Guerrilla Art Group Mocks Exclusive L.A. Enclaves (Are you a victim of "Guerrilla Art"?)

Yahoo - Reuters ^ | Apr 26, 2005 | Howard Breuer

[SaltyJoe]

Guerrilla Art Group Mocks Exclusive L.A. Enclaves By Howard Breuer Tue Apr 26, 8:49 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a city where fame is an industry and privacy is a mark of privilege, guerrilla artists have erected mock guard towers to protest what they see as a disturbing proliferation of gated communities.

Heavy Trash, a coalition of anonymous architects, designers and urban planners, erected the bright orange, 12-foot viewing platforms outside the gates of three upscale Los Angeles neighborhoods.

"Walling off one section of the city from another section is not the right solution," said a Heavy Trash member who identified himself as Jake, an inner-city developer.

"We feel that gated communities are becoming popular at a very alarming rate, and that 10 to 20 years from now, people will realize that the gates are an anathema to a democratic, open society, and that they instead make for a more fearful society."

[SaltyJoe]

I recommend the communities that are victimized by Guerrilla Art to rally...in Roman styled battle gear no less. Meet this barbaric art at the gates and destroy it by fire and sledge hammer. And with great ceremony extinguish the flames of jealousy via portable fire extinguishers. Afterwards, the gated-community crowd can use the broken remains of their arch enemies' war equipment as fuel for a bar-b-que.

BTW, please video tape this event and make it available to other gated communities as an example of strength of self-preservation and rejection of urban vice too easily available to the public (think of the children!).

Invite the local rescue, fire, and police departments to witness (for safety too), and then cook them some hot dogs and burgers.

[oldleft]

""Walling off one section of the city from another section is not the right solution," said a Heavy Trash member who identified himself as Jake, an inner-city developer."

Solution for what? What's he talking about?

I wonder if these people have ever been to Mexico, where every middle class and above house has a wall around it?

See, Jake, this is what you get in the end you commie little puke!

[Army Air Corps]

"...people will realize that the gates are an anathema to a democratic, open society,..."

Translation: "privacy is antithetical to the collective good."

Sounds like a group of neo-socialist busybodies to me.

[conserv13]

They are not vandalizing anything or making any noise.

[Migraine]

"Walling off one section of the city from another section is not the right solution," said a Heavy Trash member ...

Yeah. That's right, man. Expensive neighborhoods should be open to all the hoodlums, addicts and other assorted trash, so they can walk right in and see how the other half lives, maybe learn a lesson from it (or, failing that, make off with some of that excellent loot).

[Restorer]

the gates are an anathema to a democratic, open society, and ... they ... make for a more fearful society.

Methinks he doth confuse cause and effect. People want to live in gated communities largely because they're scared.

That said, I'm no great fan of them.

[Carry_Okie]

I recommend the communities that are victimized by Guerrilla Art to rally...in Roman styled battle gear no less. Meet this barbaric art at the gates and destroy it by fire and sledge hammer. And with great ceremony extinguish the flames of jealousy via portable fire extinguishers. Afterwards, the gated-community crowd can use the broken remains of their arch enemies' war equipment as fuel for a bar-b-que.

Vandalism, arson, operating an incinerator without a permit, and and air quality violation. 25 years and a $50,000 fine, minimum.

How dare these people choose to construct a defensive perimeter! What's a garage door without tags and graffiti?

[1FreeAmerican]

And usually it's about ten feet high with broken chard's of glass embedded in the top!

[Bella_Bru]

I myself would never want to live in a gated community, but why do these morons care if someone does?

[Abathar]

Heavy Trash, a coalition of "anonymous" architects, designers and urban planners, erected the bright orange, 12-foot viewing platforms outside the gates of three upscale Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Sounds like a group of liberal arts students who never made it on the starving artists tour and found that their degree was useless. Had to get real jobs and then do this "Anonymously" so their friends don't find out they stooped so low as to work to pay the bills.

[Army Air Corps]

ROFLMAO! Methinks that ye hit ye olde nail on yon head! They decry the desire for privacy that the homeowners harbour, yet, the "rebels" think that privacy for them is okay. If they think that privacy is anti-democratic, then these "anonymous" punks should take a lesson from their own book.

[reagan_fanatic]

"Walling off one section of the city from another section is not the right solution," said a Heavy Trash member who identified himself as Jake, an inner-city developer. "It's hard enough breaking into a house these days without having to scale a wall first."

[DumpsterDiver]

The artists' Web site, www.heavytrash.blogspot.com, says that people "do not want walled fortresses dividing their neighborhoods or blocking off what would otherwise be public streets and sidewalks."

It also cites poet Robert Frost: "Something there is that does not love a wall/That wants it down ..."

That line by Frost is from The Mending Wall. The last line of the poem is: 'Good fences make good neighbors.'

[tsomer]

Urban planners? Architects? Designers?
They're the one's directly responsible:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1391852/posts?page=3#3

They need to prosecute those people for defacing public property.

No doubt it will invoke a free speech debate, but there is a line. A rock thrown through a window is a form of speech too; it is still illegal.

I'm sure there are plenty of ordinances, most written by "urban planners," that can be invoked. It would be fun to see these idiots hung from their own rope.

[Republicanprofessor]

Frost is also talking about stone walls. The misquotes in this article are amazing; well, maybe not, knowing how liberals love to twist the truth.

If walled communities proliferate, I would venture to say that it is because the owners WANT such walls.

Ping for the art group.

[DumpsterDiver]

If walled communities proliferate, I would venture to say that it is because the owners WANT such walls.

Oh, no doubt about it, however, the "coalition of anonymous [aka cowardly] architects, designers and urban planners" just hate being shut out as if they were common riff-raff.

[Mr. Jeeves]

I agree with the protesters. It makes much more sense to put the walls around the ghetto, instead. And lock the gates. ;)

[Sam Cree]

Well, this thread gets to the point that "artists" tend to regard themselves both as free spirits and socialists. Simultaneously. A contradictory position, which in my mind, is brought on by the inhalation of fumes from solvents. Just kidding, but sometimes I can't help but wonder.

I guess there is also the point that, since so many artistic standards have been discarded by 20th century artists, people who really have no skill at all now refer to themselves as artists. A negative result of the concept of art with a capital "A."

Not sure whether to ping you guys to this thread or not, since it isn't strictly art, but will give it a try. Let me know what you think.

[SaltyJoe]

If I had children, I'd prefer a gated community (especially if I lived in L.A. or similar cities).

If I had anything worthy of value, I'd consider a gated community over other communities.

It's not "fear". It's common sense and the reality that evil exists. If you value your property, then you are obliged to keep it from being stolen by people who don't value the law. Otherwise, don't own anything.

A common thug response to excusing their thieving activity is to state, "If they didn't want it stolen, they should have protected it better. If I didn't steal it, some else would have."

[SaltyJoe]

Maybe using the open flame of fire is going a bit overboard...so power saws (electrical or pneumatic if necessary) will replace the touch!