MILWAUKEE — Koi fish street art can be found all around Milwaukee, painted by artist Jeremy Novy. Heather Ladage commissioned Novy to paint some on her street.
"Koi, if you know much about them, they represent, in Asian cultures, good fortune and perseverance," Ladage said.
The originals were completed in October, but when the snow cleared, black paint had appeared on them. Not thinking much of it, Novy repainted them the past Sunday. By Monday morning, all three had been spray-painted over in green with an anti-LGBTQ slur underneath.
"In less than 24 hours, uh, she sent me a picture showing that someone had sprayed green over them, and then uh the word F**, with them, which I found quite shocking," Novy said.
"I definitely feel like it was a personal attack on my sexual orientation, and me as like a person," Novy said.
The koi fish do not carry an inherent LGBTQ-aligned symbol, and Novy says this is the first time something like this has happened in over a decade.
Watch: Milwaukee koi fish murals defaced with anti-LGBTQ slur weeks before Pride Month
"I think I was surprised definitely in the neighborhood," Ladage said.
The vandalism comes just two weeks before the start of Pride Month, which is celebrated in June.
"For this person to end up removing it, it's not like they're just removing it from me, it's just like something that only I'm gonna see. They're actually removing it from the neighborhood, and they're removing it from people that deserve and should be able to see art in the world instead of just staring at gray concrete," Novy said.
Ladage hopes the vandalism does not deter Novy from continuing his work.
"He should keep pursuing his street art and persevere like the koi do," Ladage said.
Ladage reported the incident to the police. TMJ4 reached out to the Milwaukee Police Department but have not heard back.
NOTE: LADAGE IS THE PUBLISHER OF THE MILWAUKEE BUSINESS JOURNAL, A PARTNER OF TMJ4'S
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