Photo by dcJohn.This morning, news came that District police had arrested Asad ULTRA Walker, a street artist that police allege goes by the moniker “MAR5”, on Sunday morning.
MPD Sergeant Jon Dorrough sent a message to the department’s Fifth District listserv announcing the arrest, which we’ve excerpted below:
…I want to give kudos to our 5D Vice Officer Jonathan Jordan, who arrested a major player in DC’s tagging/graffiti subculture Sunday morning. Known by the moniker Asad ULTRA Walker, aka “MAR5”, this subject is a leader and founding member of the “KGB” graffiti crew that dates back to at least the early 90s. Current members of this crew are responsible for a huge amount of the graffiti across the city, including the Shaw, Columbia Heights, Brookland and Eckington neighborhoods. I’m sure many of you will recognize the “MAR5” and “KGB” tags.
Dorrough did not specify what, specifically, Walker was arrested for. (Based on a search of court records, Walker was not processed through the District justice system, so we’re guessing the arrest was likely a minor citation. We’ve contacted police for more information and will update if and when we hear back.) Meanwhile, listserv members generally applauded the arrest — one commended the police for “nabbing the defacer of private and public property.”
But Walker is no regular hoodlum with a spray can.
In fact, in addition to being a participant in various city art festivals and having his work featured in the Smithsonian Castle, Walker is scheduled to lead a program on tagging as part of a series of art workshops hosted by the D.C. Public Library. A “Graffiti Lettering” workshop to be helmed by Walker is part of the library’s summer programming — the Library’s website invites 12 to 19-year-olds to the Southeast Library tomorrow afternoon to “learn graffiti letter writing and its relationship to the history of fonts,” “develop your own graffiti style, focusing on layout and color,” and “learn about graffiti history in DC and throughout the world, and about graphic design as a career.”
So the city’s police is instructing residents to “to report tagging and illegal graffiti as the crimes they are,” while the city’s library is hosting a tutorial to teach such skills to teenagers. Obviously, the debate over street art is an old one — but it’s certainly an interesting twist to see it being battled out inside the District government.
UPDATE: (3:07 p.m.) Walker has responded to an email from DCist requesting comment, choosing to keep his comments to a minimum, but describing the comments in Durrough’s email to the listserv “premature and prejudicial.”
“I have been quite open with my identity as ULTRA and have actively promoted the understanding of graf culture for many years,” wrote Walker. “I am trying to do good work with good people, by fostering understanding between graf and non-graf folk, and I hope these charges don’t harm any of their endeavors.”
“It doesn’t seem we’re off to a good start towards a fair hearing,” he added.
The police have yet to respond to our request for comment and information, but we’ll obviously update if and when they do.
