It’s not always easy to decipher a tag. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Pedestrian bridge over the railroad in Como neighborhood near the University of Minnesota. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
“KLIT.” The “T” is an upside down cross combined with a symbol of the pentagram. Location unknown, but Minneapolis. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2014).
During the period of Donald Trump’s first impeachment, the political Impeach tag was ubiquitous in Minneapolis. This one was on the outer ring of a manhole cover on a sidewalk. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
FNZ was identified on the LaSalle Avenue bridge over I-94 in South Minneapolis. While its meaning is a little unclear, it appears to be a reference to the graffiti movement in Berlin, Germany. Other graffiti in the area also references Germany. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Peon was found and a sign post in St. Paul on Grand Avenue just west of Ayd Mill Road. It is not uncommon for graffiti to contain working-class references. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Joshy was located in the Hiawatha Milling District on the side of a rail car. Therefore, it cannot be certain as to its jurisdiction of origin. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Sly was found on this signal box along highway 55 in Minneapolis. It is a type of happy graffiti with the “Y” signaling a simple flower, and the curly spiral similar to some nearby peace graffiti. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Mayoe was located on this sign post. It’s meaning is uncertain, but not very common. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Cooperative Tagging
What follows are examples of cooperative tagging which typically involves tagging of a single site by multiple taggers to create a sense of unified whole. Its kind of like a signature page in a high school yearbook.
This is located on East River Parkway under the railroad bridge crossing the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Two common tags included here are Vault and Range. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
This transformer box is located along a bike pathway adjacent to the Blue Line light-rail system in south Minneapolis. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Found on a railroad bridge in St. Paul over I-94. Tagging takes place over an extended period of time. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
The back of this stop sign is covered with a mish-mash of tags, art, and stickers. Found on a bicycle trail in Minneapolis. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Dumpsters located in northeast Minneapolis contain dozens of tags each, but none on the back or RR side. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Cooperative sites can contain quite a mixture. Fuck 12 is a reference to lack of trust in the judicial system and juries specifically. The face appears to be an attempted portrait of George Floyld who was killed by police in 2020. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).
Cooperative graffiti with varying surfaces, colors, and mediums on a former telephone booth. At the bottom of the post is remnants of an earlier installation of yarn graffiti. This is located at approximately 1840 East Lake Street in Minneapolis. Because it is only blocks from the epicenter of the burned out third precinct police station, it also contains the admonition: Police Not Wanted. (Photo by Twin Cities Almanac, 2020).