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I have been facinated with the proliferation and ironic creativty of
certain car stickers in the last few years.
And i got a camera in late 2007, so i started photgraphing these stickers while cycling around Seattle. |
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These are small white ovals with standardized country codes on them, such as Germany or Spain. |
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| They were required by treaty in 1968 so that it was possible to see where a car registered in another country was actually from. In recent years EU number plates have arrived and they carry a country code so the original white ovals are no longer necessary. | |||
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About 10 years ago, (the late 1990s) it became trendy to to bring home country stickers from European travels. When i came home in 1990 i brought an NL sticker although i never used it. I really wanted a CH. |
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| However other stickers began appearing, mocking the pretentiousness of declaring a connection to a European country. Initially it was small, often quaint, artsy communities that appeal to well healed tourists. | ||||
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| So you could declare a connection to a charming rural spot such as Orcas Island, Port Townsend, Washington or Jackson Hole, Wyoming. | ||||
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But before long the joke spread to National Parks, |
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| And even neighborhoods! |
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And then, making fun of the stickers that were making fun of the stickers that were making fun of the mis-use of the original stickers, we started to see more mundane places popping up. The Naughties are clearly a time of ironic, even sardonic humor. |
 
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Finally it was states themselves, partially completing the circle. And in a mini fad within the fad, bike tourists would get white oval state stickers for each state they pedaled through! |
 
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| Designers started to take some liberties, |
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missing the point of the multi layered ironic irony. | ||
| Then it got weird. |
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and bizarrely detailed. |
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(That's a zip code of a wealthy suburb.) |
| Of course it quickly got |
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creatively political. | ||
| Recently i saw this |
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which was my first indication the Hillary will run for president next year. | ||
| Inevitably we soon saw |
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slogans ('spay and neuter') and |
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corporate logos (K2 skis). |
| And some were wonderful and wacky: |
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'What Would Dumbledore Do?' | ||
| Now growing in popularity is the marathon: |
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And just the other day i saw 140.6 which is an iron triathalon. | ||
| Finally the driest of humor making fun of everyone |
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'White Oval Sticker' | ||