We often read the news looking for connections between disparate stories. While we don’t think there’s any causal relationship between the recent case of a lovesick vandal in Richardson, and that of a gifted wildlife painter in Keller, it felt worthwhile to point out how each mysterious artist is being treated by their city’s respective authorities. (We will add the clips to our wall in the garage for further study.)
On the one hand, we have a Richardson tagger, known only as “J,” who has taken blue paint to several walls on the west side of the city to proclaim his love for “God and Jeana,” who must be a very special woman. Richardson police were displeased, but amused enough to make a cheeky Facebook post about it:
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On the other hand, we have an unknown artist who has been creating a graffiti menagerie at the Bear Creek Parkway tunnel in Keller. Perhaps because the graffiti is really well-done—so far, there are a doe, an armadillo, and a bird—the Keller Parks Department has taken a softer approach, asking the artist to identify themselves and paint a full mural in the tunnel:
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Going back to our wall of connections, we wonder, is there a moral to these stories? Of course there is.
If you’re going to graffiti property in a suburb that employs a savvy social media manager and a sense of humor, make sure you’re good at it. “J,” that hopeless romantic, is never going to win Jeana’s heart, or God’s approval, with those sloppy tags. “J” might instead get themselves a Class B misdemeanor and an embarrassing mugshot shared to the Richardson Police Department’s Facebook page.
Meanwhile, the Keller artist, should they come forward, is set for a cushy mural commission and a heartwarming human interest story on the local news.
Is this right? Is this justice? Is “J” actually the same person who graffitied such adorable wildlife on a tunnel wall in Keller? Are the city of Keller’s friendly entreaties toward the artist just a trap? It’s back to the wall until we have our answers.
