For those of us who live in The Coachella Valley, we sometimes take for granted that we are fortunate enough to live near one of the most unique and beautiful places in the world: Joshua Tree National Park. Unfortunately, we also live around a bunch of so-called assholes “street artists” who see natural beauty as the perfect canvas for graffiti.
The LA Times reports that “artists”, such as Casey Nocket and Mr. Andre, have been coming to Joshua Tree in increasing numbers:
Federal officials say graffiti is surging in some parks, even as it has been declining in most others. Hardest hit are those near population centers, such as Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the San Francisco Bay Area and Joshua Tree, which is a two-hour drive from Los Angeles and near Coachella Valley communities.
In Joshua Tree alone, graffiti artists vandalized the popular Rattlesnake Canyon in 2013, requiring an extensive cleanup; workers just finished removing etchings from the face of Barker Dam, and in February, someone painted a large, bright blue giraffe on a boulder in 49 Palms Oasis.
About the same time, someone painted a menacing 8-foot-by-12-foot image of a skull on the wall of a historical structure in a nearby area known as the Wonderland of Rocks.
And while National Parks like Joshua Tree add new ways to fight graffiti such as hidden cameras, many question why someone would even want to deface such natural beauty in the first place – all the while committing a crime? Jeremy Cross, an artist and curator at the Night Gallery in Santa Ana, says it is all about getting attention.
“In the modern art climate, throwing graffiti up on a downtown wall is passé,” Cross told The LA Times. “Tagging a national park ups the ante. Of course, you’re setting yourself up for a public stigma — and not a good one.”
