Smug faces, military uniforms, strange markings, an open window and a shopping cart full of ill-gotten gains; These are the objects that can be seen in Banksy's street art found on a damaged building in New Orleans, Louisiana. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm, made landfall on the Gulf Coast. In its wake, Katrina left a trail of destruction that killed more than 1,800 people and cost an estimated $108 billion in damages, making it the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. Right in the path of the most powerful part of the storm was the city of New Orleans. (Hurricane Katrina) In the aftermath of the destruction caused by the storm, the ridiculously poor response from state and national authorities, and the large-scale crime wave that followed once anarchy broke out, New Orleans was a gold mine for political commentary. Three years later, Banksy, a world-famous English street artist, arrived. Ironically, Banksy rose to fame through his use of anonymity as an artist. Banksy picks a city somewhere in the world and typically embarks on a month-long anonymous crusade during which he "tags" different buildings with culturally and politically motivated "street art." When Banksy came down to New Orleans, he painted 14 pieces of street art in total, but the painting that stood out as the most blatantly political was one titled "Looters." (Banksy Story) In Looters, two white men dressed in green National Guard uniforms can be seen painted on a white wall of a damaged building next to an open window. One of the soldiers can be seen leaning half out of a painted window and passing a medium-sized television to another soldier. Behind the soldiers is a shopping cart with a big stereo inside... middle of paper... who doesn't alienate his fan base, but is just edgy enough to gain some traction. advertising, and thanks to that, money. So ultimately everyone has to make their own interpretation of this work of art. If the goal of art is to elicit a strong emotional response from those who view it, then ultimately, Banksy's painting "The Looters" succeeded. However, the memory of the actions taken by National Guard soldiers after Hurricane Katrina will live on in the hearts and minds of Katrina victims, not because of a painting painted by a European of them removing all valuables they were able to find, but thanks to the small paintings of X that the soldiers left on all the houses where they removed all the survivors they could find. Works Cited “Hurricane Katrina.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, and Web. March 25, 2014. “The Story Behind Banksy.” Smithsonian. Np, and Web. March 25. 2014.