The star of street art Banksy was marked by minor graffiti artists.
Two of Banksy’s few pieces from New Orleans were disfigured over the Christmas weekend, with vandals nearly drilling holes in the barriers of both and writing in red spray paint “Team Robbo” in one and “King Robbo” in the other.
The 1434 N. Rampart St. “Umbrella Girl” mural, understood as a symbol of the dike system’s failure to protect New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, was the most severely labeled of the two, although fans were quick to try to protect it. more damage.
“There are people out there who just don’t like Banksy and others who see the destruction of their work as a way to make a name for themselves, but preserving this mural isn’t even about Banksy for me,” local street art tour guide Carlos Fundora told The Post on Monday. “The people of New Orleans lost a lot this year because of the pandemic, and this public work of art is a source of comfort and joy for many of them.”
So it’s no surprise that the public’s reaction to his power to wipe out the vandalism of “Umbrella Girl” was intense: “People in the cars were yelling at me, thinking I was damaging it,” Fundora told NOLA.com.
He was able to remove mainly the red tag from the piece.
“I said, ‘What’s that red?'” Julie Posner told the local media about the moment she noticed the tag when she left the building where the other mural is on Saturday. “What made my heart sink was the permanence of it. It is so selfish. “
The label is believed to be a reference to the late English graffiti artist King Robbo, who is believed to have been Banksy’s rival. The claim is reinforced by the fact that the hole cut in the barrier of the 12-year-old artwork looks like a headstone.
The owner of the building on Clio and Carondelet Street, restaurateur Greg Surrey, said he gave Banksy permission to paint the mural, known as “The Gray Ghost”, in 2008. Surrey told NOLA.com that he plans to remove the tag and replace the plastic barrier, adding that he has already considered paying to have the paint removed (a process that, he estimates, would cost at least $ 20,000) so he could auction it off, but so far he has chosen not to.
“I’m just going to sell Banksy and play in the building,” said Surrey.
“The Gray Ghost”, one of about 15 stencil pieces that the secret street artist placed in New Orleans in August 2008, shows – in typical Banksy meta style – a man erasing a graffiti painting of a sunflower.
Banksy’s other stencils of the period were quickly erased, NOLA.com recalls, with building owners, graffiti erasers and markers almost immediately painting and removing them. The mural on Surrey’s wall has survived longer thanks to the plastic barrier he installed, allowing it to become a place of pilgrimage for Banksy’s fans.