#Krogisnotforsale
October 23, 2014 8:56 AM Subscribe
Atlanta's graffiti filled Krog Street tunnel erased in protest. Artists and residents of Atlanta's Cabbagetown neighborhood, angry about an upcoming ticket-holders only masquerade ball (promising a "sultry underground experience" where "taboo will be the norm" for $40 not including drinks) have, in protest, painted over all the graffiti art that made Krog street tunnel remarkable to begin with.
Okay, seriously, while I wasn't a fan at all of the masquerade ball, painting over all the graffiti in the tunnel was really stupid.
/former Atlantan, Cabbagetown resident
posted by Kitteh at 9:02 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
/former Atlantan, Cabbagetown resident
posted by Kitteh at 9:02 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Cabbagetown resident Ryan Splitlog, one of the many people to help with the whitewashing, says the high-priced Masquerade would "spoil a lot of the authenticity of the tunnel"...
Not if we spoil it first!
I live in Decatur and understand why CT residents are peeved, but this scorched earth response seems unnecessarily childish.
posted by echocollate at 9:03 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
Not if we spoil it first!
I live in Decatur and understand why CT residents are peeved, but this scorched earth response seems unnecessarily childish.
posted by echocollate at 9:03 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
Came for the Casey-Nocket joke, was not disappointed.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:05 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:05 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
I've been following this via the Loaf here in Canada but I should really call one of my best friends, a Reynoldstown resident who is on the community board there and ask him his opinion and what has been said.
posted by Kitteh at 9:08 AM on October 23, 2014
posted by Kitteh at 9:08 AM on October 23, 2014
Well, it's an organic thing - prune it and it will grow back thicker. The art in this case is transient to begin with, constantly changing, and at its essence by for and about the locals who use the space everyday. It will return, as lush as ever, once the profiteers have been chastened. It's not like painting over a Banksy (which is apparently also a thing.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:13 AM on October 23, 2014 [29 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:13 AM on October 23, 2014 [29 favorites]
"Take that face!" -snip-
posted by yoink at 9:14 AM on October 23, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by yoink at 9:14 AM on October 23, 2014 [6 favorites]
Wait, was the artwork static in there, or does it get painted over by other graffiti? The first article refers to "the tunnel's ever-changing canvas of art."
So if older graffiti gets painted over, this is just wiping the board clean for the next artists, instead of waiting for artists to do it themselves. If graffiti is a temporary art by nature, this doesn't sound all that bad regarding the impact to the art.
I'm more upset that the event would "limit access to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists for much of this weekend" to a tunnel that appears to be a useful community link. How far would people have to walk or bicycle out of their way to get to the other side? That sounds like closing off a well-decorated alley that serves to connect a community and making it a weekend playground for ticket holders.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:15 AM on October 23, 2014 [51 favorites]
So if older graffiti gets painted over, this is just wiping the board clean for the next artists, instead of waiting for artists to do it themselves. If graffiti is a temporary art by nature, this doesn't sound all that bad regarding the impact to the art.
I'm more upset that the event would "limit access to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists for much of this weekend" to a tunnel that appears to be a useful community link. How far would people have to walk or bicycle out of their way to get to the other side? That sounds like closing off a well-decorated alley that serves to connect a community and making it a weekend playground for ticket holders.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:15 AM on October 23, 2014 [51 favorites]
Couple things:
Though I can't speak to the Krog Tunnel site, painting over graffiti isn't actually that big of a deal in most places — graf is usually understood to be temporary, and other artists will bomb your weak murals. So whitewashing just removes the graf for a little while until people go bomb it again. So, not scorched earth so much as blank slate.
Secondly, I think this is a pretty good illustration of why Lockean liberal economics no longer really works in the modern world. The organizers were trying to take a resource and by mixing it with their labor profit from it exclusively. But there are very few resources without a prior claim, and appropriating that without the consent of the neighborhood rightly provokes this kind of response.
posted by klangklangston at 9:16 AM on October 23, 2014 [62 favorites]
Though I can't speak to the Krog Tunnel site, painting over graffiti isn't actually that big of a deal in most places — graf is usually understood to be temporary, and other artists will bomb your weak murals. So whitewashing just removes the graf for a little while until people go bomb it again. So, not scorched earth so much as blank slate.
Secondly, I think this is a pretty good illustration of why Lockean liberal economics no longer really works in the modern world. The organizers were trying to take a resource and by mixing it with their labor profit from it exclusively. But there are very few resources without a prior claim, and appropriating that without the consent of the neighborhood rightly provokes this kind of response.
posted by klangklangston at 9:16 AM on October 23, 2014 [62 favorites]
From the article, it sounds like the walls are re-primed on occasion for new painting? If that is the case, this is more spite than anything else.
Also something about this being either the main or the only link between two neighborhoods and the masquerade closing this crossing off for the weekend. Which sounds shitty, if the importance of the link is not being exaggerated, and some kind of protest appropriate.
Edit: Welp, fourth in line for voicing this particular thought.
posted by Slackermagee at 9:16 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also something about this being either the main or the only link between two neighborhoods and the masquerade closing this crossing off for the weekend. Which sounds shitty, if the importance of the link is not being exaggerated, and some kind of protest appropriate.
Edit: Welp, fourth in line for voicing this particular thought.
posted by Slackermagee at 9:16 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, filthy light thief, that is why the masquerade was super gross. You'd have to go all the way down to Boulevard or Moreland if you couldn't access the Krog Tunnel. Again, so so tacky an idea.
posted by Kitteh at 9:16 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 9:16 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
I find this hilarious. Hopefully any artists that would normally consider it will maintain the tunnel pristine until after this lame cash-grab is over.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 9:18 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 9:18 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
It's hard to get any attention at all for a neighborhood upset like this. They did it, and without hurting anyone.
posted by amtho at 9:22 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by amtho at 9:22 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
Cabbagetown resident. Totally stand with these folks; the folks throwing this event have not cooperated in kind with anyone in the artist community or in the neighborhood.
As you can find said elsewhere, nothing in Krog is permanent, it's an open canvas for everyone. The overpass is used all the time for promotions. Sometimes those promotions stay up for months; sometimes they're gone in days.
So if the artists want to paint it over, they can paint it over. No doubt the partygoers will do some work themselves, but at least they'll be able to see where they stand with the community.
posted by billjings at 9:22 AM on October 23, 2014 [14 favorites]
As you can find said elsewhere, nothing in Krog is permanent, it's an open canvas for everyone. The overpass is used all the time for promotions. Sometimes those promotions stay up for months; sometimes they're gone in days.
So if the artists want to paint it over, they can paint it over. No doubt the partygoers will do some work themselves, but at least they'll be able to see where they stand with the community.
posted by billjings at 9:22 AM on October 23, 2014 [14 favorites]
This is the first time I've heard the world sultry associated with an underpass.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 9:22 AM on October 23, 2014 [24 favorites]
posted by cosmic.osmo at 9:22 AM on October 23, 2014 [24 favorites]
The last time I was home I was sad to see the Robert Mitchum smoking a joint mural was gone. I must have seen that image a few times a day for years.
posted by Kitteh at 9:23 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 9:23 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, the Krog street tunnel changes pretty much daily, so in a few weeks it will be back to its former glory I'm sure.
posted by dis_integration at 9:23 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 9:23 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
Vigilante justice. Ugh.
I'm not so sure it is, though. It's more like the artists controlling access to their work.
It's like - you know the 5 Pointz graffiti thing that was in New York for a while? Imagine if it had become a community hub as well - on top of being a canvas for graffiti artists, some ad hoc art classes had sprung up around it, and it kind of became a place people could come hang out, it was somewhere kids could go and do something rather than loitering on the streetcorners, etc.
And now imagine if Kanye wanted to have an album release party because it was so edgy and cool-looking or whatever. And the party planners, as a result, announced that it was going to be totally closed off to everyone who wasn't invited to the party. If that was the same day as that mural art class you'd been teaching kids in your building? Too bad, find somewhere else to go or just don't do it.
So the artists who did the art there decided, "well, hell, if you're going to keep us out of our community center, we'll just make sure it looks boring as shit for you."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:23 AM on October 23, 2014 [21 favorites]
I'm not so sure it is, though. It's more like the artists controlling access to their work.
It's like - you know the 5 Pointz graffiti thing that was in New York for a while? Imagine if it had become a community hub as well - on top of being a canvas for graffiti artists, some ad hoc art classes had sprung up around it, and it kind of became a place people could come hang out, it was somewhere kids could go and do something rather than loitering on the streetcorners, etc.
And now imagine if Kanye wanted to have an album release party because it was so edgy and cool-looking or whatever. And the party planners, as a result, announced that it was going to be totally closed off to everyone who wasn't invited to the party. If that was the same day as that mural art class you'd been teaching kids in your building? Too bad, find somewhere else to go or just don't do it.
So the artists who did the art there decided, "well, hell, if you're going to keep us out of our community center, we'll just make sure it looks boring as shit for you."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:23 AM on October 23, 2014 [21 favorites]
What if the masquerade was just a crafty ploy by city officials to have the tunnel painted for free?
posted by uffda at 9:26 AM on October 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
posted by uffda at 9:26 AM on October 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
This is great. They're forcing the organizers to hire artists if they want that "authentic" Krog street tunnel look.
It sounds like the tunnel is going to be closed for 30 hours, which isn't out of the norm for a festival/block party. But without the support of the neighboring communities, it's quite foolish to do. No one likes to be told that their community is just a cool backdrop.
posted by muddgirl at 9:27 AM on October 23, 2014 [8 favorites]
It sounds like the tunnel is going to be closed for 30 hours, which isn't out of the norm for a festival/block party. But without the support of the neighboring communities, it's quite foolish to do. No one likes to be told that their community is just a cool backdrop.
posted by muddgirl at 9:27 AM on October 23, 2014 [8 favorites]
No doubt the partygoers will do some work themselves . . . .
I'm guessing that whatever they paint is going to suck.
posted by Lefty68 at 9:28 AM on October 23, 2014
I'm guessing that whatever they paint is going to suck.
posted by Lefty68 at 9:28 AM on October 23, 2014
I sort of hope that one person puts up graffiti before the event, and it is just a series of crude cocks-and-ballses in navy spray paint, just slumping there awkwardly everywhere you look. The whitewashing is a powerful statement, but the masquerade people will look at the blank walls, and then quickly they will become background, and they will forget their crassness and enjoy their party. It's harder to do that when you're talking to someone who is standing in front of a crude drawing of an 8' penis ejaculating smaller penises.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:28 AM on October 23, 2014 [30 favorites]
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 9:28 AM on October 23, 2014 [30 favorites]
I think that's awesome! Whatever, they'll fucking graffiti it up again afterwords. I'm so sick of the whole "let's preserve """"street art"""" bullshit crap. Especially as I roll past the Five Pointz on the 7 train now.. the cranes are in full force and the buildings are in the process of being torn down as I type. It's all over for that particular once-sacred breeding ground of flamboyant fonts and colorful collage. But the tunnel isn't GOING anywhere. So they painted over the walls. The moron ticket-buyers will have their party with some presumably crappy art that is smacked on the walls for the occasion, then it will be white-washed and the process will start over again. Circle of life, dude.
posted by ReeMonster at 9:29 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by ReeMonster at 9:29 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
This sounds like a great way of protesting.
posted by kyrademon at 9:30 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by kyrademon at 9:30 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
I sort of hope that one person puts up graffiti before the event, and it is just a series of crude cocks-and-ballses in navy spray paint, just slumping there awkwardly everywhere you look.
If I were in Atlanta I would totally do that thing.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:34 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well that would at least make it sultry.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:36 AM on October 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:36 AM on October 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
And Jesus Christ, this isn't for a charity event, as I'd assumed, since this is the only reason this made any sense to me at all.
According to accounts of the meeting, Fox was less than responsive when asked about how much money the event would make, and whether a contribution would be made to the community
....
AFFPS is a private company but has a nonprofit sister organization called the Georgia Foundation for Public Spaces, which assists artists and arts programs. If the event is profitable, Fox says, some cash would go to the GFFPS. The rest would go to cover costs and pay for community benefits.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:38 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
According to accounts of the meeting, Fox was less than responsive when asked about how much money the event would make, and whether a contribution would be made to the community
....
AFFPS is a private company but has a nonprofit sister organization called the Georgia Foundation for Public Spaces, which assists artists and arts programs. If the event is profitable, Fox says, some cash would go to the GFFPS. The rest would go to cover costs and pay for community benefits.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:38 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
The city should keep booking events in the tunnel if for no other reason to than to get all of the butthurt would be Picassos to keep whitewashing the tunnel. Graffiti removal on the cheap.
posted by MikeMc at 9:45 AM on October 23, 2014
posted by MikeMc at 9:45 AM on October 23, 2014
The tunnel is already whitewashed on the regular, and if my experience with community organizations applies, there are likely plenty of crotchety folks willing to whitewash for just the low low cost of having leftover paint delivered.
posted by muddgirl at 9:46 AM on October 23, 2014
posted by muddgirl at 9:46 AM on October 23, 2014
I've seen sultry bodegas, sultry buckets, sultry laundromats, sultry manholes even, but sultry underpass is something I did not expect.
posted by rainy at 9:47 AM on October 23, 2014
posted by rainy at 9:47 AM on October 23, 2014
The masquerading definitely sounds to me like a jerk move - appropriating something that is open, expressive, and public for exlusionary profit.
Shit, I think that painting the tunnel grey right before this masquerade is fucking terrific art.
posted by entropone at 9:47 AM on October 23, 2014 [11 favorites]
Shit, I think that painting the tunnel grey right before this masquerade is fucking terrific art.
posted by entropone at 9:47 AM on October 23, 2014 [11 favorites]
I also find this hilarious.
I have never heard of Krug street before and have never been to Atlanta.
If the event is profitable some cash would go to GFFPS. In that case I expect everything to be spent on ``expenses´´.
When a bunch of ``Cool´´ kids attempt to usurp an area previously inhabited by street artists with seemingly little or no synergy for that area or the artists involved, I can only agree with those who de decorated the venue.
posted by adamvasco at 9:48 AM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
I have never heard of Krug street before and have never been to Atlanta.
If the event is profitable some cash would go to GFFPS. In that case I expect everything to be spent on ``expenses´´.
When a bunch of ``Cool´´ kids attempt to usurp an area previously inhabited by street artists with seemingly little or no synergy for that area or the artists involved, I can only agree with those who de decorated the venue.
posted by adamvasco at 9:48 AM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
MikeMc: "The city should keep booking events in the tunnel if for no other reason to than to get all of the butthurt would be Picassos to keep whitewashing the tunnel. Graffiti removal on the cheap."
"let's spite the community" is a pretty terrible going in position for event planning.
posted by boo_radley at 9:51 AM on October 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
"let's spite the community" is a pretty terrible going in position for event planning.
posted by boo_radley at 9:51 AM on October 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
I've seen some pretty sensual pedestrian overpasses.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 10:12 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 10:12 AM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
Homeboy Trouble, I would be all over helping make that happen.
As much as the Masquerade has been sort of a bastion for me over the years, this has been REALLY shitty of them. Closing that tunnel link is basically using a public passage for private use, and they've done none of the needed steps to help the people who use it every day have an alternative route.
posted by strixus at 10:20 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
As much as the Masquerade has been sort of a bastion for me over the years, this has been REALLY shitty of them. Closing that tunnel link is basically using a public passage for private use, and they've done none of the needed steps to help the people who use it every day have an alternative route.
posted by strixus at 10:20 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
It's not like painting over a Banksy (which is apparently also a thing.)
Weird, the Banksy near my old apartment isn't on the list. He painted it when Exit Through the Gift Shop opened here, in a little underpass tunnel in Chorley Park.
Also seems to me like this is what people mean when they use 'gentrification' as a negative.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:32 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Weird, the Banksy near my old apartment isn't on the list. He painted it when Exit Through the Gift Shop opened here, in a little underpass tunnel in Chorley Park.
Also seems to me like this is what people mean when they use 'gentrification' as a negative.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:32 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
One of my friends lives just on the Cabbagetown side of the tunnel. Because of the size of the railyards, and the little narrow one way streets of Cabbagetown, he really will be pretty isolated from the city with the tunnel closed. I'm glad to see this protest. I hope that tickets don't sell, and this party completely fails.
posted by hydropsyche at 10:37 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 10:37 AM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
Also, Krog Street tunnel previously on Metafilter
warning: very long thread that is slow to load
posted by hydropsyche at 10:39 AM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
warning: very long thread that is slow to load
posted by hydropsyche at 10:39 AM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Better protest: get together enough community money (if possible) to buy up any remaining tickets, and don't go.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:41 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:41 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
"Stefon, what should we do in Atlanta this weekend?" via /r/atlanta
posted by arcolz at 10:45 AM on October 23, 2014 [15 favorites]
posted by arcolz at 10:45 AM on October 23, 2014 [15 favorites]
It's weird how people think that preventing a community space from being turned into a means of generating private profit is childish. It's not a "scorched earth" approach because half the goddamn point of a space like that is that it constantly evolves. It would only be "scorched earth" if they tore down the entire fucking tunnel.
posted by truex at 10:47 AM on October 23, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by truex at 10:47 AM on October 23, 2014 [7 favorites]
Wow, that's hilarious. Look, street art is an underground, for-the-people, uncontrolled thing. Douchebags coming in and saying "we're charging to access this space" just isn't going to sit well. Street art galleries like this get repainted all the time, it will be back.
The links here mostly show shitty scrawl tags being covered up. The Flickr view has more interesting work on display.
posted by Nelson at 11:09 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
The links here mostly show shitty scrawl tags being covered up. The Flickr view has more interesting work on display.
posted by Nelson at 11:09 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Enough with the penis drawings. Goatse the entire thing. Trying avert your eyes when the only thing to see is distended anus will make any sort of merriment rather awkward. Not to mention make any photographs of the event undergo heavy editing.
posted by Badgermann at 11:36 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Badgermann at 11:36 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
> "Better protest: get together enough community money (if possible) to buy up any remaining tickets, and don't go."
Giving them free money does not strike me as the best means of registering opposition.
posted by kyrademon at 11:48 AM on October 23, 2014 [7 favorites]
Giving them free money does not strike me as the best means of registering opposition.
posted by kyrademon at 11:48 AM on October 23, 2014 [7 favorites]
It wasn't a fully formed thought, I was thinking of the negative social capital arising from throwing a bust party.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:51 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:51 AM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
> "Better protest: get together enough community money (if possible) to buy up any remaining tickets, and don't go."
Here here! I agree with Snrub.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:53 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Here here! I agree with Snrub.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:53 AM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Goatse the entire thing.
I see you've played Counter-Strike, too.
*fsssssssh*
posted by Spatch at 12:02 PM on October 23, 2014
I see you've played Counter-Strike, too.
*fsssssssh*
posted by Spatch at 12:02 PM on October 23, 2014
Here here! I agree with Snrub.
That trivia section makes me despair for kids these days.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:23 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
That trivia section makes me despair for kids these days.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:23 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
filthy light thief:As was pointed out above, there are really only a handful of places to cross under the rail tracks. Except for Morland Avenue, they're all two-lane roads. Shifting traffic to one of the other underpasses isn't necessarily a "just suck it up." thing. Especially because Boulevard and Morland are probably used more by through traffic, and there's only a left turn arrow for east-bound traffic on Memorial at Boulevard.I'm more upset that the event would "limit access to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists for much of this weekend" to a tunnel that appears to be a useful community link.
MikeMc:The city should keep booking events in the tunnel if for no other reason to than to get all of the butthurt would be Picassos to keep whitewashing the tunnel. Graffiti removal on the cheap.
uffda:What if the masquerade was just a crafty ploy by city officials to have the tunnel painted for free?
City Plans Fake Party, Tricks Cabbagetown Into Cleaning Up Krog Tunnel,The Atlanta Banana, 23 October 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 12:53 PM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
My neighborhood.
The organizers of this event are notorious for spiting the communities they use as staging grounds for their for profit events. They were so abusive in their dealings about a previous event in a neighboring area (Old 4th Ward) that we filed complaints with the city.
They're closing off a major access point- not just to auto traffic, but to bikes and pedestrians, for 30 hours on the weekend before Chomp&Stomp, the biggest Cabbagetown event of the year- which actually DOES benefit the community. Their event was voted down in the 2 neighborhood associations that they were required to get approval from to get a permit. They got a permit anyway. They have no parking plan for the event. They appear, according to all the research done by my neighborhood association, to be a for profit enterprise, not the non-profit group they tout themselves as. The organizer, Mr Fox, is belligerent and unresponsive to legitimate concerns from the residents.
In short, fuck this guy.
I live in an area that supports all kinds of weird, wonderful events. This is not one of them.
posted by rock swoon has no past at 1:07 PM on October 23, 2014 [33 favorites]
The organizers of this event are notorious for spiting the communities they use as staging grounds for their for profit events. They were so abusive in their dealings about a previous event in a neighboring area (Old 4th Ward) that we filed complaints with the city.
They're closing off a major access point- not just to auto traffic, but to bikes and pedestrians, for 30 hours on the weekend before Chomp&Stomp, the biggest Cabbagetown event of the year- which actually DOES benefit the community. Their event was voted down in the 2 neighborhood associations that they were required to get approval from to get a permit. They got a permit anyway. They have no parking plan for the event. They appear, according to all the research done by my neighborhood association, to be a for profit enterprise, not the non-profit group they tout themselves as. The organizer, Mr Fox, is belligerent and unresponsive to legitimate concerns from the residents.
In short, fuck this guy.
I live in an area that supports all kinds of weird, wonderful events. This is not one of them.
posted by rock swoon has no past at 1:07 PM on October 23, 2014 [33 favorites]
It's possible that would-be attendees were unaware of the fact that this upset the community. Hopefully, enough of them will now realize this, cancel their tickets, and the ball will be a huge failure.
posted by Edgewise at 1:34 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Edgewise at 1:34 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
They're closing off a major access point- not just to auto traffic, but to bikes and pedestrians, for 30 hours on the weekend before Chomp&Stomp, the biggest Cabbagetown event of the year- which actually DOES benefit the community. Their event was voted down in the 2 neighborhood associations that they were required to get approval from to get a permit. They got a permit anyway. They have no parking plan for the event. They appear, according to all the research done by my neighborhood association, to be a for profit enterprise, not the non-profit group they tout themselves as. The organizer, Mr Fox, is belligerent and unresponsive to legitimate concerns from the residents.
This. Between Moreland and Bell/Hill street there is no way to get over the train tracks to Memorial and all points south. (Cabbagetown, Reynoldstown, and to a lesser extent Grant Park, Ormewood and East Atlanta)
Closing it off for an entire weekend? Just a dick move. I hope no one in Cabbagetown needs emergency services this weekend because they won't have an easy time getting in OR out.
posted by BYiro at 1:50 PM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
This party sounds like a total dick move. I love the response of whitewashing the space.
I'm trying to think if there's other stuff they could add to make it annoyingly mainstream and suburban. Not so much that it becomes kitchily cute or mad-men retro. Just enough to make the space suck more as a "cool alt" venue.
posted by rmd1023 at 1:54 PM on October 23, 2014
I'm trying to think if there's other stuff they could add to make it annoyingly mainstream and suburban. Not so much that it becomes kitchily cute or mad-men retro. Just enough to make the space suck more as a "cool alt" venue.
posted by rmd1023 at 1:54 PM on October 23, 2014
Their event was voted down in the 2 neighborhood associations that they were required to get approval from to get a permit. They got a permit anyway.
I don't understand what "required" means in this sentence.
posted by smackfu at 1:55 PM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
I don't understand what "required" means in this sentence.
posted by smackfu at 1:55 PM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
it means someone got a bag of money to make it happen.
posted by BYiro at 1:57 PM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by BYiro at 1:57 PM on October 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
Re: "required"
That's quite the bone of contention.
We have a system of "Neighborhood Planning Units" set up by the city. The smaller neighborhood associations make recommendations to the NPUs, which make recommendations to the city council/zoning board/license review, etc. Events have to be reviewed by the neighborhood associations, then the NPU, then the city. The city required the applicant to present to these bodies, then ignored the NPU decision. For no good reason.
That's why we're frustrated. I spend a lot of time going to a lot of meetings to stay involved in my community.
What's the point?
posted by rock swoon has no past at 2:41 PM on October 23, 2014 [15 favorites]
That's quite the bone of contention.
We have a system of "Neighborhood Planning Units" set up by the city. The smaller neighborhood associations make recommendations to the NPUs, which make recommendations to the city council/zoning board/license review, etc. Events have to be reviewed by the neighborhood associations, then the NPU, then the city. The city required the applicant to present to these bodies, then ignored the NPU decision. For no good reason.
That's why we're frustrated. I spend a lot of time going to a lot of meetings to stay involved in my community.
What's the point?
posted by rock swoon has no past at 2:41 PM on October 23, 2014 [15 favorites]
Should be flat blackwashed. Gloomiest party ever. Or paint it bilious green.
I hope the organizer provides spray paint. In the relatively enclosed space of the tunnel, the fumes will knock everyone on their asses.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:31 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
I hope the organizer provides spray paint. In the relatively enclosed space of the tunnel, the fumes will knock everyone on their asses.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:31 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Homeboy Trouble, I would be all over helping make that happen.
do it do it do it dooooo eeeeeet
posted by louche mustachio at 6:29 PM on October 23, 2014
do it do it do it dooooo eeeeeet
posted by louche mustachio at 6:29 PM on October 23, 2014
When I started seeing this on my newsfeed this morning, I laughed and laughed. But I don't think it will ultimately impact the event very much. The Krog tunnel isn't lit, so it is super dark to begin with, even in daylight. Since the event starts at 8pm, it is going to be only as lit as the organizers want it to be - I don't think one of the commenter's suggestions of flat black or bilious green would make much difference. I drive through the Krog tunnel about two or three times a week; I flip my headlights on to see what has changed. It is both dark enough and changes rapidly enough that I am pretty sure I wouldn't know the place had been painted gray/overlaid with new "graffiti" unless someone told me. Looking at the organizer's face book page today, they seem to be taking all of this in stride. Edit: as I'm previewing this comment, it looks like the post/comments I was referring to on the Masquerade facebook page just got deleted, so maybe "taking it in stride" is relative. The deleted stuff was an attendee asking about the now "missing" artwork, and the organizer assuring them it would be there this weekend.
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 8:43 PM on October 23, 2014
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 8:43 PM on October 23, 2014
rainy: "I've seen sultry bodegas, sultry buckets, sultry laundromats, sultry manholes even, but sultry underpass is something I did not expect."
It's the new thing in Halloween costumes for women.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 8:57 PM on October 23, 2014
It's the new thing in Halloween costumes for women.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 8:57 PM on October 23, 2014
Finally, I'm rich! Let's party under a bridge.
posted by angerbot at 9:21 PM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by angerbot at 9:21 PM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
The action seems drastic but how else are you supposed to fight back these days? Some media outlet dubs your neighborhood "the next Bushwick" and three days later you live between a cupcake shop and a startup HQ.
Cities like Atlanta are particularly vulnerable to blink-of-an-eye gentrification because property is so cheap and regulation is so poor.
posted by threeants at 9:22 PM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Cities like Atlanta are particularly vulnerable to blink-of-an-eye gentrification because property is so cheap and regulation is so poor.
posted by threeants at 9:22 PM on October 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
TheWhiteSkull: "I've seen some pretty sensual pedestrian overpasses."
All the art I've seen on overpasses is pretty pedestrian.
posted by Bugbread at 11:20 PM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
All the art I've seen on overpasses is pretty pedestrian.
posted by Bugbread at 11:20 PM on October 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
rmd1023: "I'm trying to think if there's other stuff they could add to make it annoyingly mainstream and suburban. Not so much that it becomes kitchily cute or mad-men retro. Just enough to make the space suck more as a "cool alt" venue."
Precise and professional advertisements for Walmart, Old Navy, Nike, etc.
posted by Bugbread at 11:21 PM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
Precise and professional advertisements for Walmart, Old Navy, Nike, etc.
posted by Bugbread at 11:21 PM on October 23, 2014 [4 favorites]
The gentrification ship sailed long ago... Krog tunnel links Inman park, where you'll spend > $500K for a 1920's 3br/2ba (renovated, natch) and Cabbage Town, where you'll be spending > $250K for the same thing with a much smaller lot. This is fall festival season and all of these neighborhoods will be shutting down streets for whole weekends; the rub here is that this (Krog masquerade) wasn't what the neighborhood wanted and the event organizer got it pushed through the City of Atlanta permitting process anyway. With the generous tax credits we offer to filmmakers, there is now a beehive of movie and TV filming going on, which also closes streets - we even rented out the Capitol building for a weekend for a Sci-Fi movie to film there. And, with 6M residents living in the greater Atlanta area and one of the longest (in terms of distance) median commutes in the country, there is also constant road construction/repair. Random street closures are a way of life here.
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 4:12 AM on October 24, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 4:12 AM on October 24, 2014 [2 favorites]
Exactly. I moved to Atlanta in late 1999 for a job, and one of my employers had seen the potential for gentrification a long time ago. By the time I arrived, she had been the owner of a pair of Cabbagetown shotgun houses for a while. She rented them out for a $1000/mo then, so I can only imagine what the rent (I think she still owns them, not sure, as it's been years since I've had contact with them) for them now would be.
Intown ATL was rapidly gentrifying by 2000, and when I moved to Canada in early 2009, a lot of neighborhoods that were once sketchy were now commanding $400K at mimimum for houses. As I said upthread, one of my best friends bought a house in Reynoldstown sometime in 2008 for a princely sum and has watched the rise and fall and another rise (due to the Beltline) of his 'hood. He loves it there (he is one of the few people I know who are born and bred Atlantans; most everyone I knew came from away) but is troubled by how ruthless developers can be and how hands off and remote the city fathers can be.
Shepherd and I used to have the long term thought of one day having a house back there for the winter for when we got older, but if I thought I was priced out before, I am surely now. (Also, we haven't achieved anywhere near the monetary status that would allow us to be young snowbirds.)
posted by Kitteh at 4:49 AM on October 24, 2014 [3 favorites]
Intown ATL was rapidly gentrifying by 2000, and when I moved to Canada in early 2009, a lot of neighborhoods that were once sketchy were now commanding $400K at mimimum for houses. As I said upthread, one of my best friends bought a house in Reynoldstown sometime in 2008 for a princely sum and has watched the rise and fall and another rise (due to the Beltline) of his 'hood. He loves it there (he is one of the few people I know who are born and bred Atlantans; most everyone I knew came from away) but is troubled by how ruthless developers can be and how hands off and remote the city fathers can be.
Shepherd and I used to have the long term thought of one day having a house back there for the winter for when we got older, but if I thought I was priced out before, I am surely now. (Also, we haven't achieved anywhere near the monetary status that would allow us to be young snowbirds.)
posted by Kitteh at 4:49 AM on October 24, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'm not from there but I am an artist and I think buffing the tunnel is the absolute perfect action.
posted by subtle_squid at 3:25 PM on October 24, 2014
posted by subtle_squid at 3:25 PM on October 24, 2014
I'm watching the premier episode of Constantine & I'm pretty sure there's a scene that was shot in the Krog Street tunnel. It's in Atlanta, it's a tunnelly kind of place with lots of graffiti. Synchronicity.
posted by scalefree at 6:49 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 6:49 PM on October 25, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was driving up Dekalb avenue this morning (Sunday, 10:30am) and snapped this photo of the Krog Tunnel. It was open for traffic and it looked like there were people in the tunnel... doing something. I don't know anyone who went to the masquerade, nor do I know any of the folks involved in painting the tunnel, so I just seeing things on Twitter. It looks like there was something on the walls by the time the event happened. It looks like people are now "painting it back" today. Caveat: I'm linking Twitter hashtag searches here for #krogmasquerade and #krogstreettunnel, so some of this may scroll off the bottom in a day or two.
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 2:40 PM on October 26, 2014
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 2:40 PM on October 26, 2014
A look inside the inaugural Krog Masquerade,Max Blau, Creative Loafing Atlanta, 27 October 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 1:44 PM on October 27, 2014
Controversial Krog Masquerade Goes On,Candace Wheeler, WABE 90.1 Atlanta, 27 October 2014
Krog Street Masquerade (SLIDESHOW),Jacques Couret, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 27 October 2014
posted by ob1quixote at 1:50 PM on October 27, 2014
Is it odd for that part of Atlanta that the only black person in the slideshow or video seemed to be one of the dancers? It just struck me as really white.
posted by klangklangston at 3:25 PM on October 27, 2014
posted by klangklangston at 3:25 PM on October 27, 2014
It's not like I get out to a lot of society events, but that struck me as pretty typical crowd at such a thing. I think the people pictured dancing were attendees not paid entertainers.
Atlanta has a hodgepodge of distinct "societies" that don't really mix. The people at this party looked like the "art patronage" scene to me — as distinct from the actual art scene that flourished in the area around the Krog Street Tunnel in the '90s. However, keep in mind it's been a long time since I've really kept up with such matters.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:45 PM on October 27, 2014
Atlanta has a hodgepodge of distinct "societies" that don't really mix. The people at this party looked like the "art patronage" scene to me — as distinct from the actual art scene that flourished in the area around the Krog Street Tunnel in the '90s. However, keep in mind it's been a long time since I've really kept up with such matters.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:45 PM on October 27, 2014
"I think the people pictured dancing were attendees not paid entertainers."
In the video? She was one of two women on stage in costume doing choreographed dancing. I didn't see any others, though I wasn't doing a thorough search. I was just curious about the demographics of the neighborhood.
posted by klangklangston at 9:01 PM on October 27, 2014
In the video? She was one of two women on stage in costume doing choreographed dancing. I didn't see any others, though I wasn't doing a thorough search. I was just curious about the demographics of the neighborhood.
posted by klangklangston at 9:01 PM on October 27, 2014
Public Art and Community: What can we learn from the Krog Tunnel controversy?
posted by hydropsyche at 10:33 AM on October 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 10:33 AM on October 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:01 AM on October 23, 2014 [14 favorites]