Perhaps as retaliation against The Academy for their recent fall back plan; or an attempt at a rather unorthodox Oscar campaign, Banksy has taken to the walls and billboards of LA this week.
Several graffiti works have appeared around the city, including a depiction of Charlie Brown with a cigarette in mouth, bent on arson on Sunset Boulevard; a urinating dog in Beverly Hills; a young boy brandishing a machine gun loaded with coloured crayons in UCLA, and even more salacious, an inebriated Mickey Mouse grabbing the breast of a model, alongside a baked-out Minnie Mouse with the caption “Livin’ the Dream,” on a billboard opposite the Directors Guild of America in Sunset and Laurel.
The billboard features an advertisement by Light Group, a Las Vegas-based company that operates several restaurants in the city’s casinos. According to a spokeswoman:
“We thought it was really flattering. We picked a great spot for our billboard, and he thought so too. It was one of our generic billboards. It’s much cooler to have Banksy tag it,” director of public relations Beth Bartolini said.
However, the billboard was taken down late Wednesday by CBS, soon after the work appeared. CBS who owns the billboard has said on account of it not meeting their standards; (this standard may also have to do with their relationship to Disney). The Light Group has said they’ll retrieve the billboard.
So far, there’s been no comment made by Banksy about the meaning of these new pieces, though why should he? In true Banksy style, he has again succeeded in making us all speculate; which makes for great publicity in the lead up to the Oscars, whether intentional or not. You can view the works on his website, and perhaps pick out a few clues for yourself.
Via LA Times
Images via Wooster Collective
