mrALEX

This artist's work is an inspiration - we should be praising him with public applause, not detaining him for a crime that is no such thing. His arrest is merely another example of the misappropriation of public dollars used under the myopic auspices of APD and Waste Management. This artist is brining something beautiful to our city - this is not graffitti, this is not defacement of property - art is not a crime.

Recently he painted one of his rainbows on the decrepit west wall of the Red Wing shoe store in Nob Hill. He made an eye-sore beautiful for the short time it lasted - until they came and painted it over. No, they didn't paint over the entire wall, perhaps using the rainbow as an excuse to refurbish the aged paint-job - they left the rest of the rotting paint, merely painting over the strip that was his rainbow. This tiny antecdote (along with the assinine comment of Darren White above - which we can only assume is the established viewpoint of our city government) serves as a reminder of the ignorance and miscalculated virtues of the government which should be serving us.

I say we should take up the artist's vocation in his absence - use alley walls and arroyo ditches and stagnated construction projects as canvases of public inspiration. Bring art out of neat-and-tidy galleries and into the realm where it can truly make a difference. Stop confusing projects of beautification with violence toward property; start expanding our concepts of imagination and reconceiving the ways in which artistry serves the public good as an instrument of catharsis.

This artist's detainment is an abomination of justice, a waste of public funds, and a blight on the moral standing of our community. I have lost what little respect I had for the city government of Albuquerque. The fact that this post may seem hyperbolic and my demands absurd to most readers only serves to show the extent of contemporary disrespect for the arts and the naivete of those who elevate property over the public good.