Have you ever driven down the highway when there’s construction work going on and wondered who makes all the money from selling the orange barrels used to block off lanes? That’s a lot of barrels. So many barrels, in fact, that a student at NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina helped himself to three of them and constructed this most-excellent Barrel Monster.
The construction company he stole the barrels from wasn’t amused and 21-year-old Joseph Carnevale (even his name is fun!) was arrested.
According to The Smoking Gun, “Police estimated that Carnevale’s artwork caused $360 in damages to Hamlett Associates, the North Carolina construction company that owned the barrels.” So those barrels cost $120 each? I’m in the wrong business. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen.
[via Jalopnik]
i’m pretty sure that’s at least 5 barrels. There are three complete barrels, then at least one or two more to make the arms and torso.
I thought the same thing at first but I think the two leg barrels he must have just grabbed from the roadside. The arrest warrant said that he “destroyed three road blocking barrels by cutting and screwing them together to form a statue.”
Still, what the Hey was he doing destroying other people’s property?
c mon fella, 14 trillion stolen from the bankers, at least this fella did something creative out of it. fairplay
Still the fact of the matter is damn its joke, a simple freaking statue that aint hurting nobody. people take things to serious now days live life and enjoy!
-why so serious-
It was funny and it was creative, but it was also property damage. I mean if the kid made something equally creative out of someones hubcaps, though not hurting anybody, the car owner would be justifiably pissed.
People seem to think that since a construction company owns the damaged property and not an individual, then it’s all good.
Oil doesn’t even cost $120 a barrel.
Personally I thought it was pretty funny and creative.
maybe not this week. next week could be a different story.
Although, frankly – for the sake of safety of the workers, which is what really matters – that statue would get my attention much more than just having some barrels on the road.
There is a business opportunity here.
I don’t approve of the act but I think the barrel company should hire the kid. His creation could draw attention to road construction and promote safety. Just more orange barrels are so common now that something like this might impress on drivers the need for caution. This looks like a good way to recycle damaged barrels and promote safety.
On the other hand, it could cause more accidents. When drivers see something distracting on the side of the road, whether it be an officer who pulled someone over or something as cool looking as this, they tend to veer toward the direction of the object they are focusing on.
In that case, they should abolish roadside billboards.
Not really the same thing. Billboards are not at eye level in a lane or on the shoulder.
If it was off to the side more, like on the grass as some billboards are, it would not be as distracting as something that is on the road itself.
i’m sure he can resell it for a higher price. since it’s “art”, there should be some prick out there wanting to buy it.
They had him arrested for $360? Is that even worth the paperwork and the call to the company attorney? Is it possible to see this and not laugh? I’d have put it up in front of company HQ. It would make a good marker for a reserved parking spot.
It’s not about the money. It’s about making an example. If they do nothing, then more people will do it, creating higher amounts of loss for construction companies that have to replace the barrels. Hell, they probably think it was cool, too, but to do nothing invites more, and that would become untenable.
Yeah, just another corporate numbnut
Has anyone here ever gone shopping for an industrial grade traffic barrel? I don’t know what they’re made of, but I’m pretty sure they’re more than just a heap of thin plastic. They have to stay upright and intact in one place under extreme conditions, so it’s not unreasonable to assume that they might actually require raw materials and ingenuity to produce.
As for the $120 figure, I highly doubt the construction company pays that much for them, since they buy in bulk. They probably cost a lot more if you only buy three; and I highly doubt they’re looking to cut vandal guy a deal, no matter how funny or inventive his destruction of their property may be.
As an employee of a company that sells these barrels to construction companies and the government, I can tell you that $120 is not an outrageous price. They are designed to intense MUTCD and ANSI specifications for road use, including crash and weight specifications. They also use expensive diamond-grade reflective tape on the entire exterior so that they can be seen at night. And the base of them is usually made out of some heavy material like recycled rubber to keep it from blowing away. They are worth that price, and it’s a matter of supply and demand.
But $120 is our retail, single-quantity price for the item. If the customer were a larger customer like that and buying multiple drums as well as other things, they would pay significantly less.
in any other case I would make a joke about “dimond-grade reflective tape”. Except $120 seems cheap to me…I figured a goverment required traffic safty device would demand a higher price. Shit, his $360 fine isn’t much more then a speeding ticket in my parts.
http://www.wctproducts.com/traffic_drum_list_page.htm#drum6
$120 is bs. On the website above, the most expensive barrel, with full reflective tape and 40lb weighted base included is only $60, and the minimum order is only 4 barrels. Bulk order should be less.
“The construction company he stole the barrels from wasn’t amused and 21-year-old Joseph Carnevale (even his name is fun!) was arrested.”
Umm, actually they were. It was the cops that weren’t.
Other (more reliable) news sources indicate that in fact, the company’s president *was* amused by the result and far from pressing charges, wants the sculpture and the artist to make another sculpture (t-rex or some such).
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5goNSF8YQ6UVvm122GSzCnR1k24ZQD98S4S8O0
my dad works for hamlett associates. his name is gene underwood.i think they shoud put charges on him because they work realy hard to help our world big.
the barrels are there property of hamlett associates. my dad works for hamlett
the barrels are the property of hamlett associates. my dad is a part of hamlett associates. his name is gene underwood.
Yea I think we gathered that from the other two replies. Great artwork, would love to see more.