The craze to get a Banksy piece has reached absolute madness. Nearly every new piece of Banksy's was either cut out (caution) or taken down, and we expect most to end up on ebay.
However, we just received exclusive pics from a 'collector' who got a Banksy piece, and assures us that it will not be going up for sale any time soon. Click the jump to see where one Banksy has found a home.
We got sent these pics of the 'No Parking' sign from Banksy's Crayon Soldier in Westwood by a 'collector' who wishes to remain anonymous. This seems to be more of a piece of Banksy, than a Banksy piece. Still, it was an intricate and active part of the Crayon Soldier wall.
The Crayon Soldier was Banksy's first piece to be discovered in LA, and we were the first to launch the coverage. But even before we snapped the first pics, part of the piece had already been buffed off-including the part of the No Parking Sign. We had already covered how the blue and pink butterflies that were part of the original were an important part of the art, because it showed how a street artist, or 'crayon soldier' goes outside the lines. And the way that the crayon drawings spilled onto the No Parking sign and door are key to demonstrating that point.
And the cool thing about this is that even though it got buffed, the paint didn't get fully cleaned off, and you can still see the blue paint from the wing of the blue butterfly on the No Parking Sign. It might not be much, but its there.
It is also interesting to note how the No Parking Sign came to life on its own as artists and fans would place stickers on the sign when they came to view the Banksy. (We love that it has a MELROSEandFAIRFAX sticker on there!). From the pics we have (shown below) this does appear to be legit and the same sign from the Crayon Soldier piece.
Some people have theorized that the 'Crayon Soldier' was aimed at Banksy's frustrations with parking regulations. While we don't think that this is the case, the No Parking Sign is definitely part of the project. Without a doubt, this is clearly just a piece of Banksy, and not the whole installation. But even if it is still only a piece of a Banksy original, it is still a piece of a Banksy original, and how rare is that!
Now that Banksy's Crayon Soldier has been buffed and gone, we think it is really cool that this has found a home with a collector and won't be (supposedly!) going up for sale. Check out the pics below.
^These are exclusive pics of Banksy's Crayon Soldier before it was buffed. You can see the blue butterfly on the parking sign and the pink butterfly on the door that were later buffed before most pics were taken.
And here are pics of the No Parking Sign
