This story originally appeared in ANTIGRAVITY Vol.5 Issue 1 (November 2007).
The Baddest Brush in Town, Part I:
Who is Winning the Color Wars in New Orleans?
The art-crime of graffiti is probably one of the least understood phenomena of modern urban existence. Are these inscriptions a public nuisance, a symbol of crime, a primeval marking of territory by criminals, or simply free speech in its essence? Who are these nocturnal prowlers dotting the New Orleans landscape with handles like “Goose,” “Nobel,” “Spin,” “Giser” and such? Are these Crips carving out their piece of the city or backpacker-hip-hop kids simply carrying forward a tradition that’s pushing four decades? Are they gangsters—or the next Basquiat? And what’s the difference between them and the campaign workers, bands, show promoters, yoga instructors, contractors, and countless others who take to our public visual space and claim some of it for their cause, whatever it is? To one man, there is no difference. And that man is Fred Radtke.
What is Radtke’s mission, exactly? Is it, as he has claimed in past stories and news reports, to help rid New Orleans of crime by painting over graffiti? Or is it to make himself famous by marking the city with his infamous gray blocks? An ex-Marine, former events planner and resident of Lakeview, Radtke started “graffiti eradication” about ten years ago, claiming that graffiti and other street art leads to more serious crime. The so-called “Broken Windows” theory, which was originally postulated by sociologists and criminologists in the early ‘80s (and made famous by Rudy Giuliani during his tenure as Mayor of New York), argues that in order to contain crime, action must be taken when the crimes are small and petty—before they escalate into larger problems. A building with broken windows must be repaired immediately to prevent more serious crimes, such as burglary or squatting. Critics of the Broken Windows theory argue that crime deterrents may be one reason crime decreases in an area, but many other factors can also affect crime rates, such as employment, education, and access to other resources and opportunities.
Radtke has reportedly painted over thousands of graffiti pieces (including tags, street art, stickers, murals, posters tacked on poles…) with his signature gray paint, a process called “buffing.” His blocks of gray have become so prevalent in some areas of the city, particularly Uptown and the Marigny, that he has been dubbed “The Gray Ghost” by the community and the media; and the objects that he has painted have been “ghosted.” But Radtke is certainly no apparition—he is very vocal about his work and does not limit himself to merely painting the city gray. He has claimed to be an FBI expert on gang graffiti and has successfully lobbied the city to pass ordinances to increase the fee paid to the city for an exterior mural permit.
One Magazine St. business owner reports that he tried to find out the process to obtain such a permit, which he thought would “improve the quality of life” around his business. After calling City Hall (where no one knew the answer) and his local police district, he was told to call Radtke himself. According to the business owner, Radtke was “rude” and asked him, “What if your neighbors don’t want to see it [the mural]?” Rude may be an understatement: in the course of researching this article it became apparent over and over again that some people don’t want their names mentioned for fear of ending up on Radtke’s list; he is, after all, operating in some region beyond the law by doling out his own version of justice.
In the last ten years Radtke has drawn strong supporters, ardent opposition, and general community curiosity, particularly when he comes through a neighborhood and, within a day, buffs the neighborhood’s newspaper stands, street signs, traffic light control boxes, windows, telephone poles and sidewalks. However, supporters and opponents alike concede certain points. The street artists whose work he ghosts grudgingly respect him as “the greatest tagger in New Orleans,” as they believe he has managed to manipulate the system in order to allow his signature gray blocks to cover the city. The business owners and community members who support his graffiti eradication mission admit that some of his actions are suspect, such as painting historic properties, covering over signs on poles with his gray paint rather than just removing the sign, or even obliterating traffic signs to the point that the command or warning cannot be determined. One member of the Lower Garden District community reports that he saw a buffed flyer for a band’s upcoming show and a “lost kitten” flyer in his neighborhood.
In post-Katrina New Orleans, the battle against the Gray Ghost has intensified, with warriors on both sides becoming more heated, vocal, and active as they try and claim the streets. Street artists, taggers, and hand writers have loosely organized against Radtke by specifically targeting his gray blocks for their art, which they describe as a perfect, blank canvas, which begs the question: is Radtke’s approach a “band-aid,” as he has described it, or an invitation, a provocation? Many taggers who live by unwritten rules, such as not hitting private property, local businesses or churches, will tag over a gray block wherever it is because they believe they’re improving on the buff.
Other artists have organized more formally to call out Radtke. The Krewe of Krabkakes, known throughout the city for their stencils of a dignified cat that occasionally dons a clown hat, has begun painting large stencils that state, “Ghost No! Krabkakes Yes!” Krabkakes sees their artwork against Radtke as part of a mission of “community awareness,” which includes political statements on homelessness and domestic violence. Like many other artists, they view Radtke as a “genius” who has managed to “get more coverage than any other tagger out there.” However, their goal is for the community to view Radtke’s work the same as all the other taggers’—as vandalism. Recently, the Krewe has turned their attention away from street art to actually removing the gray paint from street signs. Even community members who support his work are hesitant to stand behind Radtke when he paints over these signs that direct traffic, or stop signs, some of which have been completely covered in gray. In fact, painting on a city street sign is a violation of city law, regardless of the motive or original purpose. The Krewe of Krabkakes is eager to continue the battle against Radtke; however, they want it over as soon as possible so they can get back to painting “beautiful cute things on the street that make people smile.” They have challenged Radtke to a “no-holds barred battle royale to the death for graffiti rights” in the city. While they wait for Radtke’s response to their challenge, they continue to fight him through their art and activism.
Another artist, Michael “ReX” Dingler of NOLA Rising, has become a frequent target for Radtke’s ghosting. ReX is known for hand-painting colorful woodblocks celebrating New Orleans, then posting them to poles throughout the city. Along the same lines, he has also created a number of artistic street signs for the many intersections still missing their city-issued signs. Through this work, ReX started the NOLA Rising Project, which he plans to turn into a nonprofit dedicated to advancing public art in New Orleans. ReX describes NOLA Rising as “empowering people through art” and an effort “to make people feel good about living in the city again.” Most of the removable art installations were painted with simple verses such as “Everybody Radiates Sunshine On The Soul” or even just “Love” or “Smile.” ReX reports that his work was first targeted by Radtke when a street sign he’d hand-painted for his Lower Garden District neighborhood was ghosted. ReX responded by hanging poster board signs throughout the city, most of which continued spreading the cheer that is the hallmark of the NOLA Rising mission, but also directly asked Radtke what he was doing to help beautify the city. Not long after, ReX said his entire neighborhood was ghosted, including almost all of the NOLA Rising artwork. ReX, who also happens to be an ex-Marine, called Radtke to talk with him about his methods. He left a message but never received a return phone call. Instead, his neighborhood was ghosted again, and a piece of art hanging on the fence in front of his home was stolen. But ReX, who calls Radtke “The Grey Gangsta,” is not phased. In response to Radtke’s actions, he has organized “paint parties,” where everyone (regardless of artistic background) makes woodblocks and posters celebrating the city’s vitality and hangs them throughout the city. His next paint party is planned for November 24th, 2007 and is open to anyone interested, including Fred.
Yet another group, the “Radtke Reaction,” began on MySpace in September 2007 and within a day had over sixty members. They see this as the perfect time to get artists involved in the rebuilding of the city and hope to inspire artists from across the world to come help beautify New Orleans. One of the coordinators states that, “This is our city, we’re sick of talking about Katrina, we need to get the ball rolling, we need to get over it and build it into the city we want.” Another coordinator believes Radtke’s repeated actions of “Painting the same spots over and over again without getting anything done is the definition of insanity. This is a war between him and a bunch of kids. He makes his living fighting with kids at their own game.” Radtke Reaction recently staged a protest at Art For Art’s Sake by taking existing artwork on canvas and buffing it gray, stressing the loss New Orleans suffers without art. Radtke Reaction aims to organize artists and others to take legal mass actions (i.e., not painting his van or house or assaulting him) to make a change, because doing things illegally just “proves his point that they [the artists] are criminal.”
Who, indeed, are the criminals in this fight? Next month’s installment will explore that question in graphic detail as Radtke gets assault added to the charges of vandalism; and AG speaks with a current N.O.P.D. officer, the Vieux Carre Commission, and others.
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