A vandal had some choice words for a Bloomington arts center last week. He graffitied them right onto the planters outside.
“Fuck this yuppie shit,” the painted white letters read. It was accompanied by a frowny face.
The graffiti was painted over, said Lauren Kniss, the gallery director at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts . But the vandal wasn’t satisfied.
Days later, the graffiti returned — with an addition.
“Really fuck this yuppie shit,” it read. The vandal left another frowny face.
The property manager of the arts center told police the first instance of vandalism happened overnight between April 16 and 17, Bloomington Police Department Cpt. Ryan Pedigo said. The second instance happened between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The arts center is “a creative source of energy for the Bloomington community, powered by exhibits, screenings, performances, lectures, and workshops,” according to its website.
The graffiti seemed directed at this specific establishment, Pedigo said. He said the investigation is active but there are no leads.
As of Thursday afternoon the arts center had only painted over the profane words this time, leaving “Really this yuppie." They didn't paint over the frown.
The center plans to paint the planters with chalkboard paint so people can engage with them in more positive ways, Kniss said. She said she isn’t sure who would have something against the arts center. She said she hopes the person who painted the graffiti will come in and learn more about them.
Kniss said she was more bothered by the profanity than by the word yuppie, which she said stands for young urban professional.
While the center is deterring profane graffiti, more graffiti is on the side of the building. Below the faded words “1st Choice” are white, bubbly letters that are hard to make out. Kniss said the words "1st Choice" have been there for years, if not decades, and guessed the graffiti was spray painted on when the building was abandoned.
She said the center couldn't get rid of the graffiti without affecting the "1st Choice" above it and liked the look of the old painted signage.
