Patriotic graffiti

I am interested in hearing about any incidents of "patriotic
graffiti" that may have appeared on cultural property (such as
public art, memorials, archaeological sites, historic buildings,
etc.) since the events of September 11th, and about approaches to
dealing with it and preventing further occurrences.

This comes in light of a phone call I recently received from a
client (a State Parks Department) who has just suffered from such an
event. A historic structure that had been cleaned of graffiti
earlier this year and that they had managed to keep graffiti-free
was badly vandalized late last week with the words "God Bless
America" in red and blue magic marker.

The twist here of course is that this comes at a very sensitive time
and involves a sentiment that is understandably very popular amongst
many people in the USA. (Sorry, I'm walking on eggshells here trying
to find appropriate ways of explaining this--but I'm sure you get my
drift).  My interest is not so much on how to treat or remove it,
but more along the lines of how to approach managing and preventing
further incidents.

I would also welcome information on any previous incidents related
to similar events both here in the USA or abroad.  For example
patriotic graffiti related to the Gulf War that may have appeared on
cultural property, or examples connected to struggles in eastern
Europe. Many thanks,

J. Claire Dean
Dean and Associates Conservation Services
3438 NE 62nd Avenue
Portland
Oregon 97213, USA.
503-331-1972
Fax: 503-331-0762


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:26
               Distributed: Wednesday, September 26, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-15-26-012
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