Dennis Hollingsworth

Graffitti

"Our only task is to realize the destruction of the class society and private property!"

Alberto: "There is something beautiful about this, no?"

Dennis: "Well, I can see the idealism and the yearning for a better world, but..."

Alberto: "But you can see that there is something good about this, can't you?"

Dennis: "Maybe if you frame out the 100 million plus who died in the 20th century as a result of Marx and his derivatives, but that's a lot to disregard."

Alberto: "?"

Dennis: "Then there is this thing about defacing people's property. It's one thing to mark up someone's wall on the street, but then there are times when people throw bricks and break glass on the Paseo de Gracia. You can chalk it up to social friction, something you have to put up with in life, living with people... but then where does it stop... when it doesn't stop of its own accord?"

Alberto: "Yea."

Dennis: "Alberto, look around us." We were sitting in my house, paintings all around us. "I painted this." I pointed toward 'Greener, Still'. "This is my property. If property is a crime, then the state owns these paintings."

Beat, one, two, three.

"I wouldn't paint any more paintings then."

I didn't have to say: "...would you?"

Alberto: "Tienes raison."

What hung heavy in the air was the unspoken question of whether art itself could exist after the revolution.

Dennis: "And as far as the class thing, we live in a time where one can move up and down the class ladder. Abolition of class distinctions makes no sense on one hand and on the other, it has already been done, a fait accompli."

Alberto: "..." (He smiled.)

Then we talked of other things.