Saratoga Bus Stop Graffiti Andrea
Piercy
Taken:
3/23/04

* *
*
.
. .
.
. . 
CHUCK WOOD iS A
PR[I]CK
- Found
scratched into the Congress Park bus stop in Saratoga Springs, NY. On a painted metal strip about 11/2
inches wide along the back inner wall of the bus stop, just above a bench.
- Author
unknown; likely someone making use of Saratoga Springs buses, perhaps a
teenager or young adult
- The
intended audience is likely friends of the author or acquaintances of
Chuck Wood who would also use the bus stop
- There
is no imagery or iconography associated with the graffito, although the
“A” is elaborated, perhaps as a result of a mistake in etching
- Analyzing
this graffito required careful observation, since the text was scratched
into the surface unevenly and some of the letters were distorted (such as
the “A”) or incomplete (such as the second “O” in “WOOD”). The “I” in “PRICK” was missing or too
lightly scratched to be noticeable, requiring me to reconstruct the word
based on my knowledge of English slang.
Utilizing that knowledge I was also able to guess at the age of the
author, since “prick” is most often used as an insult by teenagers or
younger adults. The provenance of
the etching may also be (tentatively) used to confirm this age, since
teenagers and young adults often take advantage of public transportation
at that bus stop. The location of
the graffito, on the window support behind a bench, is not highly visible
to observers, and many other graffiti surround this one, indicating that
this particular graffito was probably written after those that take up
more visible, and less awkward, locations.
- These
methods reveal that the graffito is an insult, but one meant to be
understood by a select audience (i.e. those who know Chuck Wood). Because of that, it does not need to be
very visible, nor very effective in convincing a general audience that
Chuck Wood is, indeed, a prick.