Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Jasper Johns in Speedway


So far, I've been unable to find the Roman numerals 
I thought were so evocative of Jasper Johns' work. These numbers 
were spray painted onto a section of concrete traffic barrier placed
along Crawfordsville Road during construction work.
I'm certain they mean something to the workmen responsible
for grading, laying the foundation, and paving the road bed, but they
mean nothing to me, except as color and pattern in an odd place.


2 comments:

dive said...

I love the way the paint has faded on these, Speedway.
These look like survey coordinates to me: a northing (latitude), an easting (longitude) and an elevation.
Get those three and you know just where you are in the world (at least physically).
I once met a girl on the tube who had those tattooed on her wrist. I had to ask. She told me they were the global coordinates for the place she was born. Weird but cute.

Speedway said...

Thank you, Dive. I figured you'd probably know what the numbers meant. Now you pointed it out, I can see the N-E-ELEV.

Last summer, I saw a young man in hard hat and work clothes at a Speedway intersection, carrying what resembled a long walking stick with a bulge on top. He was recording, confirming sites for water meters using GPS. The top of the stick was "talking' to a number of satellites to record his "find," compare it with records, etc. I found it fascinating, actually, but I don't think the traffic at the intersection was much amused (the cars weren't there when I stopped to speak with him. I promise.)