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New Barrel Monster, Fake Historical Marker Appear In Raleigh

By Richard Saunders, The Raleigh Telegram

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

RALEIGH - A new “barrel monster” sculpture and a fake historical marker have appeared on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, near where the original barrel monster first appeared.

Last year, local artist Joe Carnevale made a worldwide name for himself after he took some orange traffic barrels and created a work of art out of them and placed them back on the scene, near NC State University.

Carnevale drew attention not only because of his work of art, but because he was arrested for stealing the barrels and sentenced to community service. However, in another strange twist to the case, another barrel monster work -- this time a large dinosaur -- was the highlight of the Raleigh Wide Open art exhibit and was guarded by police officers over night.

Carnevale -- or a fan of his -- recently erected a fake North Carolina historical marker on Hillsborough Street, marking his first creation.

The sign says “Barrel Monster -- Sculpture erected on this site May 31, 2009 by artist and visionary Joseph Carnevale. Remained here until removal by city gov’t.”

Further down the street a new barrel monster sculpture can be seen on top of a building directly across from the NC State campus.

What looks to be a female version of the barrel monster with eye shadow, hair, and female features looks out over all of the construction on Hillsborough Street.

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New Barrel Monster, Fake Historical Marker Appear In Raleigh

A new female version of the barrel monster appears on top of a building on Hillsborough Street across from NC State University (top) while a fake historical marker profiling Joe Carnevale’s first sculpture is also down the street. Carnevale also had a big hit with fans with his dinosaur sculpture last year (bottom). Photos by the Raleigh Telegram.