Paint Wars Continue
So I was just leaving the lumber yard on N. Peters & St. Ferdinand, when I get a text message from Rex Dingler, asking me to go look at a sign Dr. Bob made, welcoming vistors to the Bywater. It sits on private property, owned by NOCCA, a bastion of the arts, next to X/O Gallery, another bastion of the arts. The sign itself was hand painted by local legend, Dr. Bob, who has his work displayed in the Smithsonian Museum, and on Oprah Winfrey’s wall, for crissake.
And there it is. A two by three foot sign, beautifully trimmed in bottle caps, as Bob’s pieces are, usually from Jax beer or Barq’s Root Beer. It’s professionally mounted on posts, up and out of reach, nestled under some shady trees, adding that Mayberry touch to our quirky bohemian neighborhood.
Except for the grey paint. Battleship ugly fucking grey paint, rolled sloppily over the face of the sign, leaving obvious roller patterens and see-through spatter. That Asshole From Hell, Fred Radtke, has been here.
This is not graffitti we’re talking about. This is not a ‘clean sweep’ or neighborhood beautification.
This is a vindictive act by a small and petty man, making an ugly fucking mess in a neighborhood he does not live in, or represent; a neighborhood that doesn’t want him here, and has petitioned the city to keep him away. He has childishly desecrated a sign, I repeat, A SIGN, not graffitti, that welcomes vistors to our funky slice of heaven. And he has marred the work of a local artist renowned enough to have been asked by the Smithsonian Museum, in Washington, DC, to display his work in their Folk Art Exhibit.
I, for one, and call me crazy if you will, would prefer that Dr. Bob’s art work, whether you like it or not, keep the “New Orleans Brand out there” rather than a skyrocketing murder rate and out-of-control thug behavior by our police force. But that’s just me.
Still, the police refuse to arrest him, and Sgt. Joe Narcissi keeps calling him “our friend”. Do you think we could be Sgt. Joe’s friend, too, if we, say, rolled grey paint over every fucking one of those illegal political signs that litters out neighborhoods and intersections? Would Judge Bonin thank Sgt Joe for allowing us to paint over all his re-election signage that spatters the Marigny/Bywater? And how about all those little signs on spindley metal legs that crowd every intersection? Those are illegal, according to city law.
WE ARE NOT THE FODDER OF THEIR WORLD, PEOPLE.
Don’t take this shit laying down.
Come to X/O Gallery this Saturday, from Noon ’til 6pm, and paint.
Make free art, to be given away, or sold to buy art supplies for school kids.
[Actually a good bit of the art will be auctioned/raffled off that evening at the FYYFF Fundraiser at One Eyed Jack's. Huge props to Micheal Dingler for getting involved! I'll be posting full details later tonight - Loki]
Look at the ugly grey paint on the sign that welcomes you.
Fight back with beauty, with fun, with love & sharing.
Otherwise….well, I can hear Bob’s blood pressure rising from my house.
There’s no doubt that Radtke did this because Dave Bachli spoke out in a video interview with Doug McCash, that wound up on nola.com. And because Rex Dingler is sponsoring a free art event there this Saturday. So this block has been singled out by the Man With The Get Out Of Jail Free Card. While they’re looking, let’s show them what community art is all about, because next thing you know, some cop will be waving a gun around in front of school children…
…Oh, wait…
Lord David
Pirate & Artist
Skull Club
New Orleans
July 24th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Bastard! Why can’t someone stop the guy?
I know he likes to fight and he carries a gun, but damn. This is ridiculous!
July 24th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
This is disgusting. And Radtke is damn lucky Bob didn’t catch him doing it. If you know Bob, you know what I mean.
For those who would like to support Bob’s work, please stop by his Bywater studio. For those of you out-of-towners who read this blog, his work can be found in my Ebay store, here:
http://stores.ebay.com/Louies-Juke-Joint_DR-BOB-New-Orleans-Folk-Art
My wife and I have been Bob’s exclusive online seller for going on 5 years now.
Bob is good people, a rare talent with a high work ethic, and an excellent ambassador of New Orleans culture. He does not deserve this type of disrespect, AT ALL.
July 24th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Ugh, that sucks.
I was hoping Katrina got to that tiny little narrow-minded arsehole.
I love Dr. Bob. One of the things I miss most out of all my Katrina losses is a drum lid “Be Nice or Leave”. :(
July 24th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
So petty, so pathetic. He’s just a sad little man with a dried up prune where his soul should be.
I recently had a blatantly racist comment in support of Fred on one of my posts about ReX and NoLA Rising. It burned my eyeballs just to read it…of course, I jettisoned it out into delete neverland.
July 24th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
[...] Lord David issues a challenge in response to the latest defacement of public art in The Marigny by the grey ghost : WE ARE NOT THE FODDER OF THEIR WORLD, PEOPLE. Don’t take this shit laying down. [...]
July 25th, 2008 at 5:58 am
Ya got picturtes of this?
July 25th, 2008 at 6:28 am
[...] all fronts as possible. This morning I could not resist dropping into Google Reader, where I found this news: a sign Dr. Bob made, welcoming visitors to the Bywater. It sits on private property, owned by [...]
July 25th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Ohhhh, no.
Just. God. Awful.
July 25th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Mike DIngler over at NOLA Rising has some cell phone camera shots, should be online soon. I’ll provide a link as soon as I have one.
July 25th, 2008 at 8:04 am
@ Mark Folse: I do indeed have pictures, but they’re in my cell phone, and I’m not clever enough to get them in to this format. I’m sure there’s some kind of wiring thingie that would do this, but I don’t have one. And I’ve spent all my allowance on water without oil in it.
I would encourage you and EVERYONE READING THIS to come out to Nola Rising’s Paint Party on Saturday, the 26th, and paint, paint, paint, right next to the sign in question. You can see it for yourself.
AND as I suggested a month ago, HANG ART ON YOUR HOUSE. Show off the fact that you appreciate the self expression and individuality our neighborhood has come to represent. Beautify your home, your block, your world.
If that creep happens by with a grey roller, take his picture.
In fact, if any of you see Radtke out there rolling grey, take his picture. Let’s all keep a collective photo journal of this guy. If our freedom of expression is to be violated, perhaps his right to privacy is the price. We’re watching YOU now, pal.
LD
July 25th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
[...] Like more evidence was needed: So I was just leaving the lumber yard on N. Peters & St. Ferdinand, when I get a text message from Rex Dingler, asking me to go look at a sign Dr. Bob made, welcoming vistors to the Bywater. It sits on private property, owned by NOCCA, a bastion of the arts, next to X/O Gallery, another bastion of the arts. The sign itself was hand painted by local legend, Dr. Bob, who has his work displayed in the Smithsonian Museum, and on Oprah Winfrey’s wall, for crissake. [...]
July 25th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
[...] 25 07 2008 This? in from Humid City, a real asshole patrol.? I’ve been wondering for a couple of weeks now [...]
July 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
ARRG,
We’ll be there with ya!
Shall I bring my Sword as well as the paintbrushes?
July 25th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I wish I had something new and innovative to say at the current time. But all I feel is sheer disappointment. I’m sure that our “little napoleon” will come out claiming “wasn’t me…wasn’t me” but even if that be the truth…the fact remains where this behavior has now become acceptable and that makes him equally culpable in the eyes of the public and from the scorn of public opinion.
SHAME has a NAME in this city…and we all know what that is. It just so happens to be the name synonymous with the type of person who would gladly homogenize our city and destroy its culture…one grey stroke at a time.
I think of the a painting that “You Go Girl” gave me. The top portion was covered in nails and in bright exploding words it said “FIGHT BACK! FIGHT DIRTY!” While I appreciate the sentiment and the painting, I thought to myself “No, there are better and more dignified ways to win a victory.”
Our grey nemesis has proven time and again that he will stoop to low levels to achieve his victory…only to fail time and again. Were it that he does this to bring the community together, we might say his methods unorthodox, but his purpose grand. But it is not the purpose we see. The way I look at it, and this is only my viewpoint and you will never have to adopt it, is that his footsteps fall the same way those grey boots did across Europe in the early forties, with the same empty purpose, with the same hate-filled and ignorant eyes.
Sure, fuck that guy for what he does because as far as those of us concerned about community, he is the devil. But, let us pity him for his ignorance, short-sightedness, and ultimate inability to adapt. I can say that there is the one flaw in his Marine Corps training, his ability to adapt and overcome. I feel in the deepest core of my heart the greatest compassion and sympathy for him and those subjected to be near him. When judgment comes, may it be just yet appropriate.
As for Dr. Bob’s sign…what a sad thing to have destroyed. We had talked about re-doing the sign before at a paint party and when his sign went up, it was such a great and inspiring thing to see. And for those who have asked…no, it gives me no pleasure to see Dr. Bobs artwork destroyed…What an absurd question! I am not the type of person who believes that one persons tragedy is anothers’ opportunity. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be around a Dr. Bob / Fred meeting, that’s for sure. Dr. Bob’s work is a cultural icon of our city and I think the loss of this sign, by any wielder of grey paint, is a loss for the neighborhood and the city.
I can suspect this was meant to anger me, but I’m accustomed now to these sorts of attacks by the grey ghoul and his cronies. Instead, it will further anger a community. And Charlotte, I’m sorry to hear that somehow RACE has now become an issue in this as I don’t see how it is possibly relevant in any of the point raised by either Radtke or myself. Most likely, a post of misdirected hostility.
For all of us involved and active in the community, let us do our best to show reasonable restraint in the coming days. Let us try and do good things that bolster our community instead of something that tries to hurt it. Let us try to help NoLA rise instead of letting it fall into the disrepair that the mayor’s office seems to be complicit in. I’ve had to learn that this grey ghoul of ours is no more than a sideshow and treat him as such. If we let this one tiny and insignificant man hold sway over our emotions…he wins. I will no longer let this “man” hold that kind of sway over me, which makes for a more calculated response.
And if City Hall and the NOPD can’t put a leash on their dirty dog and this greyness persists, you will see that all our works to make certain institutions in this city sacred (like French Quarter brick, schools, churches, homes) will be for nothing. Wouldn’t that be a pity and then we start over from scratch.
July 25th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Well Done, Mister Dingler.
I am reminded of a time when Mahatma Gandhi met with the British Commander who ruled India at the time. He asked Gandhi, “Do you really address the British Empire, and all of it’s members here in India, and simply by asking, expect us to leave?”
The reply was simple and to the point.
“Yes.”
An entire nation was lead to freedom and independence without a shot fired, by simple civil disobedience, and more importantly, COMPASSION.
Granted, Fred Radtke is demonstrating horrible manners, petty grievences, and plain bad taste. I could easily say, ‘don’t hate him for what he’s done, hate him because he’s an asshole.’
But I won’t. Even though I despise what he does.
I think he hates himself.
I think he expects others to hate him, too.
I believe he performs premptive strikes to lash out against his own fear.
Respond with beauty.
Answer with hearts of joy and celebration at our very living.
Do not go quietly in to his dark night.
Sing, dance and laugh at this feeble struggle with anger.
Let the blessing of creativity wash over us, and simply begin again.
Repaint a sign.
Clean up a neighborhood.
Rebuild a city.
We are the pioneers of our own destiny and not the doormats of someone else’s bad trip.
This will be proved irrefutably by the refusal to become evil as well.
Every passing moment, we are creating the future.
Make it as beautiful as you want it to be.
See you all tomorrow.
Bring an open heart & mind.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Well said, Boo. See ya tomorrow.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
ReX,
The race card was played as in ” the grafitti is nigga” from “Lakeview Man”. Fuckmook.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I have heard that Mr. Radtke has offered to come and clean the sign with his solution that would remove the grey paint. According to a post on the NoLA.com forums, someone called him and he has denied painting over Dr. Bobs sign. I fear it might remove Dr. Bobs sign as well.
Naturally, it is not something that I have heard first hand.
However, with all of that being said, I welcome Mr. Radtke’s willingness to restore the sign to it’s initial form and I openly condemn whoever would think this to be remotely funny or a worthwhile effort. Whether it be him or someone else…
July 25th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
y’all, this is SO TOTALLY not Radtke’s work. This is somebody trying to drum up opposition to Radtke, if I had to guess.
Note the weakness of the stroke, the incomplete coverage. Radtke traffics in OPACITY and always goes large… I would stake my stereo system on this not being Radtke.
Now, is this an example of some Radtke-hater who has looked too long into the abyss, and in his or her attempt to get Radtke in trouble, has actually (in spite of lamentably poor technique) achieved Radtkism? Or is it some decadent sophisticate who has embraced the Grey Greatness as an answer to artistic complexity, and is aping the master out of admiration?
These are the questions at hand, and they are reasonably compelling. Shrill knee-jerk outrage, as always, deserves only a big fat gonging and the vaudeville-style hook.
GET THE HOOK!
http://ironrail.org/blog
July 26th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Shrill knee-jerk outrage?
I think not.
Radtke haters and the abyss?
Decadent sophisticate?
Oh, please….
Perhaps someone has read too much pulp fiction. I seriously doubt that there are wandering ex-Crowleyites who ‘crossed over’ to the abyss, like Darth Vader, into the Powerful Clutches of Radtke. It’s even more laughable that some evil ’sophisticate’ is plotting and subplotting to Turn The Tides That Tie Men’s Souls….
Maybe Fred didn’t paint over this himself. He does have a goon squad of helpers. Maybe now, he has followers. Mindless angry minions. Maybe he’s created copy cats, with, or without intention.
Whatever the case, Fred Radtke made it okay to do this in the City Of New Orleans. He created an enterprise, wherein the police and public officals will allow this behavior to continue. For that, he bears full responsibility.
Even though George W. Bush never carried a gun in Iraq, he certainly bears the brunt of the blame for the thousands of deaths there. Or is THAT shrill knee-jerk outrage as well?
I saw this sign, the day before, and the day after. My outrage at seeing beauty defaced, and my friends artwork destroyed is justified and honest. Whether Fred Radtke, himself, held that particular roller is a moot point. He is the King of Grey Paint Rolling, self appointed and arrogantly unflinching. If what you say is true (maybe he had to run away and couldn’t achieve ‘opacity’), then all the more reason to BE outraged. It would mean that he has created on ongoing enterprise of this selfish bullshit, that even he cannot control.
That, Paint It Grey, is an outrage, indeed.
July 26th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Dear Paint It Gey;
Forgive me for taking you seriously. The following quotes from your blog pretty much nail down your position:
“of course you have outraged those whose whole lifestyle and worldview is founded upon their own outrage– Those people are professional shriekers;”
And:
“…examination in person certainly confirms it beyond all doubt, or certainly would, if I was to ever venture somewhere as déclassé as the Bywater.”
Okay, so our neighborhood isn’t good enough for you. You DO admit that you haven’t actually gone and looked at this.
You just automatically know stuff. Because you’re better than us.
And finally:
“If you’re just some dipshit who thought it would be funny to stir the pot by Greying a giant, prominent Dr. Bob piece, then baby, let’s get drunk and screw, because you’re my kind of reckless, socially irresponsible adolescent nihilist!”
Great.
Thanks for clearing that up.
July 26th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
“I seriously doubt that there are wandering ex-Crowleyites who ‘crossed over’ to the abyss, like Darth Vader, into the Powerful Clutches of Radtke.”
All kidding aside, some variation of this may indeed be what has happened. I know for a fact there are established Radtke shrines in certain unwholesome corners of the upper ninth where his image and works receive mystical veneration. I had taken these disquieting altars as being mostly ironic– even, as a lark one long evening, allowing myself to be conducted about them in a good-spirited round of mock-pilgrimage– but perhaps some among their dubious devotees have tipped over into a more active fanaticism.
Until the death toll of this paint conflict spikes significantly, I do feel the comparisons to actual warfare a tad hyperbolic. Nothing personal; I rebuke and detest all hyperbole on strictest principle.
July 27th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Point taken.
There are no casualties here. Yet.
Although hyperbole means exageration, not analogy, in my copy of Websters…
…I simply used the most obvious example of a known leader creating an epidemic of horror, without commiting each individual act. And in that, my analogy is painfully accurate. All oppression begins with a hierchy who believes that they are better than, or above the masses, and inflicts their will accordingly. How far it goes from there is another story.
Perhaps the suggestion of Abyss Tempered Mind Slaves From The Dark Side might be considered hyperbole. But that’s hardly the point.
While there is no death toll, as you pointed out, you also used the word ‘principle’.
When one person, or a small group of people, violate the law without repercussion, and do so in a manner that violates not only the freedom of others, but their right to private property and equal protection under the law, we have a major principle violation. On strictest principle, as you put it.
Or, as Rex Dingler put it;
“…his footsteps fall the same way those grey boots did across Europe in the early forties, with the same empty purpose, with the same hate-filled and ignorant eyes.”
At what point does this abborated behavior stop being amusing? When does one actually realize that someone is being endorsed to trespass, destroy private property and violate the freedom of expression of others, and this endoresment comes from poltical influence, and is enforced by men with guns? The NOPD has refused to prosecute or arrest this man, even at the urging of our City Counsel.
When young women are verbally assaulted with obscenitites in public, and verbal critics are actually beaten down, by a man who breaks the law, all while carrying a gun, mind you, how much longer do we let it go on?
I hope, with all sincerety, that we don’t have to wait for an actual body count before action is taken and Mister Radtke is held accountable by the same law enforcement that currently encourages his despicable acts.
Word play aside, this man is a criminal and potentially dangerous. The fact that he is allowed to operate in our city, unchecked, is a blemish on the freedom of every person living here.