Just another wacky place.
Category Archives: Graffiti
“The Hellhole of the Pacific”
Anyone passing through Aberdeen, Washington might suspect that it’s seen better days. More prosperous, sure, but better, maybe not. Founded in 1884, Aberdeen lagged behind its neighbors Hoquiam and Cosmopolis until 1895 when a Northern Pacific spur line was added, but connectivity to commerce never seemed to shake Aberdeen’s boomtown mindset. By 1900 it had been nicknamed “the Hellhole of the Pacific” for its countless salons, whorehouses and gambling joints. But things may be picking up a little.
Artist’s Avenue
Sure it’s a little sketchy looking, maybe not a place you want hang around all day but, despite appearances, it’s clear that a few people around here are having some fun.
A Diamond In The Rough – Steam Donkey Brewing Company
Some Nice People
Despite a sordid past, quite a few famous people have hailed from this lugubrious lumber town. Aberdeen’s most famous son seems to be Nirvana founder and frontman Kurt Cobain. The town also spawned world famous photographer Lee Friedlander, Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers, Physics Nobel Prize winner Douglas Osheroff, “Gentle Ben” author Walt Morey, world class painter Robert Motherwell, professional wrestler Yukon Eric and serial killer Billy Gohl.
Kurt Cobain Lee Friedlander Patrick Simmons Douglas Osheroff Walt Morey Robert Motherwell Yukon Eric
Billy “Ghoul” Gohl
By the early 1900’s Aberdeen was also dubbed “the Port of Missing Men” for it’s extremely high murder rate. Billy Gohl arrived from the Yukon already an accomplished criminal. He became a low level Union Official and bartender at the Sailor’s Union Hall where he began to prey on sailors passing through town. He would separate them from their valuables, murder them and drop the bodies down a chute below a trapdoor in the floor that led to the river where the corpses would drift out to sea. Although Billy “Ghoul” Gohl was only convicted of two murders, he was believed to be responsible for over 140 homicides.
Billy’s ghost is said to still haunt the bar.
Messages From The Underground
The streets of Portland are still full of anonymous messages although I can not help but notice that graffiti is making a transformation. In some ways this change mimics rock and roll’s move from underground to mainstream in the 80s and 90s. Medium sized gang tagging, crude graffiti and whacked out counterculture messages appear to be on the wane as more and more wall sized murals begin to dominate the landscape. These gigantic, amazingly produced, pieces of art appear to be commercial calling cards that help businesses stand out from the landscape and visually separate themselves from the surrounding buildings.
The Rise of the Sticker
The counterculture appears to have become more automated, opting for huge numbers of preprinted minuscule wackiness that has firmly harkened in the age of the sticker. Think of it a little like Punk Music; rude, disorganized, snarky, messy, small and, yet, still loud. Clever miniature tags, notices, art and bits of wacky wisdom festoon most every pole or metal railing in town. They seem to encompass artistic expressions, clever ads, nasty pronouncements, silly doodles or simply the rantings of lunatics.
Social Media For Pedestrians
Hello again. We are finally back on the road where we feel most comfortable. This year we are lucky enough to start our trip with good friends in Haarlem, NL.
This is a lovely, picturesque city as you can plainly see.
But that’s not really what I want to talk about. I’ve noticed a rapidly increasing number of, let’s just call them, “Window Creatures”.
I found the Bernie and the Cabbage Patch Kids peeking at me from a couple windows in Portland, Ore.
Because they’re cultural icons I didn’t think much of it until I got to Haarlem, NL. and noticed that there are Window Creatures peering out at the street everywhere I walk. I quickly realized this is not just about our political favorites or some nostalgia for childhood toys. The people that lodge behind this panes of glass are sending messages. I’ve always thought that what people chose to display says a lot about them.
Bear in mind that these miniature tableaus did not occur by accident. They represent a conscious effort to put a message in a bottle and send it out into the world, but with no request for rescue or any response at all. It is a kind of lo-tech social media that requires no Likes, Thumbs Up, emojis, bookmarks or cookies. This is strictly a one way communication, a lot like a piece of art that says, “ I think this is “something” and I want everyone to know. At least everybody that walks by my window.”
Well, I’ve decoded all the signs and I’m now ready to reveal my findings.
” We’re all just a little wacky and want everyone to know.”
The Portland Journal _ F8
NW Neighborhood Stuff
The Northwest District is a hugely eclectic area full of distinct neighborhoods, the Alphabet District, the Pearl, Slabtown, Nob Hill, King Heights, Chinatown and probably a few more. It’s densely packed with Craftsmans, Colonials, hillside mansions, small, medium and large apartment buildings, mid-century professional buildings, ultramodern office buildings and sleek new condominiums. The Portland Streetcar’s first line (the NS Line) terminates here, connecting the district with Downtown Portland, Hillsboro, SE Portland, PDX and the rest of the world.
This is where we are staying at 1223 NW 24th Ave, in a great one bedroom, a block from the street car and close to all kinds of cool stuff. Check it out on VRBO.
This dive is not actually a cellar, and nobody seems to remember Joe.
Useless Fact #233: Several characters in Portland native Matt Groening’s television show The Simpsons have names based on the alphabetically named streets in the Northwest District: Ned Flanders, the bully Kearney, Reverend Lovejoy, Mayor Quimby, Milhouse Van Houten (actually in North Portland), and possibly C. Montgomery Burns[ide] (also named for the large neon Montgomery Park sign).
The Portland Journal _ F5.6
Important Messages
Anyone who writes on a wall or puts up a sign is convinced that they are sending an important messages out into the world. Messages that will attract business, change our attitude, alert us to some unforeseen danger or just make us smile.
Vikings With Spray Paint
So, a Viking walks into a bar with a can of spray paint…….
I was a little surprised with both the volume and quality of graffiti we’ve seen in Scandinavia. Reykjavik has a huge amount of young people, so I get that, but Norway is a very squeaky clean country, with strict rules on driving and public behavior, and people like it like that. We have discussed the very large quantity of graffiti, wall paintings and assorted art stickers plastered about with a couple bartenders and have been informed that it is not really thought of as graffiti, but more “Street Art”. Which is kind of cool, it raises the bar a little and opens it up to a variety of media, i.e. paint, neon, stickers, posters, etc. Let’s walk around a little.
Graffiti – Valencian Style
Graffiti is pretty much everywhere here. The highways and railway lines are completely covered with “tagging”. That’s when someone paints their name or “handstyle” everywhere they can find an open space. This type of graffiti clings to underpasses, bridges, abandon buildings, old silos and crumbling walls. Anywhere the author can work unmolested for a sufficient length of time.
There seems to be some loose rules around these things. For example, writing over someone else’s tag is a sign of disrespect and could ignite a whole “tagging war” or too closely copying someone else’s style would be considered déclassé. I tend to think of this style as vandalism and the province of unemployed youth. Although, they are certainly ambitious in their scope, application and placement. We have seen some that was 80’ off the ground on the side of a 10 story building. To me, this cartoonish three dimensional block type all seems to be a variation on the same theme.
I’m intrigued by the more illustrative style, primarily for it’s cleverness and artistic acumen. Although, I suppose that depends on whether or not it’s your building they’re painting on.