Several examples of graffiti with a style distinctly similar to Banksy’s have popped up on walls and billboards around LA, both in upscale Beverly Hills and grittier downtown neighborhoods. Some of the images attributed to Banksy include Mickey Mouse knocking back a cocktail, a child soldier firing crayon bullets from a machine gun, and a dog urinating against a wall. In another so-called Banksy creation, painted on the wall of a burned-out L.A. building, Charlie Brown is depicted smoking a cigarette and holding a gas can, presumably contemplating an act of arson.
Many believe the street art – which may or may not be the actual work of known prankster Banksy – is part of a clever campaign to publicize Exit Through the Gift Shop, the Oscar-nominated film about the artist that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year. Speculation that the tagging is a media promotion was fueled by the appearance of an artwork spotted recently in LA and attributed to Banksy. The scene includes a large, Oscar-like gold figure garbed in a hoodie and standing on a red carpet, flanked by “Star Wars”-style troopers.
In one video-documented incident, an altercation erupted over the removal of “Banksy” art applied to an existing billboard on Sunset Boulevard. A billboard company tore down the sign a few days after it had been given the Banksy treatment. TMZ.com reported that the owner of the gas station located at the site of the billboard had offered to pay $10,000 for the artwork but that the billboard workers brusquely declined. A scuffle ensued as the workers stashed the folded-up billboard art into their van.
A spokesperson for the Nevada-based company The Light Group, which had paid for the original ad on the billboard, told TMZ they had not been consulted prior to the ad’s removal, but showed a sense of humor with the comment: “We were flattered Banksy tagged on our ad – it was epic.”
Banksy’s real name has been widely reported to be Robert, Robden, Robin Gunningham or Robin Banks. No one is really sure, but few would argue that he is the most famous unknown artist of all.
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