Artists pleading case against graffiti

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Is it art or graffiti?

Take a look at the paint on a concrete guardrail at 2828 Lyons St. in East Austin and decide what you think then.

The back story

Artists Angel Quesada and Lannea Brooks are pleading their cases to the Travis County District Attorney after Austin police arrested them in October for graffiti.

According to a petition both have set up online, prosecutors are charging them with a "class a" misdemeanor for graffiti.

Quesada thinks the charges are bogus, saying he simply did not know he needed a permit to produce the mural.

"In the end, it was kind of this community beautification," said the Quesada, who has completed a three-year artist residence at the Mexic-Arte museum. "Apparently one of the neighbors had called [the police], the only person in the entire neighborhood that didn't get what we were doing."

The charges carry a $4,000 fine and/or a year in jail.

Quesada has a court date on Nov. 23, and Brooks will face a judge in early December.

Austin police said they just enforced the law by arresting him.

"If you don't have a permit to do something like this, then it's a violation of the law, so wait until there's a permit in hand," Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said.

Quesada said getting a permit can take up to two weeks.

What do you think? Is it art of graffiti?