Think Pink

Graffiti is common in Buenos Aires, ranging from barely legible scrawls supporting or condemning political figures to huge artistic murals. The political messages are particularly prevalent in the Plaza de Congreso and the Plaza de Mayo due to the large number of protests and marches that take place in those areas, and very few surfaces are considered off-limits. Below is a picture of the iconic Piramide de Mayo erected in 1811 on the first anniversary of the 1810 revolution, which is the centrepiece of the weekly march of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. For the last few weeks it’s been daubed with slogans, which nobody seems in any hurry to clean off. Above is Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker in the Plaza de Congreso, which as of last week, is now a delightful shade of pink – it actually suits him!

Update: Only 2 days later and the pink had been scrubbed off, and less than a week later, the graffiti on the pedestal had also been removed – impressively fast for Buenos Aires! The scrawls on the Piramide de Mayo are still there however…

Update #2: According to this article, in their haste to blast the pink off with water, the City Government may have caused irreversible damage to the sculpture and its original patination. Seeing this is only 1 of 22 casts made from Rodin’s original mould, in addition to being the only one in South America, this is not a good thing..