Hooked Up - Stolen Banksy

Got hooked up with some 'stolen' Banksy's. Well, actually, its a brochure and some mini prints that were not stolen, from the art show in the Hampton's which featured the artwork from Banksy that was stolen.

Not all of the pieces were actually stolen. Some were cut out of walls with the building owners permission. The ones that were harvested with the owner's consent are mentioned, but perhaps the most poignant pieces in this show, the pieces taken from Palestine and including one portraying a little girl frisking an armed soldier, were taken without permission. These pieces were hacked right out of the walls, and if they weren't stolen from the building owners themselves, the message was definitely stolen from the people of Palestine.

It is also fascinating to note that many of these pieces were touched up--and some of them even had other graffiti and 'street' effects, painted off of it. Its like the uber-rich want the semblance of street, but not the street itself.

Many of our LA readers might be familiar with the 'I'm out of bed and fully dressed--what more do you want?' rat piece from Banksy. It sat up top atop a Melrose rooftop for a long time before being cut out of the wall, and this was the first Banksy piece we ever saw in person.

Our good friend G from According2G was awesome enough to hook us up with the brochure and mini prints. G reports that the show was attended by country club/tennis playing art snobs, and most likely, Banksy wouldn't have been caught dead there. Even if this show feels wrong on many levels, it would be fascinating to see the pieces, and the massive chunks of wall in person.

Stay up! (Banksy and G!)