Porn king paints over RSA mural

CHRIS HILLOCK/ Taranaki Daily

ICONOCLAST AT WORK: Steve Crow paints over the mural on the front wall of the New Plymouth RSA yesterday.

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The battle between Steve Crow and the New Plymouth RSA kicked off again yesterday.

Mr Crow and a band of helpers painted over the mural, which showed all branches of the armed services, on the wall running along Devon St East.

The move, which is sure to anger supporters of the RSA, followed a quiet period over the Christmas-New Year holidays.

The Taranaki Daily News fielded lots of calls from the public yesterday about the painting. However, nobody would leave a name or comment on the record.

Telephone calls made by the Taranaki Daily News yesterday to club president Roy Komene went unanswered and messages were not returned.

Senior vice-president Tex Schwass would not comment.

Mr Crow and his brother, David, bought the Strandon clubrooms in July 2008, as part of a promise to their dying father that they would keep the club, which was in danger of going broke, open.

He had signalled his intentions to paint over the mural back in April 2009, and was not concerned who was upset by the move.

"At the end of the day, I'm painting my wall," he said.

"No matter what we are going to do, it will put people's noses out of joint."

Mr Crow said the mural was about eight years old and it was time for a change.

"It is chipped and flaking in places. It is our wall and we wanted to freshen it up.

"It is a beautiful piece of art but its time has come and it's time to move on," he said.

The mural was seen as a barrier to the entry of young and non-military people to the club.

Mr Crow plans to offer use of the wall to the promoters of the Womad Festival within the next few days.

He would like to run an annual competition for some of New Zealand's best graffiti artists to decorate the wall to promote the festival. A cash prize would be offered.

"It is the gateway to New Plymouth and hopefully we will get some of the Womad business," Mr Crow said. "I think it will look really cool."

The mural had been professionally photographed and would be digitally reproduced and offered to the RSA for the museum that Mr Crow intends to build at the site. He had not heard back from anyone about the offer.

- © Fairfax NZ News