Graffiti artist paints red and gold tribute to Pope
(7 Apr 2005) 1. Wide shot of Spanish Harlem 2. Close up of local people 3. Wide shot of Spanish Harlem 4. Medium shot of artist James De La Vega lowering shutter with Pope mural, "God's Revolutionary", on it 5. Cutaway, man crosses himself 6. Man views mural 7. De La Vega spray paints on picture 8. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) James De la Vega, artist: "I believe that in a world with lots of wars, much poverty, and many people fighting against each other, I'm surprised that the world stops to honour such a powerful man." 9. Close up chalk drawing also done by De La Vega, of a black pope with words in English: "Vote 4 the black pope" 10. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) James De la Vega, artist "A man like him is really important for a community like this, where people are deeply religious. Here many people don't respect politicians or people like that, but they do respect the man who believes in God, who spreads the word of God, because that is sacred." 11. Close up Pope mural 12. Medium shot mural, man walks by 13. Wide shot street with mural 14. Various shots De la Vega spray-painting another picture of the Pope onto a canvas on the pavement GRAFFITI TRIBUTE TO POPE A renowned New York graffiti artist, arrested last year for defacing the facade of a building in the Bronx area of the city, was back in everyone's good books on Wednesday after spray-painting - with permission - a bright red and gold tribute to Pope John Paul II. James De La Vega says his latest work, painted on the security shutter of a storefront in Spanish Harlem, was created to bring hope to the poor and struggling in his Manhattan neighbourhood. The "God's Revolutionary" mural portrays a praying pope looking at a crucified Christ as a man with his head bowed stands off in the distance. It took De La Vega two hours on Sunday to complete the mural, and he hopes it will become a permanent fixture. The Pope, he says, was "really important for a community like this, where people are deeply religious. Here many people don't respect politicians or people like that, but they do respect the man who believes in God, who spreads the word of God." De La Vega returned to his native Spanish Harlem after graduating with an art degree from Cornell University in 1993. He uses the brick facades of the buildings as his canvas and the sidewalks as his chalkboard, and aims to bring a spirit of renewal to the area. On one wall he depicted the Last Supper, painting black and white skeletons at the table instead of the apostles, to underscore the poverty of the Harlem streets. On another wall in a building housing a food market, De La Vega painted his motto: "Become your dream." He was arrested for vandalism, but the market owner told police he had given the graffiti artist permission. It wasn't true, but the owner felt the artist didn't deserve to be arrested for trying to lift people's spirits. Last July, De La Vega was not so lucky. Police arrested him for painting a fish jumping out of a bowl onto the brick wall of a Bronx building, without prior approval. He was convicted by a judge of graffiti and criminal mischief, and ordered to serve 50 hours of community service. But De La Vega's brush with the law has done nothing to dampen his enthusiasm for his work. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
