This is a graffiti homage and farewell to the late street artist Elmaks. It’s at the Tech Wall, a legal graffiti wall at Bronson & Slater.

My friend zoom knew Elmaks. Here is her blog post on his passing: Goodbye, Elmaks.

Elmaks was best known for his swap boxes — “Take something, leave something” — but now and then he did standalone art pieces too.

I have an original Elmaks. I found it hanging on a telephone pole on Elgin with a sign that said, “Free art. Take me.” So I did. It’s hanging up in my kitchen, and I really like it.

Here it is.

Pic 1079
Feeding the birds

March 13, 2011

Two years ago:
Pic 741
Falun dafa

March 13, 2010

Three years:
Pic 389
Go go go go

March 13, 2009

That swap box has rules:
1. No money
2. No food

I wonder what they mean by no food. I left some gum in there once when I didn’t have anything else. Is gum food? What’s wrong with gum? It was brand new and still in its wrapper.

I guess you wouldn’t want carrots in the swap box. Or a cup of coffee. Maybe you would if you were homeless.

And what’s wrong with money?

That swap box had three objects in it, two of them some kind of knitted toys, as I recall, and a plastic Smurf. I took the Smurf and left a purple whistle.

Smurf

Then I hit the one out front of the Invisible Cinema. It was quite different. Lacking any rules, it had in it a pen, a condom (brand new and wrapped), three pennies, and a PMS mints tin. I took the tin and left a jew’s harp.

PMS tin

I thought it was interesting how different the boxes are. The one on Cambridge is for kids, and the Invisible Cinema one is for adults. People from one box might not be comfortable if they went to the other one. Bunch of toys? Money? A pen?

The people on Cambridge might have to add “No condoms” to their swap box rules. (They’ve probably added it already.)

I like to think my whistle and jew’s harp are suitable for all swap boxes.

The weather

Passerby

Slush

Things my mother wouldn’t have done

1. Turn on the TV in the daytime

2. Eat a frozen dinner

3. Do laundry at a laundromat

But I would.