From ‘PUKE’ to ‘LIMBO’: Ranking Chico’s graffiti tags

The best art is illegal art.  To many, graffiti will always be abhorrent, while to others, it’s a unique artistic niche.  While I don’t think it should end up on the Bidwell Mansion or someone’s home, I fuck with it heavy. Graffiti is free, punk and vibey.  After three years in Chico, I’ve come acquainted with a variety of the local tags, five of them have risen to the top of my roster: PUKE, Kulo, RSTR, Smut and LIMBO. Puke Puke is my favorite for a couple reasons: Puke is the first tag I noticed, it’s everywhere and it has variation. I first saw Puke when I moved to Chico in fall 2021. In black spray paint along an abandoned shop on West Second Street, the word “PUKE” plain resonated with me.  “PUKES” scrawled on a light post in the Safeway parking lot on Nord. Photo taken Jan. 31 by Molly Myers. Puke is everywhere. Puke is on the side of buildings, scribbled on dumpsters, city mailboxes and even carved into the screens inside Meriam Library’s elevators — which makes me wonder if Puke is a student.  Seeing Puke wherever I go makes me feel less alone. It’s like my...