What People Are Saying About Banksy

"We were flattered Banksy tagged on our Ad--it was epic!" --This is a quote from a representative of The Light Group, the company that owned the sign that had the Banksy 'Livin the Dream' piece put on it.

And just like a spokesman from the billboard company that was defaced says he was flattered by the vandalism, people have been saying some really interesting things about the new Banksy pieces in LA.

This post grabs a bunch of people's comments to put out there for discussion. Most are taken from the MELROSEandFAIRFAX exclusive on the Huffington Post. Click the jump to read more, and add your voice to the comments!


He's brilliant. If you don't appreciate his work, well, then you just aren't brilliant. -Chef Dracula on Huffington Post

Jesus! Give us one day to get there and take a picture so we can save it personally! Anonymous on M&F

Though the hype is ridiculous­, there is a good reason behind it. It speaks to us and it (and we) should convey the message to authority. It's interestin­g though that most of the people who buy his art are probably contributi­ng to the disparitie­s and situations he is depicting. -Dr. Zanzibar on Huffington Post

Sucks theyre gonna remove it. If i was there id spray paint over it in a "If we all cant have it you cant either" attitude. Anonymous on M&F

I was honestly gonna fly out this weekend just to see, and take photos of what he's done out there this past week. Sucks that Charlie Brown got covered up. Alizzo on M&F

I was over there while they were taking it down. It got pretty intense between the middle aged guy who owns the property the billboard resides on and the big dude who worked for CBS- Biz on M&F

It's clever and cute, but graffiti is still vandalism.-Ramirez on Huffington Post

Ima fuck it - anonymous on M&F

Next time please have someone who actually has the intellectual chops to understand art before writing such a disgrace of a post: "Each piece of art is not just the image itelf, it incorporates an idea." That's sort of the idea of...art. "And on this new piece in LA, we see Banksy demonstrating how a street artist fights his battles, replacing crayons in place of bullets." Um, no. See the other comment. It's not about the plight of the street artist. Shakin' my head at this elementary foolishness. -Bjorn on M&F

The level of the comments here are depressing­.
Envy, confusion, fear, adulation, politics, racism, elitism.
I would say on some level Banksy succeeds yet again, because art, if anything, is a way to define what it is to be human. -Forester on Huffington Post

Well i´ve never seen or heard anything from this guy till now but i think i´m now going to look for some of his work. The artwork is just amazing. - Markus Schmid on Huffington Post

What are your thoughts?

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.

New Banksy Street Art in LA (pt. 2/2)

Superb location for Banksy. The placement in this alley is perfect. Its quiet enough to be discreet during the installation, but extremely public in that it is jutting out towards oncoming traffic in a busy little corner of Westwood. (we had the parking patrol come and try to give us a ticket while we were snapping pics)

And, having spent a semester living in London during college, this spot really reminds us of the feel of London. With the curvy, unusual streets, and topsy turvy alleyways, it carries the flavor of London perhaps more so than any other place in LA. Maybe Banksy felt at home, right here.

The piece is both fierce and playful, and we wish we had some kinds like the ones who flocked around for the photoshoot of Dog Byte's 'Welcome To The Jungle' stencil recently. We really love the splashes of color on the crayons~

New Banksy Street Art in LA

Preamble for the Oscars?

Reportedly, a new Banksy stencil has appeared in LA featuring a child holding a machine gun shooting crayons for bullets.

We got this pic from Frank 151 although we have not yet verified that it is new or its location.

MELROSEandFAIRFAX takes pride in having original pics and content, and we would love to go shoot some exclusive pics. Anyone know where this is located?