Mr. Brainwash's massive Alfred Hitchcock pieces have been riding on Melrose for years. But Cyrcle just went over one of them, and there is more to the story than just this piece. Click the jump for more
This was not the first hit on this particular Alfred Hitchcock. Cyrcle actually hit it last week with a small, square skull paster (pictured below). It was too small for the space, and didn't fit. So this was actually to replace the first paster.
We actually really dig the new Cyrcle piece. We love this new flower aesthetic, and if it were simply a matter of earning the spot, Cyrcle has been getting up a lot more around town than Mr. Brainwash has any time recently. But there are plenty of rooftops (and Cyrcle has found many of them), and we think any one of them would have been better.
And we like the skull on its own, but we have an issue with hitting the spot in the first place. It is just our opinion, and many in the street art community agree, that the remaining Mr. Brainwash pieces were kind of iconic, and love em or hate em, they were a piece of Los Angeles street art living history, and, in our opinion, should have been left alone (we do also realize that it was starting to peel, but feel that it should have been left to die).
We have written about how some corporate street campaigns, when done right, can add to the flavor of the local scene. And Cyrcle has been getting up big in the city, no doubt. Much of their stuff is even hand painted. But there have been a lot of grumblings because Cyrcle is a clothing company. And even if it is beautiful art, people are saying that because it is a clothing line, that changes the message, and the pretty piece is not beautiful hand painted art, but a beautiful hand painted advert.
And, in our book according to the loose unwritten rules of the street, a street artist might have the 'right' to go over this piece, or a hand painted piece from another artist, but a company doesn't. That said, we are digging what Cyrcle is doing and still love the piece.
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