Chod - The Relationship Between Street Artists and the Gallery

Chod made some waves with his purchase of a gallery piece from Annie Preece, and his subsequent painting 'NONE OF THIS IS REAL' over it, before finally putting it back on the streets.

Some people have accused Chod of coming out of nowhere and aiming those words at that particular piece.  But Chod did not come out of nowhere.  Chod has been solidly putting in work on LA's streets for a couple years now.  His street art game is goes from the tops of buildings, down to the streets themselves, like with this sidewalk dollar bill cat paster at the corner of Melrose and Fairfax.

Furthermore, this is just another example of how Chod has continued to work with the theme of money.  And 'NONE OF THIS IS REAL' has been Chod's tag line since he began getting up.

Indeed, Chod did not come out of nowhere.  He has been putting in work on the streets and building the foundation around his name long before this situation ever came up.  As someone pointed out in the comments, Banksy has done something similar painting over a Damien Hirst.  In fact, that unofficial collaboration is the most expensive Banksy painting to ever sell.  Even with the piece from Banksy, Chod's piece is still like nothing that has been done before.  While Banksy's piece presented a conversation about the role of street art in relation to high brow fine art, this situation with Chod is unique in that it forces a dialogue between the role of a so-called street artist and the street relationship with a gallery.

Chod's one-sided collaboration has raised all kinds of opinions on the piece, and the role of street art in the gallery society.  Big ups to Chod for being bold enough to go big on the streets, and with his wallet to put his money where his point is.