MRSA mural at the Mid City skate spot. Photo: Skylar Fein

A mural by MRSA inside the warehouse at 2827 N. Prieur St. The building burned down on Dec. 28, 2010, killing eight squatters inside.

Deep in the heart of Mid City lies a hidden skate park. For over a year skaters, outfitted like pack mules, have been toting bags of cement through the underbrush, then pouring and shaping a bowl. To beautify the space, the city's only skate park, they've commissioned murals from New Orleans street artists, including MRSA.

 I recently caught up with the artist, who shares his name (pronounced "MUR-suh") with a species of flesh-eating bacteria, at the park to talk about Lindsay Lohan, mercy killing, and Sarah Palin.

Skylar Fein: Do you skate?

MRSA: Yeah, I do. There used to be a good spot on Saint Ferdinand Street -- there would be about 30 people there every night. It was right next to the train yard and we would just watch trains, paint on the buildings, bring our crackboxes out and listen to music and drink 'til 2 o'clock in the morning! We could pretty much do whatever we wanted.

SF: I thought the piece at the skate park was a skater Santa Claus, but it turns out that the guy in polka dotted pants --

MRSA: Is the pope! I like using religious or anti-religious imagery, especially here, since New Orleans is so Catholic. A lot my art includes diamonds and thieves and someone running away from something. That relates to me because I scavenge a lot -- dumpstering, or going through abandoned buildings for art supplies, finding things that are valuable to me in places other people don't look for value. And I use aces of spades a lot, because that's always a winning card.

SF: When did you start painting?

MRSA: I first started painting outside when I was like 15, outside of Atlanta. I got serious a year or so ago. I've always tried to write graffiti but I've never been good at lettering. Crazy wildstyle stuff, I've never been into that.

SF: Have you ever done time for writing?

MRSA: I've never been arrested.

SF: Do your parents know you write?

MRSA: Yeah. I started sending my mom some pictures and she said, "Whoa, that's really cool." And when she realized I wasn't just going out with spraypaint she got really excited about it.

SF: It's tough to keep a ground piece looking good, but that pope is a bright yellow. What's the secret to keeping your pope looking so fresh?

MRSA: For skater pope, I used oil-based paint for industrial machinery, and the can literally said "safety yellow." It's THAT color. It's really durable, it doesn't fade, and it's just a nice, thick oil-based enamel paint.

SF: Sounds like an expensive bucket of paint. Or was price not an object?

MRSA: I found it in my basement and I'm assuming that someone else found it and brought it there.

SF: How thoughtful of them! I hear you also make your own markers.

MRSA: I use Big Shot bottles, rip up foam for the tip, and just fill them with ink. The harder you squeeze, the bigger drip you get. They don't really fall apart. If you buy the Big Shot, they cost 89 cents. Foam you can really find anywhere.

SF: How you do pick your spots?

MRSA: I usually work relatively big and relatively slow. So I pick spots that are secluded, or at least dark, and I also take into consideration -- if I'm going to put a lot of time into a piece -- how quickly it's going to get buffed. Some places, they'll buff tags but leave the pieces that people took a lot of time to do. I also like working indoors in abandoned buildings. The only people who see them are other graffiti writers and they stay there a really long time.

SF: Has there been an explosion of graffiti here?

MRSA: Yes, and I don't know if it's people traveling through, or more people writing who live here, but I've noticed more tags that I've never seen before. Two or three years ago, there were probably 20 big writers in New Orleans. Now I'm seeing a 20 new tags every 6 months.

SF: Is there such a thing as too much graffiti?

MRSA: There's such a thing as too many throw-ups. But as for pieces that people put a lot of time into, I don't think there can ever be too much of that.

SF: Who are the writers you're looking at in New Orleans?

MRSA: One of my favorites is Tard. And of course Read, even though he's not technically a New Orleanian. Freya, Harsh, Meek, Bordeaux. I like a lot of Old Crow and Grubs.

SF: Some people will say, "Street art, graffiti, it's all the same! That's against the law!"

MRSA: People who are law-abiding citizens are always going to say that.

SF: Do you respect the law?

MRSA: No.

SF: I once saw a picture of you skinning a rat. I thought you were probably going to cook it and eat it, which wouldn't be that crazy -- we're in Louisiana, after all, and people do eat rodents here --

MRSA: I was vegan at the time. I found it dying on the side of the road. So I killed it and wanted the pelt.

SF: So it was a mercy killing. When you're not out painting, what are you doing?

MRSA: I work doing carpentry, painting, odd jobs. I go to school, I go to a lot of shows, hang out with friends, ride bikes.

SF: Music?

MRSA: Stoner metal, punk rock, hip hop, old country.

SF: Are you worried about radioactivity from the Japanese nuclear plant reaching us?

MRSA: No, not at all.

SF: Is Pluto a planet?

MRSA: Yes.

SF: Will Sarah Palin run for President?

MRSA: I hope not.

SF: Will man reach Mars in your lifetime?

MRSA: Yes.

SF: What do you think of the ongoing Lindsay Lohan scandals?

MRSA: I have no idea what you're talking about.

SF: One drug you can't live without?

MRSA: Alcohol. I guess I couldn't live without Bactrim either.

SF: So you yourself are prone to staph infections?

MRSA: Just cause I write MRSA doesn't make me immune.

Skylar Fein, a NOLA based artist who has shown at NOMA, Art Basel, and Marfa, ventured to a little known New Orleans spot to interview street artist MRSA.