Making his mark on Tulsa, a graffiti artist is drawing puzzled looks and police attention.
By Shaun Epperson
World Staff Writer
One man's effort to bring attention to the costs of war seems to have left as many people confused as it has enlightened.
It also has brought him a warning from Tulsa police to leave his spray paint at home the next time he wants to stage a protest.
Dana Pattillo, 47, was warned by police to stop painting black ribbons on Tulsa overpasses and building in protest of the war in Iraq.
Pattillo said he also is responsible for at least some of the mysterious white chalk graffiti appearing around the city. The chalk graffiti features no words, just various numbers in the 1700s, representing the number of American troops who have died.
The ribbons, which were applied with black paint and a stencil, are similar to the yellow ribbon symbol that most people are familiar with, with the exception of color.
Pattillo's point wasn't getting through to many people.
"They just popped up overnight," said Chris Layton, who often visits the Best Buy at 5520 E. Skelly Drive near an Interstate 44 overpass.
"If you look at it, there's an X through the first number and another number beside it."
Layton said he first noticed the ribbons and numbers a few weeks ago.
Similar graffiti has appeared in various locations around Tulsa, including on the Broken Arrow Expressway overpasses at 15th and 21st streets and on the side of buildings along 15th Street.
An employee of the Merritt's Bakery location at 3202 E. 15th St. said she first noticed the number chalked on the side of her workplace sometime in June.
"We just keep washing it off, and it keeps coming back," Amanda Lay said. "The number gets higher each time."
Lay said she has seen the number on other building and sidewalks but wasn't sure what it was supposed to symbolize.
Pattillo said he wanted to use simple symbols to provoke thought about the costs of war.
"We can support and honor the people who serve and volunteer in the armed forces of our country and not agree with the policy that sends them to Iraq." he said.
"Basically, what I was trying to do was just find something that would reach people.
Pattillo, an information technology professional, said he chose to paint black ribbons and to write in chalk the number of troops killed in Iraq because if is a nonviolent form of expression that simply confronts people with an image and a number without being too intrusive.
"What the ribbons are saying is that soldiers are dying in Iraq," Pattillo said. "I just wanted to do something that would stir people up and reach their emotions without becoming a sideshow."
The ribbons and numbers are not the only images for which Pattillo claims responsibility.
He said he also placed small white crosses at a couple of areas along the Broken Arrow Expressway in April.
Police recently told Pattillo to stop painting on public property because it is a misdemeanor offense, he said.
Pattillo said he has since stopped painting but might continue chalking numbers.
He said it is possible that other people have chalked numbers around the city, as well.
Tulsa Police Sgt. Kim Presley said better ways exist to express one's opinions than through graffiti.
"Obviously there's freedom of speech in this country, but it's still a misdemeanor to go out and deface public property," she said.
The city Department of public works has received several calls about the black ribbons, and they will be removed as soon as possible, said Kim MacLeiod, a department spokeswoman.
"It is graffiti, and we need to get it cleaned off," MacLeod said. "When you have graffiti, it just attracts more graffiti."
