New College, Oxford University
Somewhere here,
I found some antique Graffiti.
How did one leave one's mark when the spray paint can was not yet invented?
ABC Wednesday is a fun meme, hosted by Mrs. Nesbitt. To check out the other G-posts (be careful not to juggle the letters) you can visit her blog here.
A great deal less ephemeral than the moern version - I don't imagine today's offering will survive as long. They do persist too long as it is.
ReplyDeleteOOoh, I love antique graffiti! And I loooove those pictures, especially the windows and stone arches.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it odd, I loathe most modern graffiti, but antique graffiti is different - not just because it's old, but because people didn't scrawl obscenities, and stupid stuff like 'Tracy is a slag' or 'Nigel is gay' or whatever.
We have some antique graffiti right here in the village. There is an old stone bridge where the poet John Clare used to meet his love, and he carved their names in the stone. Also, on our churchyard wall, there are names and dates of schoolchildren dating back to Victorian times.
Aileni,
ReplyDeletesome of the modern graffiti are works of art, most of it is just trash, you're right!
Jay,
Is Nigel gay? Gosh, I wás wondering...;-)
It's strange isn't it? If you saw someone carving their name in a bridge or a wall somewhere you would probably not approve (I wouldn't). But after 100 years or so it suddenly is a lovely piece of history. Hmm.
Defiling objects with ones own personality has obviously been going on for ever!
ReplyDeleteThese forms of graffiti are of historic importance. Most modern graffiti is messy and destructive. Some weeks ago I had to go on the metro to Rotterdam and literally everything had been covered with black graffiti. I loathe it!!
ReplyDeleteThis proves where there's a will, there's a way.
ReplyDeleteLOL at juggling the letters.
If that doesn't show dedication, I don't know what does. Imagine how long you'd have to stand there to chisel that?
ReplyDeleteI love those pictures, Carolina, and old graffiti - So tactile - I can appreciate modern art graffiti too, but the endless tagging is just so tiresome and is vandalism...
ReplyDeleteI love John Clare, so I'm just off to find out more about the stone bridge graffiti!
Hope the sun is shining on you today!
Hahaha. I went to the link you gave me! I bet I could find a picture. Then I could show it to my hubby. Oops.. did I say that??? :P
ReplyDeleteohh why didnt i think of that, great pix too
ReplyDeletemy entry is here
Great day Wednesday folks :)
Thanx for the Visit :)
I strongly suspect that the 1738 one is not genuine - probably more like 1938 - even so ...
ReplyDeleteGreat graffiti, Carolina! Lovely "G" post. I really like the photos of the college, too.
ReplyDeleteEverything here in the U.S. is so "new" compared to most of the rest of the world. I'd love to see more things like this!
ReplyDeleteAckworth born,
ReplyDeleteYou made me wonder, so I did some research and found out that the cloisters (where I found this graffiti) were built within a few years of the College's foundation. And it is 620 years old. So it is possible that 1738 is the correct date. Of course 1938 is also possible. As is 1838. Who knows. Maybe W. Hicks was a joker ;-)
The graffiti folks probably spent a lot more time scraping than spraying. Amazing. I've never seen this. Enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteSo worth the trouble to search for the graffiti, wasn't it? How very interesting. Lovely photos and food for thought about graffiti in general. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great G post. So much more attractive thatn todays Graffiti!!
ReplyDeleteGreat turn on G.
ReplyDeleteWhat fabulous shots! Amazing to know that we humans, in many ways, have not changed over the years! Have to admit I never thought about graffiti going back that far! But I guess people are people and the need to leave a mark apparently is just one more thing that has been passed down. But your photos are awesome! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWay to Go !!! Graffiti as an art .. I guess adds to the panaromic view of the culture and society as well .. Beautiful post ! :)
ReplyDeletesuperb catch!
ReplyDeleteHehe....LOVE the antique graffiti....lovely photos :o) I have been slacking off lately and didn't even do wordless yesterday....shocking!!
ReplyDeleteSlobbers xx
Wow, Antique graffiti! Every now and then, I catch glimpses of Cambridge or Oxford on tv. It would be great to actually be there someday.
ReplyDeleteVery cool G find! Thanks for stopping by & commenting on my G post. It is always nice to get new visitors especially from far away.
ReplyDeleteWow, to think that graffiti has been there all those years.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun theme! Brilliant spin on G. I'm glad to know that juvenile delinquents are not unique to the US ;)
ReplyDeleteWe moved off the island over five years ago - I should have made it clearer.
ReplyDeleteIf you searcg through my stuff, you will find the details of our island life.
Thanks for commenting.
Clever. Not sure but I think the Roamns were the first true Grafitti artists. We don't get much here strangely.
ReplyDeleteClever. Not sure but I think the Roamns were the first true Grafitti artists. We don't get much here strangely.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I know graffiti were found at Pompeii, which make this lot quite young in comparison! Much neater writing than these days, too.
ReplyDeleteI love your photos.
Clever for G..made me think of my one trip to England which was wasted as I was a child and only remember bits of the trip that were interesting to a child....
ReplyDeleteI like your take on the letter G Carolina. Somehow it looks more pleasing to the eye than most modern graffiti and certainly less offensive:)
ReplyDeleteOooh, SUCH pretty photos. Sigh.. I will have to try to get to that campus someday. And maybe find your graffiti ;) There is something kind of fun about looking at something students carved there hundreds of years ago!
ReplyDelete