In New Orleans, the street artist known as Banksy has created more than a dozen murals around the city, including the one shown above. The murals depict a variety of scenes, including Abraham Lincoln as a homeless man pushing a basket, a marching band wearing gas masks, an old man in a rocking chair with an American flag below the words “No Loitering,” and a boy on a swing made out of a life preserver. According to a statement released by Banksy on Thursday, the murals were created in response to Fred Radtke, an antigraffiti campaigner also known as the Gray Ghost, who uses gray paint to cover up graffiti. The statement also said, “Three years after Katrina I wanted to make a statement about the state of the clean up operation.” - Via The New York Times
It's ironic that the anti-graffiti zealot Radtke is himself guilty of the crime he seems intent upon destroying. He even painted over a mural on someone's home who had commissioned the work! Nice to hear he got nailed for it, (below) - I mean would you rather see a blot of gray paint or a Banksy original on your city walls? I think he needs to get a life.
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| Radtke in action, Operation: Mean Sweep |
Enjoy these pictures of Banksy's clever art, below, that may or may not still exist in New Orleans.
