I pass this stencil on the 'walkstreet' in front of my building each day while taking Jasper to the dog park. A walkstreet is the answer to the question, "What would you have if you built a sidewalk and realized you didn't have room for a road?" They apparently did that a lot while building Venice, CA.
This bit of street art is an interesting break from the taggers' frantic swirls and the blunt four letter words normally scribbled along the path.
I liked the quaint advice to 'brave the maze to determine the true desires of your heart.' That's what I needed to see. So, I took this picture.
I could just imagine the timid artisan huddled in a corner, cutting piece after piece of poster board to get the image just the way they want it. (Actually, I think there's a program on the Mac that will do it for you. iTagger, I believe - download it from iTunes today!) Anyway, I picture this person cutting (or clicking) their stencil, hoping to make a bold statement for all the world to see. At least that part of the world that stares at the ground and reads graffiti as they walk along. Yeah, people like me.
One morning a few weeks later (do they ever come and clean these things off?) I walk past this same slab of concrete and what had appeared to be an anatomically correct heart looks like something else. You've seen those perception experiments where they draw an old lady and a young girl with the same lines? Well, this day I look at the heart and what I see is the head of a donkey.
Now, if that's the case, it changes everything. By everything, of course, I mean it changes the little bit that a sidewalk graffiti can change anything in the grand scheme of things.
"Find your way" with a heart/maze image is a sweet reminder to dig deep to learn what you really want.
"Find your way" with a donkey/maze reads more like an admonition to "Get out of your own head, you donkey!"
Am I the one traveling down through the maze to my heart of hearts? Or am I the donkey who needs to get out of my head to see the light of day? I may never know, for in the grand tradition of street artists (and other vandals), the creator didn't sign nor explain the work.
Which is it? Poorly drawn heart or pointy eared donkey?
Or is there a deeper meaning to the artists work? Maybe this is the new "glass half empty/glass half full" analogy. I can see it now, the question will become, "Hey there, are you a heart/maze or a donkey/maze kind of girl?"
Will my life ever be the same? This I will have to ponder...
Look! There's a new one of an elephant and a beautiful lady. I wonder what that means? Oh, wait. Did someone just drop their milkshake?
