Copyright © Mike Valentine –   Utility Box Stencil Graffiti Blinded when someone scratched out the eyes of the artwork. I love street art due to the power it carries for self-expression of an artist that risks arrest to share their vision. It’s so much more meaningful that the artist feels it worth the risk to say something to passersby. When another person edits the art in some way – it gets even richer in meaning, even if that means we need to imagine what the artist intends, then what the alteration meant to the secondary contributor. In this case, it seems – “I don’t want you to see me” or maybe “you are blind” is the message. Since we didn’t see them and we are blind to the meaning, that message is a success on some level. The artist couldn’t have imagined this when they created the original stencil. This means more to me than most wall-hung artwork. I actually have photos of street graffiti framed and hanging on my wall at home.