Rutgers Rarities and Unexplained Phenomena

Graffiti Mecca: A Tribute (continued)

One of the first images is a spray painted can of spray paint - irony in its finest form. Some parts of the fence were removed to provide direct river access.

From that day forward, I couldn"t drive along Route 18 without subconsciously using my peripheral vision to piece together a mental map of the canal path. I thought about the logistics, the possible entrances, the connections to known locations. There were possibilities that made sense - an approach from Boyd Park or a connection from Buccleuch Park. Upon surveying Boyd, it appeared as though the River Rats, as the tag on the Albany Street Bridge seemed to label them, were a force to be reckoned with. I had a gut feeling that they were protective enough of their turf to make it difficult for us to enter from that side. The only other possibility was entrance from Buccleuch - but how? It wasn"t until four months later that this question - the object of the obsession in the back of my mind - was answered.

Solving the riddle was embarrassingly simple. There was a path at the edge of the park that curved under a bridge. After crossing one more street, the entrance stood out plain as day. There it was - the infamous canal path. The RR team made their way down the path, which was separated from the Raritan by a chain-link fence and a steep concrete slope. Several areas had either gaping holes in the fence or missing panels, making the connection to the river that much more up-close-and-personal. One of the first pieces of artwork near the entrance of the gallery was a spray painted image of a spray paint can. They journey had begun. Along the hallway, there were simple tags and more intricate images - most notably a robot-like creature with skeleton fingers, a cat with the thought bubble "logik", and a tag for "D-Nice".

The saga continues...

Some of the first tags along the pathway.

The skeleton robot, logik's cat from the AKB crew, and some other unidentified tags.

Continuing along the path, a simple tag "bananas" and some fresh styles from bored and shome.

The face that watches the path beyond the overpass and some fallen soldiers that gave their lives for art.

Some additional tags on the approach to Graffiti Mecca - trip, punk ass lawn boy, and a shout out to dirty Jersey.

cocaine in the same style as bananas and some beat up and abused faces.

The saga continues...