When it comes to public space, decorating and vandalism are the opposite sides of the same coin. Both are trying to establish ownership. It is for this reason that our building cares for the public space between the building and the street curb. With this in mind, we plant flowerbeds, maintain tree guards and post Curb Your Dog Signs. The coop constantly cleans the sidewalks around the building.
Soon, I decided to add my support in this endeavor by using some of the skills I learned as an inner city teacher. There I created a program using decorating to change destructive behaviors. I learned there was a subliminal language that existed between the vandal and the decorator. Being able to understand that language would lessen negative behaviors and bring forth an environment to support the human spirit.
Some of those behaviors include littering coffee cups and candy wrappers in front of our building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Others are spitting out wads of gum, which look like polka dots on the sidewalk. Other behaviors include the proliferation of cigarette butts. Though considered by many as non litter, they are some of the most ecologically dangerous debris. Vandalism also includes letting dogs relieve themselves in a tree bed, which can girdle a tree or kill the flowers.
Analyzing How People “Read” Curb Your Dog Signs
So, I began a sign project to stop negative behaviors. Also, it focused attention on the ecological benefits of the city’s tree beds as well as to uplift the spirits of each passerby. First, I analyzed the situation and came up with several ideas.
- The subconscious does not see a negative. So, the words, “Don’t litter”goes into the subconscious as “Please litter.”. Likewise, the universal sign for, “No,” a red circle enclosing a slanted red line is not any better. It is also seen by the subconscious as, “Go ahead and do it.”
- A second reason some signs do not work is because the same verbiage is used everywhere. The brain processes ten million pieces of information per second. When we see the thousandth curb your dog sign, the brain says, “Same o same o,” and stops registering the stimuli. I call it cognitive override, another way of explaining the neural adaptation the brain makes to save energy.
- Last of all, curb your dog signs are ugly, especially the super big one. They seem to be shouting. Why put in a beautiful flower garden a sign bigger than the flowers?
Signs I Made to Overcome Perceptual and Aesthetic Problems
Understanding the Language of Decorating
The sign project has significantly reduced dog waste and larger pieces of litter. On the other hand, we are still dealing with too many gum wads and cigarette butts. Thus, I am still looking for more ways to communicate with the vandal.
Here are a few pieces of the grammar I have learned so far:
- Barriers are a form of language, even though they may be physically ineffective. In the South Bronx school, I was asked/ordered to cover all my creative work with ugly plastic. I refused, for the plastic was not going to protect the bulletin board from a razor blade, but it was rather a piece of language saying don’t or I am afraid. Instead, I chose immediate repair, a more powerful statement to the vandal.
***
- On the other hand, in Manhattan, the new higher tree guards near the building did the opposite, being only a few inches taller than the former ones. Although most dogs could jump over them, they do not because the owners are subliminally reading the language. For those waiting for metal guards, any barrier, like sticks and string, would help to protect the tree.
- We always buy extra supplies because we know things will be stolen. Still, no one has stolen my frames even though we lose a few flowers every season. A stolen plant not replaced quickly gives permission to others to take the plants, which leads to exponential pilfering.
***
- The most important language is immediate repair, which sends a message to the vandal that the area is claimed.
***
- Last of all, if the same sign is used for five years or if hundreds of the same sayings appear in close proximity, a cognitive override will take place. The trick to claiming public space is to change the verbiage at least once a year and to keep repetitions in the neighborhood to a minimum.
Understanding Vandalism with Compassion
Last of all, I want to remind all of us that we should look at all of these negative behaviors with compassion. I saw vandalism in the inner city as an expression of deep fears and worries about people’s environment. I see vandalism in all areas of the city, including the Upper East Side, as coming from thousands of years of the emphasis of division in Western culture. So, before we lecture the smoker or chastise the inappropriate actions of the dog walker, we can realize we are all victims of a culture that has separated spirit from matter, the sacred from the profane or the different treatment of public and private space.
Until we understand that public spaces are indeed our home, we must use subliminal language to allow for the beautiful to enrich our lives.
***
In the blog, Making ‘Curb Your Dog’ Signs’ – Signs of the Beautiful, I give instructions on creating the signs, making them waterproof and attaching them to the tree guards. Feel free to contact me if you need help.
ruta@rutas-rules.com
***
Allowing dogs to urinate on a tree can kill it. Trees cool the earth which prevents global warming. Less trees lead to more global warming. So we have to do all we can to separate dogs from trees.
Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Dog Pee on Tree
Leave a Reply