Thursday, January 28, 2010

Has No Boble



I stumbled upon "Has No Boble" while walking the railroad tracks of near east Indianapolis a couple years ago. Little did I know, this scrawl has been appearing across the city (and outside its limits) with subtle variations and impressive regularity.
My friend Paul Christian has been documenting the cryptic public writings of this seemingly local hobo poet for some time.
Check em out here.
(Not to be missed are his exhaustive Tom-J-Lael files, but far more has been written about that man/myth/legend.)

I'm intrigued by the minor star status (in certain communities) of local graffiti weirdos.
I'm not interested in over-analysis or artsploitation, I'm just genuinely fascinated by people's compulsions to make a distinctive mark on their environment.
The "Has no Boble" photograph on my refrigerator has provoked more comment than almost any other object in my house (and the walls are pretty plastered).
If you have similar stories/documents, feel free to post links.

1 comment:

  1. Done by Tom Lael. A mystery to many but I called him one of my best friends. Lived on the streets of Indy for many years. I first met him in around 1995. Died in 2006 from cancer. Andrea www.pourhouse.org

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