A new enamelled steel Abbey Road sign is about to be installed although the council is working on a graffiti-proof prototype for use in the future.
What? WHY? Fucking hell, yeah, why don’t we just destroy yet another cultural landmark for the sake of suburban “beauty”? Don’t want the little folks putting their own mark on things — might make them uppity.
“This particular sign was installed six years ago, but removed in 2007 because of graffiti damage by Beatles’ fans.”
Doesn’t seem like much of a cultural landmark to me.
Beatles fans leave messages on the sign. By “destroyed because of graffiti damage” I can virtually assure you, having seen past Abbey Road signs, that they mean “filled with their names, Beatles lyrics, messages to the Beatles, tributes to John and George, etc.”
If you think that destroys the sign, then I guess you would agree with them. I, on the other hand, think that the graffiti is an act of love, and is what makes the sign so fucking awesome in the first place and worth seeing at all. Otherwise, it’s just a damn road sign.
I have to admit, I don’t care much for the Beatles, so I’m probably being culturally insensitive here. I don’t think it destroys the sign. I just don’t think that the ‘graffiti’ contributes much to the cultural significance of the sign. Also, I don’t think fans will let a little something like a graffiti-proof sign stop them.
Does the graffiti contribute to the cultural significance of the sign? No. Does it contribute to the cultural experience of the sign? Yes. I think both are important.
(Granted, there is a similar tradition with the Abbey Road Studios wall, and the Abbey Road bosses don’t mind. So it wouldn’t be wholly lost. But the city has stiffled that as well, and so I still find the whole thing obnoxious.)
This is just plain sad. The sign isn’t even so bad. It’s not as if it takes up a huge amount of space and, really, it’s like a piece of art. It’s not the world’s most beautiful site to see, but it means a lot to the people who go there specifically for that reason.
And, no, the wall is not the same. Nor is it the same to sign the sidewalk (which was happening quite a bit when I went there — though that was over a decade ago lol). The wall and sidewalk could be any old place but the sign… well, that’s the proof that you were there and left your words of love for the people who made an impact, in some way or other, in your life.
