Art Is Not A Crime ~ Aerosol on canvas by ReX Dingler

“Fred Radtke and I in a show together.  Like two feuding brothers.  Proceeds from the sale of either piece go to an art scholarship as requested by Radtke.  When they contacted him and he said he’d do it, he would only do it if the piece was going to be for sale and that the proceeds went to an arts scholarship.  So, they contacted me to see what my opinion was and if I wanted to put a piece in.  I was floored.  And I think it’s admirable of him to do it.  So, I told them that I’d put a piece in if the same stipulation applied…that the piece would be for sale and that it would go to the art scholarship that was picked by either Radtke or whomever chose it.” ~ReX Dingler*

The UK art exhibit 100sqft 5, New Orleans edition, debuts Saturday night, October 23rd as part of “Arts After Dark” at ArtEgg Studios, 1001 South Broad Street from 6:30pm – 10:30pm. According to ArtEggs Studio manager Ashley Boudreaux in today’s Lagniappe, Fred Radtke, aka The Grey Ghost, will be participating in the show. Apparently, someone ironically suggested that unclaimed squares in the exhibit be “greyed” out , referring to Mr. Radtke’s years of indiscriminately painting cement colored paint over graffiti, murals and street art in the city and engaging ReX Dingler in a prolonged “graffiti war”. Ms. Bourgeois contacted him about participating in the show and was “absolutely floored and touched” when he agreed.  “Floored” I get, “touched” – not so much.

The meeting of ReX and The Grey Ghost will definitely add a layer of  interest to the “Arts After Dark” open house for locals familiar with the past history of these two. In the spirit of good artsmanship, ReX has shared the Lagniappe story on his FaceBook page and Twitter today. ReX’s  contribution to the show is the art pictured above but, as of this writing, Fred Radtke’s contribution remains unknown.

~ ~ ~

*Rex Dingler is a New Orleans native who believes that the will of the people is the force of life & that philosophy follows into his artwork. Heralded as the street artist who founded NoLA Rising, a project that delivered hope across New Orleans in post-Katrina months, Rex quickly spread his message of renewal, rebirth and faith to over 30 countries. Rex has exhibited in New York, Miami, Tel Aviv and New Orleans and has been working to promote a mural arts program in Greater New Orleans. Rex’s street art roots have most recently been prominently mentioned in Untitled II: The Beautiful Renaissance; an international street art book published in London. He has been the subject of debate on numerous websites in New Orleans, New York and abroad, most notably in the Village Voice and CultureBot where they deemed him the leader of the largest contemporary arts movement in the American South. His works have appeared in every type of media; details of which can be found in the publications: The Times-Picayune, The Gambit, City Business, Antigravity Culture Magazine, Where Y’at, The Oregonian, CultureBot, Preservation in Print, The Trumpet, The Village Voice, MTV and local television stations WDSU and WWL.