Click on a press item below to read WikiPages Grand Society Antiques & Gallery - 'Marking it Up' Berliner Literaturkritik Heimat ist da, wo man weg will Daily News Hunts Point's Tats Cru graffiti crew to take city to court for covering 'art' Gothamist Sharpton Urges Harlem to End "Stop Snitching" Trend Daily News Hunts Point-based graffiti arts TATS CRU lend urban cred to Lord & Taylor SEAK: Graffiti and Street Art Diary Künstler Kollegen aus New York zu Besuch The New York Times Walls of Art for Everyone, but Made by Not Just Anyone Gothamist Graffiti Irony MIT Graffiti artists TATS CRU visit MIT Scion Installation Scion Art Tour BNET 2004 Ad e-flux International Artexpo Shows That Art Is Everywhere The New York Times Graffiti with a German (and Bronx) Accent Daily News Fans Show Much Love for Big Pun MTV New Big Pun Mural To Mark Anniversary Of Rapper's Death The New York Times Extending the Life And Lore of Graffiti The New York Times Mural Painters Arrested but Then Released Daily News Taggers Freed After Tribute to Rapper OKd Daily News Memorial for Rapper New York Magazine Guten Tag MURAL PAINTERS ARRESTED BUT THEN RELEASED Publisher: The New York Times By: Julian E. Barnes Published: February 10, 2000 To pay homage to the rapper known as Big Pun, who died on Monday, members of a celebrated Bronx mural company spent much of Tuesday drawing a 35-foot-long mural to remember him. Mourners gathered throughout the day, as Big Pun was a product of the streets of the Bronx. But after the crowd dispersed, the police arrested three of the five artists as they walked home. The three men were released yesterday after the company that manages the property dropped its objections to the mural, but community members and other members of the sign company, TATS Cru, said they were upset that the arrests had been made in the first place. "These are three local heroes who have been doing what they love since they were in art class in high school," said Paul Lipson, executive director of the Point Community Development Corporation. "This mural was a nice way to help people grieve." TATS Cru, founded seven years ago by former subway vandals, has painted commercial signs for companies like Coca-Cola, sets for MTV and scores of memorial murals around the city. "This is just outrageous to put someone through the system for artistic endeavors," said Stacey Richman, TATS Cru's lawyer. "These guys have a clean record. These are truly artists that have taken particular care not to break the law." Ms. Richman said the police should have issued a summons if they thought the three men had acted improperly. The police said they had no choice but to arrest the three men, Wilfredo Feliciano, 33, Hector Navario, 32, and David Perre, 24, on criminal mischief and graffiti charges. The company that manages the property told the police on Tuesday that it had not given the mural makers permission to paint, police officers said, adding that company officials later changed their mind when community pressure mounted after the arrests. Members of TATS Cru have painted several murals on the wall, a business property at East 163rd Street and Westchester Avenue, over the last 10 years and thought they had standing permission to create murals there, said Mr. Feliciano, one of the founders of the company. Mr. Feliciano said he and his friends started painting the mural soon after they learned of the death of Christopher Rios, who performed under the name Big Pun. Mr. Rios died on Monday of problems related to his great girth, nearly 700 pounds. The police waited until the artists finished the mural before arresting them, to avoid angering the crowd that had assembled to mourn, police officials said. "The irony of this is the first day we had police out there with us they blocked off the street and provided lights and everything," Mr. Feliciano said. "They were out there with us for two days." Photo: A 35-foot-long mural was painted on a wall in the Bronx on Tuesday to pay homage to the rapper known as Big Pun, who died on Monday. Three of the five artists who did the painting were arrested but then released. (Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times) All Images and Articles are Copyright of the Publisher View Publisher's Link