Artist paints the town blue
Man’s brush with law proves costly
A MAN caught scrawling penises and swear words throughout the Geelong CBD told a court he was a respected street artist.
“F--k the Geelong City Council” and another crude reference directed to City Hall involving an animal were two statements Joel McCartney admitted writing on public property, often using the tag name “C--tos’’.
Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday the 34-yearold was “retaliating” over the closure of public street art walls when he committed the 53 acts of vandalism late on October 12 and early the next day.
The City of Greater Geelong has spent $8038 cleaning windows, buildings and footpaths, but Magistrate Michael Coghlan ordered McCartney repay that money to the council.
As a casual worker with limited finances, the Newtown man was given more than 6½ years to pay off that debt at a rate of $100 a month. He has 120 hours of unpaid community work to complete, with Mr Coghlan recommending he be put to work scrubbing off graffiti and cleaning other mess on the streets.
He sentenced McCartney after he pleaded guilty to counts of criminal damage, possessing a controlled weapon and public drunkenness.
The court was told he was seen branding property by staff monitoring central Geelong’s security cameras, and was confronted by a building worker.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Geoff Lamb said the witness tried to stop the vandal, who threatened to fight.
When police arrested McCartney on Little Malop St soon after, they found nine aerosol cans of paint, nine permanent markers, paintsmeared gloves and a Stanley knife in his backpack.
Despite the discoveries, McCartney told arresting officers “this didn’t happen”, denying all allegations and saying he had the paint because he was an artist. SenConstable Lamb said the defendant was “extremely crude” at his interview, telling officers, “I’m not going to come to court and you can waste more time and money getting a warrant.”
But yesterday he told Mr Coghlan, “I don’t want to waste any of your time or government resources. I want to pay for what I did.”
McCartney agreed he had been drunk, and told the court he had not taken his medication.
“This is totally out of character . . . (I am) respected as an artist and involved in the local street art movement,” he said.
This claim prompted Mr Coghlan to observe, “There’s a difference between (authorised murals in laneways) and drawing bloody penises.”
“You lose all credibility as a street artist if you go and this sort of thing,” he said.
McCartney said, “I’m totally regretful for what I did, and it’s ruined my reputation. My friends all laughed at me.
“I messed up and I’m sorry.”