Photographer captures art, life on Graffiti Bridge
- January 18, 2015
- / Mike Ensley
- / community-dashboard
Things change.
Photographer Rachael Pongetti came to understand that concept very well in 2010.
“It was a time when I had an unimaginable amount of change in my life,” Pongetti said of her personal and artistic struggles. “I started reading eastern philosophy on accepting change.”
[sidebar]
Pongetti's Kickstarter campaign, which ended Jan. 18, raised $25,473 through 199 donors. The link to it is here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/graffitibridge/pensacola-graffiti-bridge-project-the-book-365-day
[/sidebar]
Pongetti, who has been an art instructor at both Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida, needed a project to gain some stability. She found it documenting the constant change of a Pensacola landmark — the CSX trestle at 17th Avenue — for an entire year.
“My friend, Burton Ritchie, suggested I photograph the bridge everyday,” she said. “It changes daily. I was hooked.”
Known as “Graffiti Bridge,” the trestle is one of Pensacola’s most colorful landmarks. The tradition of painting it after nightfall — and guarding it until dawn — is a rite of passage for Pensacolians of all ages.
Ritchie, a former Pensacola resident, says that in reality, he played a very small part in the project.
“Rachael was already talking about art and community. She was already interested in the constancy of the bridge and the fragility of the art on it,” Ritchie said. “I just offered the idea and scope of photographing it everyday for a year.”
In 2011, Pongetti did just that. And as she photographed the bridge, she found the more things changed, the more they stay the same. She held a Kickstarter campaign to finance publication of the resulting book.
Pongetti has collected her images and is creating both a book and art exhibit documenting the results.
As she looked through her camera each day, trends emerged.
“I always see a lot of hearts, love dedications, memorials,” Pongetti said.
Other regular messages scrawled on the bridge include football and high school messages, regular “taggers” who leave their names emblazoned in spray paint, and one enduring message of love that is an almost constant on the bridge.
“I recently met Joe from the ‘Joe Loves Patricia’ sign that is always on the bridge. I never knew who he was,” Pongetti said. “I was shocked to find that he has been married to Patricia for 33 years!”
Pongetti said that local organizations and nonprofits use the bridge as a canvas to spread the word about their cause or event.
“On a broader scale, many people will annually paint the entire bridge with their cause - Relay for Life, Pediatric Cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness, Autism Awareness and even Cannabis Awareness,” she said.
Pongetti had incredibly moving moments, not only photographing the bridge, but also meeting the people behind the stories their graffiti told.
She kept a journal of her experiences throughout the project and says that one particular entry stands out.
From Pongetti’s journal:
Tues,March 1st
Today the bridge is painted in honor of Ryan Flaherty, age 17. He went to West Florida Tech. I just ran into his grandparents, and I hugged his grandmother and teared up. She said, it was an accidental shooting. The gun had a laser on it, and they didn't think it was a real gun. He was an organ donor, but the doctor said it was too late. She said his tissue went to 133 people. He wanted to be a pilot, in the Air Force, like his grandfather. Flare Bear (soccer name) #22 is his number.
My student, Mary, left my class because of the shooting. It was her brother's best friend. Now to see it on the bridge...The grandmother was touched.
Wed, March 2
Drove up and Ryan's mom, sister and friends were here. His sister and friend painted the bridge. Mom said it took them about two hours. The family was here making pictures. It seemed to provide comfort "something to do". The mom said it gave her closure. The community hasn't covered it up for what seems like a silent respect for Ryan.
“(It was) one of the most touching moments for me out of the entire year. The experience really showed me the healing quality of art,” she said. “I began to realize how fortunate we are, as a community to have Graffiti Bridge.”
Pongetti says the best summation of what the Graffiti Bridge means to Pensacola was written by her friend Will Davis for the book:
“It is a community bulletin board. It is a gallery. It is battleground, an obituary page. It is a primitive social media site. Although it is a Pensacola icon, there is a quality that transcends the local voice to say something universal about the expression of art within a community, about the flux and change of life, within us and without, as individuals, and as a village.”
Pongetti said that local organizations and nonprofits use the bridge as a canvas to spread the word about their cause or event.
“On a broader scale, many people will annually paint the entire bridge with their cause - Relay for Life, Pediatric Cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness, Autism Awareness and even Cannabis Awareness,” she said.
Pongetti had incredibly moving moments, not only photographing the bridge, but also meeting the people behind the stories their graffiti told.
She kept a journal of her experiences throughout the project and says that one particular entry stands out.
From Pongetti’s journal:
Tues,March 1st
Today the bridge is painted in honor of Ryan Flaherty, age 17. He went to West Florida Tech. I just ran into his grandparents, and I hugged his grandmother and teared up. She said, it was an accidental shooting. The gun had a laser on it, and they didn't think it was a real gun. He was an organ donor, but the doctor said it was too late. She said his tissue went to 133 people. He wanted to be a pilot, in the Air Force, like his grandfather. Flare Bear (soccer name) #22 is his number.
My student, Mary, left my class because of the shooting. It was her brother's best friend. Now to see it on the bridge...The grandmother was touched.
Wed, March 2
Drove up and Ryan's mom, sister and friends were here. His sister and friend painted the bridge. Mom said it took them about two hours. The family was here making pictures. It seemed to provide comfort "something to do". The mom said it gave her closure. The community hasn't covered it up for what seems like a silent respect for Ryan.
“(It was) one of the most touching moments for me out of the entire year. The experience really showed me the healing quality of art,” she said. “I began to realize how fortunate we are, as a community to have Graffiti Bridge.”
Pongetti says the best summation of what the Graffiti Bridge means to Pensacola was written by her friend Will Davis for the book:
“It is a community bulletin board. It is a gallery. It is battleground, an obituary page. It is a primitive social media site. Although it is a Pensacola icon, there is a quality that transcends the local voice to say something universal about the expression of art within a community, about the flux and change of life, within us and without, as individuals, and as a village.”
Recent Posts
-
CivicCon launches with a look at good growth in cities
-
Building stronger brains one baby, one parent at a time
-
SCI debuts commercial on Early Learning City
-
Entrecon: World class speakers and an opportunity to sharpen skills
-
PYP Quality of Life survey 2017
-
EntreCon Pensacola 2016: A look back
-
Leadership tip: getting better employee takeaways
-
Leadership tip: be interested instead of interesting
-
Leadership tip: delivering difficult messages
-
Brain Bags boost Arc, Early Childhood Court programs