Bubblegum Alley - As Art

As Art

Some people in San Luis Obispo consider the wall a form of art, and sticking gum on a wall is to many locals a harmless act. One may see various brands of gum, including Bazooka, Winter Fresh, Doublemint and Orbit, lining the walls in an array of shapes, words and questionable designs. There are faces and flowers, fraternity and sorority letters, and "I love SLO" spelled out in different colors and sizes. A closer glance at the gum-infested wall will expose an abundance of objects, such as pennies and dimes, sticking out of the wall as eyes for gum faces. There are gum wrappers placed strategically to add to the designs, and occasionally someone will hang a condom from the wall in hopes to disgust passers-by, but mostly the alley is appropriate for all ages and encourages everyone’s creative contributions.

Professional artists

The Alley doesn’t only attract amateurs to paste their gum artwork on the wall; it has also inspired professional artists such as Matthew Hoffman. On the east end of the alley, up high on the north-facing wall, a giant self-portrait of Hoffman titled "Projectbubble Gum" is created entirely with bubble gum. The picture of the artist blowing a bubble required a tremendous amount of gum, which he was able to get with the help of the community. His theory is, "if an individual participates in their community they will earn an invested interest in their community. The community chewed the bubblegum, and many individuals as though they were a part of its creation. This instills a sense of stewardship in one’s community".Even the robotics Team 1717, featured in the book The New Cool (book), is depicted in neon blue gum.

"Projectbubble Gum" is the largest piece in the Alley and is higher up than most to ensure its survival.

Poets

Not only have gum-chewing artists been motivated by the alley; poets have been inspired by the gum walls as well. One Arroyo Grande poet who wishes to be known as “M” writes in defense of the Gum Alley. His poem was published in Don Pieper’s article "An Ode to Gum Alley":

We write our epitaphs on walls with gum,
And though it may be meaningless to some,
We have a symbol of our gummy youth,
Whose walls may not tell some glorious truth,
But eloquently speak of better times,
Of cruising, shopping sprees, and nursery rhymes.
If gum is all you see upon our wall,
Your mind is closed, your spirit shrunk and small,
Though memories of youth may never last,
Gum Alley is our present to our past.”

-“M”, Arroyo Grande