|
One of the ways for a child to lay claim to the environment is to write,
carve, or paint a name on it. A logical progression leads from the stick,
which enabled the child to draw in the dirt; to the knife, with which one
could carve one’s name on a tree or a school desk; to chalk, with which to put
a name on a wall or a street; to a can of spray paint with which to make a
mark on a subway car. From a child’s perspective, placing one’s name on any
object confers a kind of ownership, and this is important for a child who may
own very little except for a name.
1982: Boy painting on a train in the yards, South Bronx
(Photo copyright ©1982 Martha Cooper, used with permission)
Page 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5
Taken from City Play, copyright ©1990. Used with
permission by Streetplay.com.
|
