Noted graffiti 'artist' busted vandalizing Joshua Tree Nat'l Park

[geek tragedy]

http://laist.com/2015/02/28/andre_street_art_joshua_tree.php
http://www.modernhiker.com/2015/02/27/is-mr-andre-tagging-in-joshua-tree/

After Casey Nocket traveled throughout the West to deface several national parks last year, a notable European street artist has been caught tagging Joshua Tree National Park.

André Saraiva, better known as just André, posted a photo to his Instagram account (now private) on Wednesday showing him having tagged a boulder with the 'eyes' of his trademark "Mr A" stick figure character. His photos revealed he was enjoying a trip in the park, and in the comments of the boulder photo, Modern Hiker (who originally broke the Casey Nocket story) took him to task.

Doesn't look like art to me, just an untalented, unprincipled self-promoting vandal.

Put him on the no-fly list.

[hatrack]

1. Wow, what talent! And he has just one name, to remind you of that!

Buffoon. Jail time.

[Codeine]

2. Noted Vandal Caught Vandalizing.

Dickbag

[Aerows]

72. Precisely

I can't believe this assclown got out of jail in the first place, and now here she is doing it again.

What the hell - lock her ass up.

[Codeine]

74. Different person.

This is a guy, from Europe.

[Aerows]

75. Reading is fundamental, Aerows

In any case, he's as big a douchecanoe as the woman was.

[Codeine]

79. DOUCHECANOE!!!

OMG that's fucking hysterical!!

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Deport this piece of scum.

Or better yet, give him 25 years in solitary with 10 cases of spray paint.

Fuck him.

[Capt. Obvious]

40. Paris needs to deport him!

[DetlefK]

4. Vainglorious, ignorant asshole.

Would it be art if I make an "artistic" performance with his ribcage?

[BeyondGeography]

5. There is no odor so bad

as that which arises from goodness tainted. - Thoreau

[justiceischeap]

6. I fucking hate graffiti "artists" nt

[cilla4progress]

38. Gratified to read this here.

I thought I was an old fogey, but, truly, in so many cases graffiti "art" is just ugly-making.

Someone tagged a rock wall on my drive home from work. I hate it. It's not even talented artwork. Like this.

[justiceischeap]

55. There are some truly talented graffiti artists out there

But I'd still be pissed if they did this someplace like this. I often photograph abandoned spaces and I hate when they've been tagged--though some of it is brilliant, still not a fan.

[cilla4progress]

56. I know - I admit to being somewhat conflicted,

certainly hate it in natural settings. But even in subways, it seems it defaces. I wish it could be confined to set-aside locations, but I recognize that defeats the guerilla nature.

[NuclearDem]

7. Assholes like this ruin the outdoors for the rest of us.

Not just in defacing and ruining beautiful scenery, but forcing park authorities to close certain areas either temporarily for cleanup or permanently for preservation.

[msanthrope]

8. Arrest this asshole, deport him, and no-fly him. nt

[Aerows]

71. Her

This is the next in the series of times she has been arrested for defacing national monuments.

How she got out of them and is still on the loose to deface parks is a mystery to me.

Nevermind: This is a new assclown defacing national parks.

[tblue37]

81. Andre is a he. You are confusing him with that woma who vandalized parks

last year. The article is *comparing* his vandalism to hers.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/andre-saraiva-joshua-tree_n_6783700.html

The prominent street artist Andre Saraiva, popularly known as Monsieur A or Mr. A or Andre, posted a photo to his Instagram account on February 25, depicting a rock allegedly inside Joshua Tree National Park marked in spray paint with a pair of eyes that look similar his signature design. The image's caption reads "#mrA rock !"

[Aerows]

83. I got

my asswagons confused.

[tblue37]

84. Yep, they do start to blur after awhile, don't thet? Narcissism tends to look the

same everywhere. Ils sont touts Kim Kardashian. Everything is just a selfie to them.

[NightWatcher]

9. In Singapore they'll cane you for graffiti

Ah, the satisfaction that would come from whipping this person. I bet they'd never vandalize again.

[nichomachus]

26. Do you know why?

Because it is a corporate dictatorship and the dictators control the media -- kind of like the US, but worse. The only way the opposition can get its message out is through graffiti. This is why the dictators have made it such a horrible crime - to stop any opposition.

[NightWatcher]

32. well this guy is just being a dick and vandalizing a National Park

It belongs to all of us and I think he still deserves a beating.

[nichomachus]

33. Ah yes, violence solves everything

The police have figured that out

[ND-Dem]

37. +100

[vkkv]

48. "get it's message out"?

Um, no, more short-sightedness is not the answer to anything.

My message to represent the exploited and diminishing middle-class is NOT "I'm going to graffiti them 'corporatists to fairness!"

This Andre clown is a self-absorbed ego-maniac with schizophrenic tendencies of self importance.

[Capt. Obvious]

31. I know just the guy for the job

[KittyWampus]

10. Every cent this jackass makes/holds should go to the National Park Service for restoration.

[KittyWampus]

11. FYI- this is the image of the vandalism posing as 'artwork'

?resize=700%2C0

[Codeine]

14. What a prick. nt

[progressoid]

16. I've seen better in public restrooms.

What an ass.

[DRoseDARs]

19. Banksy he is not. nt

[Botany]

34. Give him a wire brush and some sort of paint cleaner and make him scrub that shit off ....

... the rocks. Make him stay at the park until he cleans up every inch of his
crap. I bet those rocks get real hot too.

[Xithras]

65. Sadly, it'll take hundreds of years for the damage to completely vanish.

The process to remove the paint will also strip the lichens from the granite, and the lichens in Joshua Tree grow incredibly slowly because of the arid climate. Park visitors a century from now will still be looking at the damage this idiot caused.

[Botany]

88. You are right but still this punk needs to clean up what he can ......

.... no power washers or chemical removers but just a wire brush in really tight lines.

[icymist]

66. Isn't it amazing that we've gone from Ansel Adams to that?

Words can't describe how sickening this 'art' is.

[Archae]

12. Whatever happened to that other "artist" defacing national parks?

She would paint faces on rocks.

[MineralMan]

13. What an asshat!

Jail and restitution for this moron.

[kiva]

15. I'm glad I was able to see some of these parks in the past

because at the rate these 'artists' are going it will be hard to find places that haven't been altered. As with Nocket, there are people defending this garbage - this is just a rock, it's white middle-class sensibility (from another site), I do not believe the natural world has any intrinsic purpose http://www.metafilter.com/147433/Right-Place-Art-Wrong-Place-Vandalism .

[Capt. Obvious]

17. Cut off the bark and the tree will die

[sinkingfeeling]

18. Natural beauty 1, André 0.

[aikoaiko]

20. A vandal and liar spouting words of love.

What a jerk.

[raouldukelives]

21. What an idiot. Horrible. Not as horrible as the damage climate change will do of course.

I view many artists of today in much the same way. Moving gargantuan concert & sound stages across the world. Emitting massive amounts of carbon to spread the art they have created.
Is it really worth the damage they are doing to our natural world? Is your creation so great, so special, that contributing to the rate of AGW to share it with people is a good trade-off?
I know personally I could never create art that I felt trumped natures art. Yet today, many do, without a second thought to the natural world or the impact they are having.

[packman]

22. Graffiti in one time

Art in another? Someone needs to clean that crap off the rocks.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[tabasco]

30. Your post indicates

your lack of critical thinking skills.

[packman]

35. Oh, for Christ's sake

lighten up. I think about critics all the time. And just the other day, I found out you shouldn't stick a screwdriver into an electrical outlet to find out if it's working and putting your hand on a stove to find out if it's hot.

[vkkv]

44. You found out just the other day?

That explains a LOT.

[packman]

45. Young man -

when you get to my age, every day is like the other day.

[BeyondGeography]

46. You'd sorta have a point

If he came up with his own paints and used the walls of his apartment.

[Taitertots]

57. But packman.... It's not art because they don't like it

And they don't have the critical thinking skills to understand your comparison.

[geek tragedy]

60. No, it's because a 'tag' is not art. It's just a couple of crude marks.

And it's not at all comparable for cave dwellers to decorate their own interior places with defacing areas of natural beauty set aside by civilization for the enjoyment of all.

Some of us have respect for public spaces and nature, and aren't Randian libertarians.

[Taitertots]

67. What is or isn't art? It's not up to you.

[geek tragedy]

70. So you approve of defacing national monuments for any egomaniac

who wants to put his own semi-corporate logo on nationally protected areas.

[Taitertots]

73. No.

[geek tragedy]

77. then why are you defending his actions and lashing out at his critics as if they

were simple-minded hayseeds who are incapable of appreciating his true merit?

[Taitertots]

80. I never defended him

The part that you don't understand is that something can be BOTH true artistic expression AND a petty crime warranting Punishment.

[geek tragedy]

82. You think vandalizing protected park land

is a mere 'petty crime?'

[Taitertots]

89. Wow, you couldn't have missed it any harder if you tried.

[Blue_Tires]

86. I wonder how many would be defending these kinds of tags?

Aren't they entitled to their "artistic expression" on a state monument as well?

[Stainless]

23. I Once Interrupted Vandals Defacing Petroglyphs

I tried reporting their activity to the Park Ranger in "Valley of Fire" State Park in Nevada. The Ranger did nothing except brush me off with a trite statement that "Oh, that happens all the time". I was glad that I ran the vandalizing SOB's off, but they received nothing in the way of punishment from the law. That was almost thirty years ago.

[Historic NY]

24. Good hope they get the other one Casey Nocket.

http://sfist.com/2014/10/22/despicable_new_york_woman_defaces_y.php

They should give them a toothbrush and cleaner as a start of their sentence.

[SoapBox]

25. Jail their asses.

I HATE graffiti shit.

[tabasco]

27. Throw the book at the asshole.

This is no joke.

[nichomachus]

28. But if some graffiti artist did this same thing

10,000 years ago, we would be declaring this a historic site and demanding that it be preserved at all costs. Time heals all wounds.

[geek tragedy]

36. No. It wasn't graffiti back then.

It was a primitive culture beginning to express art, for the first time, in the only medium available.

Also, that was actual art instead of self-glorifying vandalism.

[nichomachus]

39. No.

There is graffiti in Rome that is now considered valuable historical artifact that consists of rather crude sexual images and such brilliant artistic statements as "Marcus sucks cock."

[RoBear]

47. You beat me to it!

Thanks for making a historical rather than a hysterical response!

[vkkv]

43. Let me say what many here are thinking:

You sound like a bit of an idiot.

Perhaps there ARE other places for graffiti, such as YOUR living room walls, but not in any public preserves. That is what this is about, preservation. Look it up and then have a drink to forget your troubles. Proverb 86-d

[nichomachus]

49. Let me say what many here are thinking

How the fuck do you know what many here are thinking? That's the most goddam pretentious statement I've ever heard.

[vkkv]

54. No, this is one of the most

stupid things I've read here in a good while:

"" But if some graffiti artist did this same thing 10,000 years ago, we would be declaring this a historic site and demanding that it be preserved at all costs. ""

It would not be ILLEGAL graffiti back then and it would not have been in a preserve of public lands.

Do ya see the difference there? Do ya?

Actually, this argument is the most stupid thing I've read here in a while.

[Blue_Tires]

85. Yeah, because spray paint on a rock will last 10,000 years...

[AllyCat]

29. Gosh who else could have created such a masterpiece?

Deport him.

[Capt. Obvious]

42. I'm sure France will take your deportation suggestion into account

[vkkv]

41. just "Andre"? JUST 'SHOOT HIM' !!

The intentional vandalism of public property should be a minimum three year sentence of hard labor.

[Major Nikon]

50. From Wiki...

It is alleged that he has also tagged rocks in Joshua Tree National Park, a true douchebag maneuver. This is a federal crime and he is lucky none of the locals witnessed the act or he would still be eating through a straw.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_%28artist%29

They should change the "artist" to "douchebag"

[petronius]

51. I'm not sure the graffiti alone is what raises it to true douchebag level - it's

that he's a copycat douchebag graffiti artist. It's been done, loser, and emulating some tourist that no had ever heard of is not a real status-raising move for a Mr. Jetset Whatever...

[mindfulNJ]

52. What an a*shole

[hunter]

53. Wrestling him down and creating my "art" on his face with a tatoo needle would get me arressted.

Some of the high school kids who tag my back wall are more talented then this guy, and they do irritate me sometimes, but hey, the most I ever do is bark at them, because it's just my back wall, not a national park or monument, and they are idiot kids. Some of their work I might even consider "art." (But not the gang graffiti or the artless giant penis rockets.)

Assholes like this guy take their artless graffiti beyond the annoying public nuisance level and well into the criminal level.

[Taitertots]

58. What happened to DU? Advocating draconian punishments for petty crimes is not progressive

This thread took a turn for the douche.

[geek tragedy]

59. heavens to murgatroyd! nt

[hunter]

61. It's hyperbole. Blowing off steam. I suppose I could also punch a pillow.

Nope, I've never tattooed any of the kids who paint on my walls, nor do I advocate it.

Tagging the wall of an abandoned building is a petty crime. Tagging MY wall irritates me, but it's still a petty crime. Painting the blank wall of a freeway is a petty crime. Painting over public murals, or driving out to a National Park to deface the natural scenery begins to be something more serious than a "petty crime."

[boston bean]

62. That picture looks fake, no?

I'm not saying someone didn't write on it, but the pic itself looks like someone photoshopped the image.

[geek tragedy]

63. The tagged boulder was verified by someone who went to the trailhead.

I don't know if they've found the location of the larger 'art' piece.

[hifiguy]

64. Toss him in the Big House for about ten years

then deport the stupid vulgarian.

No one gives a flying fuck about your jackoff "art" you asshole.

[seveneyes]

68. Even if it was deigned as art

It should get the same fare as in the city. There's a bad moon rising in the bathroom on the right.

[Aerows]

69. She's an asshat

She has destroyed several national parks with her bullshit, and now some other idiot is following in her footsteps.

[geek tragedy]

76. This is a different one--an uber-pretentious poseur who goes just by "Andre" or "Monsieur Andre"

Hails from France, unfortunately for them.

[Aerows]

78. Assclowns both of them

Who could possibly think it is okay to deface wilderness monuments? It absolutely boggles my mind.

Why destroy something meant for all people?

[pansypoo53219]

87. make him remove it.