epiphany, a ray of hope! A cosmic beam of motivation. Yes, I can make it! Ultreia! lol

 

[Theatregal]

The Camino does provide, in many different ways.
I found that often I came across just the words I needed to hear, just when I needed them.

It's not my intention to minimize the comfort these messages brought you. I respect that. Truly.

But I think that what the camino provides is a path for us to walk, hospitality and support along the way, space and time for our thoughts, healing and comradeship. Yes, there are those wonderful moments of serendipity when help appears in whatever form but I don't think that the camino means to provide a public canvas for its guests to vandalize.

think there are some important differences between tagging, street art, and graffiti.

I am a fan of street art in public spaces that give it thoughtful attention. There are some incredibly talented graffiti artists and muralists in towns and cities throughout the caminos. Porto for instance has some amazing street art. Starting in 2014, the city council commissioned local street artists to create art that would help give rundown neighbourhoods and derelict buildings new vibrancy and life.

We are stewards of our environment ...

Yes. This is the heart of it.

 

[wayfarer]

I mean it is not like I was dragging along, practically crawling when suddenly I saw that sign and it was like an epiphany, a ray of hope! A cosmic beam of motivation. Yes, I can make it! Ultreia! lol

Well that's exactly what happened to me on a cold miserably wet day, that is why it has special meaning for me. I was saying to myself what the hell are you doing here, then I saw that sign at the junction, I sat down and had a good laugh. I reckoned it was a sign to stop bitching and keep going.

 

[Former member 99290]

I’ve been reflecting on this thread - and particularly in relation to the person who has been named - the one who also volunteers as a hospitalero. While, I hate to see the stone markers defaced and the other ‘I was here’ and worse style graffiti, I imagine that the hospitalero and others who have written words of ‘encouragement’ or ‘inspiration’ have done so with good intentions, but perhaps insufficient thought.

In the case of the hospitalero, despite the writings which many of us don’t agree with, she is making more contribution than most to thé Camino in other ways. Let’s not, as was suggested, wonder where she is so as to avoid that albergue.

 

[Jennifer1959]

Have to say Im surprised and sad at some of the mean spirited, condescending comments from some 'pilgrims' on this page.