Banksy's Crayon Soldier Cleaned

Banksy's Crayon Soldier got cleaned up-kind of.

It is still shocking that the piece was defaced in such a manner. The vandalism seems like a prank got wrong. Someone wanted to make a stupid joke on Mr. Brainwash, and had to ruin a Banksy to do so.

Click the jump below to see pics of the 'restored' Crayon Soldier

The restored Crayon Soldier is still stained, but not splattered like before.

Without a doubt the piece was best in its original, unbuffed form, but to be honest, we like the drip better than this smear.

The pic of the man cleaning is from Mikster on Twitter, and the guy doing the cleaning is reportedly from a restaurant in the area, doing it of his own accord. And thanks to Craig for sending in the restored pic.

Property Mismanagement

The internet has been abuzz with rumors that Urban Outfitters plans to fully buff Banksy's Crayon Soldier. The group even has its own page on Facebook.

But according to the LAist, Urban Outfitters is telling them that they want to keep the mural, but the property manager has other ideas and want to have the Crayon Soldier colored over.

Here is the statement that Urban Outfitters submitted to LAist

"We love Banksy and have been long-time supporters of his work. Banksy: Wall and Piece has been one of our top 20 books for the past four and a half years. We are proud to have his "Crayola Shooter" mural on our Westwood store and are doing everything in our power to convince the property manager not to touch this important work of art."

We hope this can get resolved in a way that preserves the Crayon Soldier. And while it might get Urban Outfitters off the hot seat for buffing the piece, it just stokes the other rumors that Banksy's hitting the spot at Urban was a reward for selling his book, Wall and Piece.

Banksy Crayon Soldier Buffed!

Well, not entirely, but parts of the wall were buffed off by the cleaning squad before any pics were released, even our first jump exclusives or Lauren Conrad's early morning tweeted pic.

MELROSEandFAIRFAX has just received an exclusive set of pictures that show the full Banksy piece before it was buffed.

As far as we know, these are the only full pics of the original piece anywhere in the world. Click the jump below for the full story and pics.


^This is the pic that Lauren Conrad tweeted. As you can see, the blue line of the butterfly has been buffed off the bottom right corner of the 'No Parking' sign.

But these new pics capture that corner untouched, as well as a pink butterfly that was originally on the door to the left but then got buffed off.

These minor touches really bring the piece together and show how the street art goes outside of the lines and borders.

An employee at the Urban Outfitters where this was done provided the pics. He and his fellow employees are the only ones to see it before the parts got buffed. There are a lot of conspiracy theories swirling about whether Banksy placed this piece on the Urban Outfitters as a reward for selling the most copies of his book 'Wall and Piece', but nothing underhanded is happening here. He told us, "As an artist myself, I only want the utmost preservation for any artwork, especially of this magnitude."

Thanks again for the pics. Hope the piece doesn't get fully buffed.

Good Not Great

Of course the title refers to the stickers to the side, not the work of Ron English.

People are talking about the meaning of Banksy's Crayon Soldier piece, and there are many different versions.

We are not sure exactly, and believe it is open to interpretation, but this shot should help show the difference between a child holding a gun, and the commentary that is taking place within in Banksy's piece.

Click the jump below for more

Ron English is an incredibly talented artist, who produces beautiful paintings, sculptures, and street art. Although some pack some parody, the most powerful quality of his work is the imagery and the aesthetics themselves. This child soldier is interesting and beautiful for the image that it is--and is perhaps even more appealing to the general viewer than a Banksy stencil. We do not, however, see it asking questions, or sparking people to ask 'what is happening here?'

Whatever the viewers take is on Banksy's Crayon Soldier, whether you think that it is about parking frustrations, or child soldiers in Africa, or the weapons that street artists use (crayons instead of bullets), it is clear that it is saying something .

We don't know the answer what its about. But the fact that it is getting people to wonder is the true artistic victory.

Still Hip?

This mannequin thinks so.

Cali Killa looks pretty chill riding next to this store front window, even after Urban Outfitters stole his design.

HIPSTERS BEWARE: CORPORATIONS WILL STEAL YOUR ART

On the Same Block

The same image from Cali Killa that Urban Outfitters stole and used on a shirt design on the same block as a franchise store on Melrose.

You can read about the stolen image here:

Hipsters Beware - Corporations Will Steal Your Art

Hipsters Beware - Corporations Will Steal Your Art

Cali Killa hit the streets of Los Angeles in the summer of 2010 with his 'Hipsters Beware' campaign. Well, it seems that Urban Outfitters liked the concept so much that they straight ripped the design and started selling t-shirts . . .


A friend of the artist says that Cali Killa has not given permission for his artwork to be used, and has not been compensated in any way.

Its a real risk for street artists who put powerful images on the streets that these images will be taken and used without giving credit to the artist themselves. The most notable local example was Green Day's featuring Euthanasia's artwork in one of its videos. The case is currently under litigation, and has been for years.

Cali Killa is pursuing his options for retribution, and MELROSEandFAIRFAX will continue to keep up to date on how it plays out.

^Cali Killa's 'Hipsters Beware' paste, up with Cryptik and The Status Faction.

**Thanks to According to G for sourcing the story**

Melrose Night

If you are wondering what to do tonight, head on down to Melrose for 'Melrose Night'.

These food trucks have an incredible assortment of unique and tasty goodies. And enjoy 10% off at some great shops like 360Atelier, De La Barracuda, Suru, Urban Outfitters, Sportie LA, and Joyrich.

Melrose Night will be poppin off every first Thursday.

See you there~