Never a friend of unsanctioned urban marking, Dallas City Hall has been particularly vocal in its graffiti opposition in the last few days.
Coinciding with Council Member Delia Jasso's latest anti-graffiti happening -- a conference at Hector P. Garcia Middle School -- the city announced its report-a-tagger tip line (214-670-TIPS) and a new online home for the Dallas Graffiti Wipeout. Helpfully, there's even a taxonomy of tagging, which includes all three kinds: generic, gang-related and (for the kids, apparently) satanic. If you've doubted the city's resolve to this point, be warned: Now they've got a mascot.
Lucky timing, then, that we spotted David Rachman's Flickr update over the weekend, with shots from a stroll under the Commerce Street bridge past an impressive array of graffiti work -- some religious, some intricate lettering, and even some with a distinctly Tony Bones look.
Yesterday was a fine day for a walk in the floodplain, so we headed on down to have a look for ourselves. While neighboring bridges are covered in miscolored rectangles of anti-graffiti paint, the road to the Frank Crowley Courts Building runs over pillars with a variety of work, big pieces often sprayed right on top of other tagging, or miscolored attempts to cover up earlier graffiti.
Don't be confused. Mayor Tom Leppert made it clear at Saturday's meeting in Oak Cliff, as quoted in the Dallas Morning News: It's not art and, what's more, "it invites dumping and stray dogs."
Safer then to check out the view under the bridge from the safety. You can see for yourself in our slide show from under the bridge.
