PA S S I N G
PASSING DEFINING PEDESTRIAN TYPOGRAPHY
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PA S S I N G
PASSING
DEFINING PEDESTRIAN TYPOGRAPHY Photographed, written and designed by Shannon McGill
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YOUR MESSAGE HERE
READ THIS This book is about messages, sent and received by humans such as yourself. As humans, we seem to have this innate need to express our thoughts and ideas. In cities, an interesting dynamic develops. Both intentionally and unintentionally, people are constantly expressing their personalities and essences. But as people’s focus shifts to their destination, these bits of expression are less controlled, left behind in their raw form. A crumpled note hastily dropped in a rush to catch the bus. Words of wisdom scratched on a bathroom stall. These jumbled messages that exist for the smallest fraction of time arguably contain infinitely more truth than their contrived counterparts. Because we are not privileged with an identity to attach to each message, we instead look objectively to the message itself to find the story. For the sake of this book, we will refer to these messages and their forms more specifically as “pedestrian typography.� There are four distinct elements that comprise these messages : they are created by pedestrians while in transit, they are impromptu, they are impermanent, and they are anonymous.
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// CONTENTS
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02
Read this (foreword)
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Pedestrian typography vs. graffiti Pedestrian Impromptu
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Impermanent Anonymous
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PEDESTRIAN TYPE IS NOT GRAFFITI
BUT KIND OF
GRAFFITI IS NOT (NECESSARILY) PEDESTRIAN TYPE 10
A distinction must be made between graffiti and pedestrian type, as they are both separate yet very much alike in their nature.
First, we will attempt to define graffiti, Graffiti (“little scratching,” from the Italian graffiare, “to scratch”; the singular is graffito) are a form of communication that is both personal and free of the everyday social restraints that normally prevent people from giving uninhibited reign to their thoughts. As such, these sometimes crude inscriptions offer some intriguing insights into the people who author them and into the society to which these people belong (Abel).
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“
Graffiti is not about clean lines, pretty colors and beautiful blends. Graffiti is my life’s turbulence exploded on a wall.” Mint Serf
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While
is
differences. By nature, both
and
are a product of street life.
personality, it is in-
There is raw emotion, an un-
tentional.
Graffiti
deniable need to be heard.
thoroughly
The city, a wild and untam-
plan and sketch out
able force, becomes their
raw
passion
artists
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graffiti
their designs prior
canvas.
to creation. There is
This canvas is accessible
a technique to their
to anyone. One needn’t
art. Before they scrawl
expensive tools or a stu-
across
walls
dio to work in. You don’t
and labyrinthine bridge
need extensive training
tunnels. There is preci-
or a masters degree. In
sion and steadiness of
fact, you are perfectly
hand with every paint
capable exactly where
stroke.
thorough
you are. Because you
gridding
are human, you have
planning
subway
This and
out is the main difference
ideas.
And
between graffiti and pedes-
ideas
are
trian type.
hearing.
those worth
THIS CANVAS IS ACCESSIBLE TO ANYONE However,
their
likenesses
most definitely outweigh the
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“
I mean for the basic public, you’re walking down the
road and you see a bit of spray paint on the wall and you
don’t take a second glimpse, you know, you don’t bother to read it, you just walk straight past. For a graffiti artist, it’s like living in another world, you know what I mean? Every bit of writing on the wall means something to someone and you take notice of it all.” Mear
“
I equate the feeling of living with
perience and share it with others.
my ability to express myself. It
Sometimes, making anonymous
seems to be something I do in-
connections with strangers can be
nately, in my most natural state.
just as significant as connection
When something important or
with close friends. All types of con-
meaningful occurs in our lives, we
nections are formed through our
feel the need to document the ex-
abilities to express ourselves.� Brenna Paxton
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We feel the need to document our experiences and share them with others.
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“
Graffiti is one of the few tools you have
if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty, you can make someone smile while they’ve having a piss.
Banksy, Beating Your Head Against a Brick Wall
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PE DES TRI AN
pe•des•tri•an // adj. // 1. Traveling on foot as a mode of transportation 2. Moving, traveling
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22 n foot. try is o n u o c ill eeing a d; it w s a f o r o f y o l ariety oubted every v ay und (the o w t t d s e e scenes suit t i t The b s s i o v m and k, and , safest, er trac t r e o h t h hy, and s t s l i a a e It e h k a e; it is u to t cessibl able yo c an is n a e e n s e i edestri oft erw p h a t o : l t a o )n rs, nomic erhaps travelle t is eco l i l a ; y f s finest p o a ; he, tice, e dations o le prac t ough t m i l m a o last, th acc with d y n n a A t . ’ s long almo t with at little h t s t n conten or wa ittle, ‘N l ent.” t u b depend n i wants y l t c perfe st, it is a e l t o n ewell Robert N
“
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It’s a glimpse 24
into the reality that we do not want to remain islands.
Pedestrians are curious creatures. And in reality, each of us is one of these curious creatures. When living in our respective communities, we work and live amongst each other. To function in our daily lives, we must move and travel to our obligatory destinations. In cities, we are afforded a great deal of options in the transportation department. Each of us picks our respective mode for very different reasons. This choice defines our experience greatly. For those of us who travel the world on foot, we become part of an entity that is both collective and isolated. Pedestrian type seems a peek into this dichotomy. It’s a glimpse into the reality that we do not want to remain islands. In fact, we do want to connect. We feel this inherent craving to peek in the lives of those who pass by us, fellow humans who we may never cross paths with for the remaining duration of our lives. In that fraction of a moment, we are occupying the same space.
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Anonymous
“
As pedestrians, we have a capacity for interacting with others that we do not have in an automobile. Popular pedestrian environments seem chaotic; they accommodate movement, but offer many opportunities for spontaneous exchange.�
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Rob i
n Ja
rvis , in his stri boo an kR Tra com om v el, s ant par aid ic W ison “ to w riti , th mo ng em alk de o and ost is, b f tr i eyo nde ave trav n l p i d n e nde el, w g.� all Tho nt a alk ugh nd ing our a i t dva s un her sur nta e ar rou iqu geo ndi e fa e. W us ngs s e ar t e r on w e a a am ys t ble o to i uch nte mo rac re i t wi ntim th ate leve l. Ped e
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stranger, 30
If you, passing, meet me, and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me? And why should I not speak to you? Walt Whitman
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IM PROMP TU
im•promp•tu // adj. // 1. Prompted by the occasion rather than being planned in advance 2. Composed with little or no preparation; extemporaneous
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“
There are times when th
inking about
something is the worst po
John Christopher, When the Tripods Come
ssible policy.�
As pedestrians, we are nearly always traveling to reach a destination. To
simply a means to an end. A purely functional part of our
get to work, to meet a friend, to get to
day.
the store on time. This is the nature of
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ters during that time become
travel for most pedestrians. There is a
Our rush to get going does not
rush, a sense of restlessness as we are
allow much time for anything
still in transit. There is a distinct focus
else. Everything else becomes an
on the destination, getting from point A
afterthought.
to point B effectively and efficiently.
Whether intentional or unin-
Because travel time is most often not
tentional, Pedestrian type are the
the focus of our attention, our encoun-
messages left behind in our rush. A scrap of paper, a sticker hastily
There is no time to edit or revise our output.
posted on a storefront window, a name scratched in the cement. There is no time to edit or revise what we choose to put out there. Our window of opportunity is short in that moment of inspiration. There is only enough to get our message out. The heavily controlled and often contrived facades we usually output are . We lose control and the messages take on a life of their own.
“
“Sometimes I just need to make something immediately, something ugly. Completely disregard aesthetic. Because sometimes, that’s the only thing that feels honest.”
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Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere
OR THEY GO CRAZY. Michael Ondaatje, In the Skin of a Lion
t n e n a m r impe tory leeting; transi F ent // adj. // . n 2 a• // t •m en er an •p im t perm or durable; no 1. Not lasting
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IM PER MA NENT
im•per•ma•nent // adj. // 1. Not lasting or durable; not permanent 2. Fleeting; transitory
we desire so deeply to hold onto to keep them things, forever, symbol of our existences. We ex-
But the reality is that most things
ist for that time in an unstable
don’t last. Even us.
environment. Because the mes-
For some individuals, pedestrian
sages we leave behind are also
type is a way for them to evade such
in this volatile setting, they, too,
a harsh reality. It seems people leave
exist for but an instant.
messages behind as an attempt to feel
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There is a spectrum here as
worthwhile, to defy time and defy our
well. Sometimes the message
mortality. The streets can become a profound
lingers for a few days, weeks, months.
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Impermanent are all component things, They arise and cease, that is their nature: They come into being and pass away, Release from them is bliss supreme.”
times
it
is
washed away in a moment. Because it does not hold the same permanance as something like an establishment sign, there is often times no way to predict the longevity of this message. But then, predictability isn’t really the nature of a pedestrian lifestyle, is it?
Mahaa-Parinibbaana Sutta
Other
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“
Eventually, everything goes away.”
Elizabeth Gilbert
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“
As far as I have discovered, the most
important thing in life is making connections with other people. So we often have the desire to leave a mark in a normal place, as a way to tell the world that ‘something special happened here and that this place matters.’” Brenna Paxton
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A NON YMOUS
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anon•y•mous // adj. // 1. (of a person) Not identified by name; of unknown name. 2. Having no outstanding, individual, or unusual features; unremarkable or impersonal.
The streets become the very platform we need for expression. 50
As humans, we all have a natural fear of being judged. We like to impress people. We enjoy being thought of as intelligent, capable, worthwhile. Under these rigid constraints though, we lose a great deal of our content. In our fear of rejection, we hold back. And the world misses out on what goes unsaid. Because of this, we
find great freedom
in anonymity. To express, to simply be ourselves, in our purest form. When expressing anonymously, an artist removes herself from the confines of social constructs, because nothing can be tied back to her. The streets, then, can become the very platform we need for expression. We start a conversation with our physical environment. It is as if we don’t even need someone to receive our message. We just need to express. This dynamic allows the artist’s identity to lie solely in his or her message.
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IT’S THE ONLY TIME WE’RE ALLOWED TO BE STRANGE.
We find these messages everywhere. Scrawled in notebooks. Etched into bathroom stall walls. Scribbled on receipts. The coolest thing about these bits of information is the personality we receive. Even without identifying the artist himself, the artist becomes separate from the message, so we can take the message for exactly what it is. For some, it’s the only time we’re allowed to be strange. It’s the only time we can fully be ourselves.
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“WTHERE HAT IS
ABOUT AN EMPTY LAVATORY WALL 54
that causes people to feel the need or the compulsion to express on it their frustrations, hatreds, fantasies, desires, wit, wisdom, their innermost secrets, things they would not ordinarily reveal to their closest friends or loved ones?� Anonymous
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s en fence doors and walk acros For you, as well as I, can op we can all discover who en Th y. wa ial ec sp n ow ur America in yo
our neighbors are.” Rob Sweetgall
Credits This book was typeset in Trade Gothic and Swift. It was designed in Adobe InDesign and photos were edited in Adobe Photoshop. All photos were taken in Lawrence, KS, Kansas City, MO, and Dallas, TX and were all shot with a
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Canon 10D. A special thanks to Alec Bostwick and assorted pedestrians that I encountered through my studies. Their unique perspectives and ideas are embedded in every page of this book. Designer as Author, Patrick Dooley, Fall 2012 The University of Kansas
SOURCES Abel, E., & Buckley, B. (1977). The handwriting on the wall. Westport: Greenwood Press. Macdonald, N. (2011). The graffiti subculture : Youth, masculinity and identity in london and new york. New York: Halgrove. All individual quotes are credited to their writers/speakers in text.