Monday 17 September 2007

Some examples of material culture...

... around Aberdeen.


Gallus Graffiti - observed off Holburn St/Gairn Terrace. Something Banksy would approve of!



The edge of one of Fittie's famous fisher squares. Footdee, or Fittie, as it is rightly known, was the earliest example of a council-designed development to replace old wooden hovels for the fisherfolk there. They were finished in about 1807. The folk moaned so much about lack of good sanitation, overcrowding etc, that the cooncil in its infinite wisdom got scunnered of it, and auctioned off the houses to their tenants by the 1840s! Today it is a protected historical site.

Is it material culture? Is it art? The folk at RGU know! I liked to call them the wee hoosies, which appeared in Castlegate and elsewhere during summer 2005, but they call them bothies, and positively encouraged people to draw on them. The ones outside M&S seemed to attract the graffiti artists, who drew on windows, doors, satellite dishes, etc! These stayed rather pristine, and did I want one!!
I just love how the old man is looking at them as if they are invading Daleks or something! They are brilliant and RGU should do it again!!

2 comments:

Poz said...

I had no idea you could draw on them - sounds like a great idea!

Fiona-Jane said...

Yes, the one outside markies had drawings on them. We need to get one for storytelling purposes!!!