Nov 3, 2010
Da Mystery of Switchboxin’
As I write, my internal alarm clock is ticking. It’s one hour until I have officially been living in beantown for five years. We all know what milestones mean. Champagne.
One item which also made it this far, is the wall. The wall is an art piece that lives in our apartment. When friends come over, and feel like leaving a mark, they have a place to do it. We don’t discriminate, draw whatever you want. It boasts dozens of creative minds.
The background is made of 8.5 x 11 computer paper sheets and pens, markers and colored pencils have made most of the markings on it. The triangular relic has become a bit ratty within it’s eight years of existence, but it’s still growing richer.
Word traveled that Malden was ‘beautifying the city’ with switchbox art, so my roommate and I brainstormed. Think tank style. The decision was to redraw a section of the wall on the box. It’s communal. It’s colorful. It would be more interesting than yellow. We can’t really screw up something so random. It made sense.
We estimated one day, but it ended up taking four weekends to complete. Of which part proved to be the most interesting. While we were painting, the amount of community interaction was huge. All sorts of life walk around town. 50% of walkers-by wanted to chat about the project, or at least comment. It’s worth noting that onlookers from the road put in their two-cents as well. Massachusetts knows how a car horn works.
It’s close to impossible to estimate the lasting effects a project like this has on a town. Personally, the process itself was rewarding enough to make it worth it. While doing it, I felt a communal buzz. One that I hadn’t found in Malden before. One that draws people to places like Harvard, Porter or Davis square. There was a discussion. It was polar opposite to the somber, silent ride on the train with fellow villagers.
Courtesy tune: Tokyo Police Club – Favourite Colour[audio:http://schrodingersblog.com/sound/tune-dex/favcol.mp3|titles=Favourite Colour|artists=Tokyo Police Club]