French graffiti artist fined for vandalizing Joshua Tree National Park
French graffiti artist Andre Saraiva, known as “Mr. A,” has paid a fine for vandalizing a boulder inside a Southern California desert park.
Joshua Tree National Park announced Wednesday that the artist paid an undisclosed fine to a federal court on April 1 and that he’d cooperated with park rangers.
The park says officials were notified in February that Saraiva had posted online photos of a boulder defaced with a dotted black O and an X – similar to the eyes in the cartoon face of his graffiti tag.
Saraiva said the paint was water-based and he later removed the graffiti but critics said his posting of the painted rock would encourage other vandals at a time when graffiti problems at the park have surged.
