Sometime in the 18th Century, Bishop George Berkeley wrote his thoughts on empiricism. He could be credited, perhaps, with the ideas which underpin the question ‘If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does the tree make a noise?’
I suppose the good bishop would, given his writings, be sympathetic to the dilemma as to ‘If you commit vandalism in a place where vandalism is legal, have you committed a crime?’
Hosiery Lane is apparently some sort of Melbourne tourist attraction, where people currently known as ‘street artists’ (but whom I am more inclined to consider vandals) are encouraged to express their talent with spray cans without fear of recrimination from the authorities. [And there I was, thinking that all our railway lines are similarly galleries for our ‘street artists’ to decorate without fear of reprisals from the law.]
Supposedly, people from all over the world like to visit this alley off Flinders Street and admire the graffiti art painted there.
Message to the World: WE DO HAVE REAL ART GALLERIES IN MELBOURNE!
Anywho, I was out for a walk at lunchtime as part of my current health kick, and decided to detour down Hosiery Lane for a look and to inspect the recent vandalism.
By that, I mean that a few days ago, some masked lads with fire extinguishers filled with paint went and covered up all the ‘street art’. The police have found a technicality (painting over the ‘street art’ is actually legal there, but dripping paint on the pavement is not) to try to hunt them down and prosecute them for this heinous outrage.
You know, I could not find any but one trace of this supposed outrage by those vandals. No blue paint covering up the work of other more respected ‘street artists’. No traces of paint on the pavement except those left from other artists making their masterpieces. All the various murals which have been painted and painted over in perpetuity appear to be as intact as they ever have been, until the next artist decides to paint over their work with their own masterpieces. The only exception is the picture I have posted above, a hopefully more permanent record of this amusing incident of vandalism in the one place where vandalism is not illegal.
Lost For Words! 