As a somewhat jaded and road weary urban archaeologist with a particular interest in urban decay and guerrilla street art (although you would never know it from all of the entries until now), I thought I had seen it all until I stumbled on the most unusual thing, in the most improbable of places, Art alley, a riot of color, art, and anarchy in the center of downtown Rapid City, South Dakota, a sedate, orderly, thoroughly Presbyterian conservative small mid western city. On one city block, behind the Alex Johnson Hotel between 6th and 7th street was a kaleidoscopic display of art, now predominantly graffiti, covering every imaginable surface and producing a mural testifying to the energy and vitality of this community no less important that the large projects commissioned by the WPA during the 1930's. It cost nothing and required nothing more than the foresight and indulgence of the city officials who have allowed this post apocalyptic gallery/outpouring of energy to exist and evolve, while larger, supposedly "hipper" cities wage war on non-gallery approved artistic expression.
Just as you could never capture the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel in one photo, the following pictures are the best I could do to communicate the manic excitement of the alley. It is only about 30 feet wide and the transit of the sun from one side to the other lasted only about 1 hour during which all of these pictures (and more) were taken on the Sunday morning before we were leaving town.
Hope you get the photo!!! Given the ephemeral nature of street art and the politically driven whims of public officials, who knows if this will be there when you get there, and if it is, what it will look like. It will certainly change and will be in need of redocumentation, so don't wait too long. By the time you get there, I'm sure everything here will be different. As it should be.
While in the alley, I was approached by a nicely dressed man a few years older than myself who was inquiring as to the camera I was using. His name was Robert something (something Jewish) and it turned out that he was also from Long Island (what are the odds). When I told his I was from Hewlett, he asked if I knew a certain person he served in the army with. Of course, I said. He lived across the street from my friend Phillip, and his mean, dreadful, sadistic, spinster aunt, was my 5th grade teacher who made my little ADHD life miserable for a year. When I began to question him about what he was doing all the way out here in Rapid City, he became kind of vague, uncomfortable and seemed to unravel a bit, talking about some business opportunity or other, and at that point he said he had to go and get to church. He sure didn't look like someone who would be going to church, but what do I know.
While in Rapid City I bought a pair of sneakers at the pretty great skate board shop where the kid there did not call me sir and treat me like some old guy. In fact he seemed at least a little interested in my stories about being an east coast surfer when I was his age. And then, Jackie and I somehow bumbled into free movie night at the Elk theater across from the hotel and got to see the movie Lincoln Lawyer which we liked a lot.
So it was a pretty interesting and eventful 2 days in Rapid City.
Pablo
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