One Man's Trash
The best graffiti beautifies the mundane, neglected or downright ugly and what's more grossly utilitarian than a dumpster?
Tier was one of the more active taggers in Nashville when I took this photo, with choices sometimes bordering on outright vandalism, but this black & tan masterpiece just dressed up a nasty box and still lifts my spirits nearly two years later as I pass it every day on the way to work. The rusting, peeling surface of the metal adds a natural depth to the writing and provided some really cool detail shots as well (like the lower left hand corner.) Finally, of all the angles I shot, this one was my favorite because the backlit bushes in the background give the impression of forward motion, making it look at though the dumpster is bursting out of the frame.
And in an unexpected coda, I actually got to meet Tier while tracking down another tagger whose work I was documenting. (I got to meet him too, but that's another story.)
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