No Sense of Humor?

Barrel Monster

Maybe it’s my age, or maybe I’m more conservative than I ever imagined, but I don’t understand where people’s heads are these day. On May 31st, motorists on Hillsborough Street, here in Raleigh, encountered the “monster” pictured here. It had been created using the traffic control barrels you might see in most construction zones. The so-called, “Barrel Monster” was impounded by the police who began an investigation. A story appeared Friday in the Raleigh News and Observer reporting that police had identified and arrested the artist who created this “work of art.” That’s when things started to get a little crazy.

Turns out, the artist is a 21 year-old student at North Carolina State University. Joseph Carnevale is a self-described street artist who has caught the attention of authorities previously. It seems that Carnevale was responsible for a painting on an industrial tank in the vicinity of another construction project in Raleigh. Apparently, there was enough similarity between the two creations that police made the connection to Carnevale almost immediately.

In a post on his blog, “nopromiseofsafety“, Carnevale has asked that those who don’t want to see him end up in jail contact the Wake County District Attorney, Colon Willoughby, Jr., and urge him to drop the charge against Carnevale. In fact, there are also Facebook groups that promoting the idea of dropping the charges against the NC State student.

What am I missing here? Joseph Carnevale has admitted taking the construction barrels from the construction site in the dead of night, cramming them in the trunk of his car quickly so that no one would see him, and then driving off with someone else’s property. Taking the barrels back to his home, he then cut up the barrels, glued and screwed them together to create the “Barrel Monster” and then took his creation back to the construction site. Under the cover of darkness, he set up his creation and then returned home to await public reaction to his creation.

Surprisingly, there is a groundswell of support for the idea of dropping the misdemeanor charges against Carnevale. Arguments have been made that his creation highlights the fact drivers are entering a construction zone. Some have argued that “the stupid police” have more serious crimes they should be focused on. It has also been suggested that Carnevale be rewarded for his creativity.

In my estimation, people are missing the main point: Carnevale took property belonging to someone else without their permission. He then destroyed that property by “cutting and screwing together the pieces” to create his “work of art.” Not only that, but he did these acts under the cover of darkness and tried to keep from being detected. If he was all that proud of what he was doing, he would have done all of this in the light of day. Or better yet, he would have gone to the construction company to see if they would donate the three barrels for his project. Or maybe even offer to pay for them.

Many of the comments I have seen in connection with this event are young people who thing that “guerrilla street art” is super cool. They are appalled that authorities would dare to hold this young man responsible for his actions. I wonder if their attitude would be the same if Carnevale had taken their car, or their iPods, or some other property for one of his creations. It’s always easy to express support for this kind of vandalism when the property being “borrowed,” defaced or destroyed belongs to someone else. The fact that the value of the barrels is set at a little less than $350 is beside the point. The property did not belong to the artist. That’s the point!

I will make the following concession: Joseph Carnevale is a very creative person. I would even concede that he’s come up with an idea that is worth exploring. Create more of these “Barrel Monsters” and place them at the beginning of construction zones to grab the attention of motorists as they enter these areas. But do it legally, and with the support of the construction companies. Sadly, I doubt if that idea would appeal to someone like Carnevale. If he is like most “guerilla street artists” the whole point is to shock and create controversy. If that is the case, I hope Colon Willoughby, Jr., is successful in his prosecution of Carnevale’s case. At the very least, this young man should be placed on probation for a couple of years to give him the chance to learn what it means to be a responsible member of society.