Every Picture Tells a Story: Physical Graffiti — Bucharest, Romania (1990)

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY:
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA (FEBRUARY, 1990)

Graffiti has a place in our culture as well as in our history. Most of the time, we may not like graffiti, which can be an eyesore and is an act of vandalism. But graffiti does express raw sentiment. Graffiti is real. Graffiti is honest.

Prior to the 1989 Romanian Revolution, there was no such thing as graffiti anywhere inside Romania. To write something on a wall was unthinkable. It was an arrestable offense. Any expression of dissatisfaction with things or a protest could end up in a lengthy prison sentence — maybe worse. Then, once when the Ceausescu’s were overthrown and executed, many celebrated. Some celebrated by scribbling graffiti on city walls. A few months after the revolution, all over Bucharest, graffiti was everywhere.

This photo was snapped one afternoon on a Bucharest side street about a block away from the Communist Party Central Committee Building. The graffiti reads “Ceausescu nui a fost un accident.” Translated, that meant “Ceausescu was not an accident.” There were legitimate fears that in the aftermath of the revolution, the old guard would continue in power and not open the country up to free and fair elections. This message was a clear warning and a threat. It meant — we’ll do the same to you.

Graffiti is easy to hate. I don’t want it on my walls or in my neighborhood. But, let’s also admit. Graffiti can be a powerful thing, and does send a message.

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Note: We held a garage sale recently and I’m going through lots of stuff, including old photographs which I’ll be sharing in the coming days and weeks. My philosophy is — a photo does no good tucked away in an album or stored inside a box. A great photo should be shared, especially when it tells a story. Quoting Rod Stewart, “every picture tells a story (don’t it?).” This is Day 7 of the project.