Guerilla Art on the Woodland Trail in Olympia

olyup (55)in #art • 7 years ago

I have a dog.

That means that I need to walk my dog around my neighborhood on a regular basis. Or that I get to walk my dog. It just depends on the day, and what else is going on. However you describe it, my dog needs to sniff everything, and shit on something. Sometimes I love walking him. It provides a good excuse to wander around and look at stuff. Walking a dog allows a person to linger and look around a lot more than they could if they were just alone.

I'm not talking about invading anyone's privacy, but it's just a fact that you will notice more about your neighbors when you walk around your neighborhood slowly than you will when you drive through pedal to the metal, late for work. It's interesting to notice what different hobbies people are into - gardening, motocross, chickens, holiday decorating, whatever. People move in and move out, houses nearby are for sale - it's good to get out and notice your nearby surroundings sometimes.

Getting To Know The Neighbors

I rarely see anyone outside, and maybe only half the times I did, I spoke to whoever it was. But I have made occasional conversation and gotten to know some of my neighbors, though none very well. There's one group of neighbors I know nearly nothing about at all.

Near my house there is a bike trail, a big part of which is surrounded by a large park full of steep, unbuildable land important to the hydrology of the area. The park is around 100 years old. Some of that park has a hiking trail, but much more of it is virtually inaccessible to visitors. A determined few have chosen this inaccessible area as a suitable long-term residence. Maybe dozens of homeless people camp in the park, which is to say they sleep in hiding to avoid arrest.

This area in particular is the focal point of local protests for fair housing and homeless rights. Most of the homeless population is downtown most of the time, and some sleep downtown in RVs, or conversion vans, or even cars filled with enough stuff to fill an apartment. Some sleep in the inset doorways to businesses, avoiding the cold wind. But I'd wager that most who sleep outside sleep in the woods. And the most convenient urban woods are located around the trail, and pretty close to this bridge.

So that's my neighborhood. I can't be sure which group has produced more of the artists now battling for gallery space on the support walls beneath the bridge, but what I wanted to share today was the street art of the Woodland Trail, where the high road meets the low road in a very literal way.

The Writing On The Wall

There are several familiar names in the under-the-bridge and even in the around-town graffiti categories. That list includes LabRat, whose work can be seen under the bridge in the most inaccessible of spots.

I take this long dog walking route at least once a week, and nearly every time there is a change to the art on display. Sometimes that's because city workers (or someone) painted over with some blah grey. Sometimes it's because a rival tagger painted over last week's art.

The main contenders around town, and especially under the bridge, are Smegma and Grease.

Smegma vs. Grease

So 2 weeks back I started walking my dog on a new, longer route. When I passed under the bridge, I noticed that a fresh coat of industrial grey had already been painted over with a few elaborate tags and images.

That first day, this piece by Smegma stood out:

Grease was on the same wall, alongside a painting of a lady who looks a little upset, even as she reminds us to "Love always."

But by the next week, the old lady had been covered up by STO.

Grease also made a second appearance on the wall facing opposite, further up the embankment.

But this week Smegma brought the heat, with this audacious overpaint of both Grease and the cranky old lady. My main critique is that it's basically all-black, and I'd appreciate more color like in his other piece. I do understand that a piece of this size probably takes some time, and a single color would cut down on that time. I get it.

What I'm saying is that you want to leave it better than you found it, and I'm not sure that's what happened here. I'm really hoping that I'll find some more work done on this piece on my next walk. But it's never over, and if Grease doesn't come back to take his previous place, city workers will eventually wipe the slate clean. I'll keep an eye out.