Criminal Vandalism Or Creative Publicity?

By Natalie Fioto

On the night of May 31, North Carolina State University student Joseph Carnevale chopped up three stolen orange and white traffic barrels from a construction site to create a massive sculpture of a roadside monster thumbing a ride on Hillsborough Street.  Carnevale thought of it as art, but police just saw immature vandalism.  They dismantled the 10-foot “barrel monster” and arrested Carnevale on June 10.

Carnevale is in danger of facing serious legal ramifications for his choice of materials and will be charged for larceny and destruction of property.  With a previous theft of a motorboat charge two and a half years ago, he was in violation of his probation and is facing six months in jail.

But not everyone is on favor of Carnevale’s arrest.  “We’ve had a fair amount of vandalism, but never anyone turn it into art,” president of Hamlett Associates (the barrel owner) Steven Hussey said.  “I actually though it was pretty neat.”  Facebook groups such as “Save the Barrel Monster!!!” and “Don’t charge Joseph Carnevale” have attracted more than 12,000 members worldwide trying to persuade Wake County Prosecutor C. Colon Willouby, Jr. to drop the charges.

Carnevale’s “barrel monster” has in fact created huge amounts of media exposure for Hamlett Associates, although their name was falsely identified in initial reports.  News stories have appeared on msnbc.com, news.aol.comand many other publications throughout the nation.  “It’s been positive publicity for us.  If we’d known he’d do that good of work, we’d have given him the barrels,” Hussey said.  The value of publicity for his company is well above the $365 cost of the barrels Carnevale used.  Hamlett Associates does not want to press charges, and even wants a replica of the figure to display in the company’s offices.

It is not surprising that much of the public is pro-barrel monster.  The sculpture played on the irritation and frustration we all feel as we try driving through 5 o’clock traffic with construction barrels lining the two-lane street.  A construction company that can make light of the stressful situation while offering a little humor could provide the city with a new souvenir and publicity.