Banksy Art Worth Six Figures Ripped Down From Sunset Boulevard Billboard, Crumpled Up in a Ball

By Dennis Romero Thu., Feb. 17 2011 at 12:53 PM

MELROSEandFAIRFAX

Banksy blasts L.A.

Update: A Facebook page has formed to try to prevent his Westwood piece (right) from being taken down. See that story and awesome new photos of Banksy artwork around town here.

British guerrilla artist Banksy has quietly been ninja-footing through town, putting up his signature images in the days before the Academy Awards, where his Exit Through the Gift Shop is up for an Oscar.

The blog MELROSEandFAIRFAX first noticed a Banksy piece -- a boy soldier shooting crayons out of a rifle painted on the side of a Westwood Village ~~Melose Avenue~~ business -- and the hunt was on for more artwork.

Problem is, the hunters shot down a work on a CBS Outdoor billboard, and six-figures worth of art apparently ended up in a crumpled up ball in the back of a truck.

[Video spotted at LAist].

That, at least, was according to Fox 11 News Wednesday night, which had footage of what was left of the Mickey Mouse-inspired Banksy work titled "Livin' the Dream" crumpled up in the back of the truck.

MELROSEandFAIRFAX

This dream died Wednesday.

It appears to us that CBS Outdoor had a crew to take down the work, which was painted over a Las Vegas-themed billboard it owns.

TMZ reported that employees at a gas station below, recognizing the value of such a piece, offered the workers who took it down $10,000 for it but were turned down.

Fox 11 reported that an altercation over the take-down erupted between the workers and a car-wash operator.

Weho Daily stated that a crowd gathered and police were called to the scene.

ThatBalli

Banksy goes down over Sunset.

The station says the crumpled up remains of "Livin' the Dream" ended up on the CBS lot -- presumably nearby "Television City" on Beverly Boulevard.

You would think that if the geniuses at CBS Outdoor have any claim that Banksy damaged their property and cost them some ad money they would have at least preserved the artwork.

Oops.

ThatBalli

A crowd gathered as Banksy's work was removed.

First posted at 6:08 a.m.

Tags:

Academy Awards, art, Banksy, billboard blight, billboards, graffiti, graffiti art

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Ahas

nice post! thanks for sharing!

Apple

The hell? It's a flexible outdoor surface! Rolling that shit up doesn't destroy it just because someone felt like using the misnomer "crumpled". What, are 50 people going to walk it down the street flat? You think no one at CBS saw a bunch of money stuck to something they owned? Don't fret, it'll come up for auction eventually.

I can't believe people are defending BILLBOARDS here! Public advertising is the real trash, vandalizing our eyes everyday. Banksy has the guts to show us that with his social commentary art. Yes ART! This is not the same as gangster taggings people.

jjrey

Its not destroyed...it still belongs to the ad company...they had a curator pick it up from CBS.

ebilz

graff artist are use to this .. as soon as they go up they come down again.. more work will just have to be tagged up.. no point bitching about the work being torn down.. its expected as a graff writer, it's kindof like a building a Sand mandala once your done you know in a short amount of time it will be wiped away.. it's more disappointing to me of the business owners being dumb asses and not trying to preserve the work for auction.. or for their own personal collections but who's know these people don't have art collections.

Dudebro

Good. Why should Banksy be treated any different from any other writer? Big up team Robbo, fuck art fags.

Rab Simpson

"fuck art fags"? Let me guess, you've got a head full of raw undigested beef, you vote republican, you support the unjustified wars in the middle east, you drive a pickup with a star spangled banner on it and you wander around the place chanting "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!"

Am I right? Yeah you're a fucking shaved ape.

Dudebro

Nah I'm from London you little mug. If you knew ANYTHING about Graffiti you'd know what I'm on about, you puny little internet warrior cunt, kill yourself.

Rab Simpson

I know plenty about graffiti you sack of petrified horse shit.

I've got a great idea how we can settle our differences, how about a contest? I bet I can drink more bleach than you, you can go first.

Chris Vidal

Was the dirty Mexican trying to steal it?

Rab Simpson

You're a detestable cunt. Fuck off.

Daddio

It's only art worth six figures if you believe the hype that it's that valuable. Not everybody thinks some graffiti is valuable. If it is, there's tons of it in every city and it's probably available dirt cheap.

Dirkadirka151

Actually, anyone with a dollar determines it's value... but if you can't tell the difference between this and what's painted on your local overpass, you're blind. There's quite a difference between social commentary and just writing your name on something.

FrangoMango

Wow, thats amazing, Put that thing up on EBay already!

www.total-online-privacy.us.tc

Kooqu

I didn't realize that vandalism was considered art.

Stu

haha yeah it is.. graffiti is art. if it vandalizes or not.

Brandon Abell

Now you know.

Dennis Romero

I called a spokesman for CBS Outdoor, by the way, to figure out why they practically destroyed the work, and whether or not they planned to try to repair it, but he has yet to call back.

Hydroman1018

Banksy recently dropped a few cool tags in Portland OR. One was on the side of a Brooklyn Industries store on NW 23rd st.

They painted over it.

yuki

this is a shame, why would they destroy something like that, shame on them

bigriggs

It's spray paint on a billboard that belongs to them. I would have torn it into little pieces and wiped my ass with it.

yoyo

u wouldnt take the 10k the gas station offered for it

bigriggs

Nope.

Com Q

It's graffiti for crying out loud. Just because some fool pays the tagger big money does not make his graffiti valuable, unless people who follow other people like lemmings all fall for the hype. There's graffiti everywhere, and this guy's notoriety does not make his tagging over someone else's property cool, valuable, above the law, or right.

ebilz

yeah theres graffiti everywhere..but does it actually mean anything? besides taggin their own names curse words or crew names?banksy breaks through urban art underworld with a political statements in the most daring of places. almost every piece makes you think... obviously you know little of who is he is and what he is about.

Chris S

Sorry, Com Q, but advertising a.k.a "Brandalism" is the true graffiti in this case. If you'd seen any other works by Banksy you'd see the value in his social commentary and reconsider your position.

Stu

go to indiana... its la its art its genius

Jimmiiiii

don't be a dick. you like the piece, i like the piece, but the simple truth is that whoever owns the billboard/building/etc. can do whatever they want with it.

street art is temporary by definition. don't be daft.

Digital Howie

Get CSI: Los Angeles on the case, post haste!

Jamesd553

Why doesn't Banskey visit the 818 sometime. We need something cultural here. Really bad. I have a gray cinder block wall facing an elementary school on a busy street thy would be perfect for the artist.