The Itch to Scratch

There’s a conversation happening at the library, and it’s not the kind the librarians are shushing. It’s taking place on the large corkboard by the circulation desk, which has been covered with white paper—transformed into a surface for graffiti. An envelope tacked to the board contains several pens of different colors, and students have taken them up to make their mark. The word graffiti comes from the Italian verb, “to scratch.”

A profile of a stiletto heel drawn in blue is accompanied by the words, “Keep it high.” Opinions are spelled out: “Abortion is murder,” wrote someone in red. A green “not” has been inserted, and added at the bottom in green: “It’s a choice.” A blue sentence replies, “Choice is American,” and it is answered in red with a question mark.

American culture is on display here, but also Korean and Dominican. Someone wrote Korean Pride in red and blue letters next to the red and blue yin and yang of the South Korean flag. Someone drew a Dominican flag and signed their work from “the Dominica crew.” There is writing in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.

There are statements (“Truth is subjectivity.” “Life is sexually transmitted.”), questions (“What will you do when the pigs invade your island?”), and exclamations (“Obama for President!” “Whoohoo!” “Ojo Dumeh!”), as well as illustrations (a devil kitty with a pitchfork, a woman with fierce eyes and large earrings, and naturally, a Hogger in sunglasses).

Nearby on the circulation desk sit library books about women graffiti artists, graffiti around the world, the painter and graffitist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Los Angeles street art. The display, set up by Pam Allan, associate library director, was meant to encourage students to express themselves. The board’s theme changes monthly (recent themes were Banned Book Week and the presidential election), and Allan said she’s pleased that NMH students have responded. According to text circling the board, “Through graffiti, students communicate attitudes and feelings they would hesitate to utter publicly.”