I often walk by this stately apartment building on rue Chavent, a quiet street in Lyon. The building dates from 1937. It is quite big, with two entrances, balconies on every floor and unlike many buildings, it's set back from the sidewalk and has lots of trees in front of it.
I was coming back from the post office on Saturday morning when I looked across the street and saw the faces. I had taken the same street to the post office but didn't notice anything. But I had to stop and smile...faces had been painted on the tops of the posts. They looked like over-sized playskool people standing there, smiling, frowning, some even crying.
Graffiti is usually cleaned up really quickly in Lyon, at least on the "nice" streets. I thought these faces would be gone the same day, but when I returned to take some photos in the afternoon, there they were. They were there on Sunday too, and Monday.
Perhaps it was the holiday weekend that caused the clean-up delay.I didn't take that street today. Since the post office is closed for six months, I had to go to another post office, in the opposite direction. I'll have to check tomorrow. I hope they stay.
What do you think about graffiti? Is it art or is it vandalism?
