Funny, useful graffiti dates back to cave men
' . ,. i ,u krnlre magazine
"You can't have two suns or you'll run out of
yellow. . .We're all mad, you know. . .1 love
raspberries. . .Smokey the Bear "is a hairy Boy
Scout. . .Lung cancer cures smoking. . .Smash the
state. . ."
Wise bits of philosophy and keen bits of humor
have characterized the scribblings of graffiti writers
throughout the years. Graffiti, scratches or scribblings
on a surface, are unlike inscriptions which are
deliberate and permanent. Although graffiti and its
study is a recent fad, it dates back many centuries.
Robert Reisner, au:hor of several books on the.
subject, said it began with the Paleolithic Homo
Sapiens cave men. A cave man probably hit one rock
to another creating a design, and then repeated it to
make more designs, he said.
Writing common
Writing on public walls was quite common during
early Roman times. An inscription begging persons
not to scribble on the walls was found at Porta
Portuensis near Rome.
Well known graffiti such as the Egyptian
hieroglyphics were a mixture of pictures and writing.
These scrawls eventually became the basis of our
alphabet.
Archaeologists uncovering the walls of ancient
Pompeii found them covered with graffiti. Although
most of 'the graffiti was very ordinary, the unusual
bits that did slip in between the scrawls provided an
inspiring look at different aspects of their life.
In her book, "The Common People of Pompeii ,
Helen Tanzer said the graffiti found included
lost-and-found articles, real estate advertisements,
announcements of gladiatorial shows, personal and
public notices, and local news.
Views reflected
The walls in the Tower of London are covered
with graffiti. Most are only names, however the
writings also include reflections on political views,
religious views, and life in general. Not all graffiti was
written by prisoners. Hugh Longworths, a prison
keeper in the Tower, also wrote on the walls to help
pass the time.
Graffiti is useful to students of past civilizations in
two ways. It is important to the linguist because it
furnishes information about the spoken language of
the period and place. Linguists have even learned
about foreign languages of the period by graffiti that
was left by passing tourists.
Secondly, graffiti is useful as a tool for the
historian. The scrawls and rude caricatures show the
every day life of that period, and details of customs,
institutions, and special celebrations.
Tlaifiddpadanhbejji
commercialized through books, magazine articles,
buttons, stationery and wrapping paper, muoi 01 u is
ordinary, but may be useful to future generations.
Graffiti contest
In 1972 when a new building was being
constructed on the University of Kansas at Lawrence
campus a contest was held for the best and most
original graffiti painted on the block-long boardwalk
near the site. Some students created detailed
paintings while others, in the true sense of graffiti,
wrote impulsively whatever they wanted.
Advice, propaganda, and feelings expressed on the
boardwalk included: "Damn everything but the
circus, and all will be saved.
"This is dedicated to: all the buffalo imprisoned in
concentration camps in Lawrence and throughout
America. It is also dedicated to the porposition that
this is the delegation of all free men and women to
free those buffalo. Wire Cutters, cost-$l.98."
"Ace Trucking Co. Anything you wanted
trucked?"
"Once you go black, you never go back.
"HONDA-What? I can't read Japanese."
Graffiti, whether found on sidewalks or subway
and bathroom walls across America, has served as a
tool for both entertainment and education, as well as
serving as an outlet for the spontaneous feelings of
people throughout the ages.
Southeast
campuses
strive for
alternative
Two years ago, a legislative mandate
joined a junior college in Fairbury, a
municipally-owned technical college , in
Lincoln, and a state technical college in
Milford to create the Southeast
Community College, an alternative
approach to learning.
The college's three campuses offer
classes which range from preparing adults
for high school equivalency exams to
courses concerning the Bicentennial and
folk crafts. The variety is limited only by
community response-or lack of response.
Practical study
Enrollment is high, as the public seeks
less expensive and perhaps more practical
courses of study.
Bob Eicher, area president of the
college, reports an enrollment of 600
full-time students on the Lincoln campus
aione, and over 4,000 adults now
studying through the Adult Education
Program.
The college was recently named one of
the three most innovative adult education
programs in the nation by the Teachers
College of Columbia University.
Mobile classrooms
It cited the use of mobile classrooms, a
community outreach program which
identifies adult educational needs, and an
approach which serves adults at all levels
as the major qualities which earned the
college the high rating.
Until the summer of 1974, the
Southeast Community College was
funded by a 1 mill levy, which was then
declared unconstitutional. The college is
now funded through general fund
appropriations by the state, as are other
state universities and colleges. A small
portion of the funding-15 to
20 comes from the tuition students
pay, $10 to $20 a course for six to eight
weeks.
Age spectrum broad
Eicher said the student body covers a
"broad spectrum" of age groups. In
Lincoln, he estimated the average age of
the students at about 26, with somewhat
older adults being the norm at the
Milford campus. The programs are not
limited to the young, however,1 as the
Lincoln campus offers several classes
aimed directly at the over-sixty age
group, including "The Challenge of
Retirement" and 'The Remaining
Partner".
The college offers a variety of
Women's Studies courses also. The classes
deal with the practical problems the
single, divorced, or widowed woman
faces, such as "Basic Home Repairs" and
"Powder Puff Mechanics". A self-defense
course is also offered.
f- iv -fr muni iiiiiniinr-;n """
r
,iM ,,. , ,,iMlrr-i "-
-J
' I L - : J
X3 V,. -JT
C
. to r-
to i , ... i
J
I P ,
I aJ
u u
Q Q Q
' PP Oils large & studio sizes
" Robert Simmons BRUSHES
" Liquitex Acrylics large & studio sizes
' Strathmore & Bienfang paper & pads
" large selection of -mat board
poster board
"& CHIP BOARD
' CHARTPAK Letters
" dry transfer lettering
" drafting supplies & papers
1
open nights til 9
GATEWAY 464-0505
.tear out this ad for a 10 discount
! OR use your "PaperlVloney Coupon Book" for 10 off
page fourteen
daily nebraskan
monday, January 13, 1975