Banksy's Elephant DID Make a Man Homeless

"If I’d kept my mouth shut about this tank [one assumes to Banksy], it’d have been here forever."

The Independent has posted an article by Guy Adams with information submitted from Zack Skelly including video clips showing Tachowa Covington during his last day at the 'Elephant' of a water tanker.

Even though the folks at Banksy'sElephant, the current owners of the piece and those responsabile for its removal, have vehemently denied Tachowa's living there at the time, these videos tell a different story.

"That was my shit," Tachowa says of the water tanker, as he describes how he was there in the tanker the night the 'Elephant' artwork went up. Tachowa says he gave permission to a man who came by, assumably Banksy, who asked if it was allright to paint on the structure. Tachowa granted the permission, but has regrets about that since. He says on the video, "if I’d kept my mouth shut about this tank [one assumes to Banksy], it’d have been here forever."

It seems that this man, Tachowa, really was made homeless, or, at least more so, by the removal of the water tanker.

And even if Banksy can't be directly blamed for making this homeless, the placement is puzzling. No one is accusing Banksy of intending to put a man out of a home. Still, this tanker had been at the center of a heated land battle between the local community association who wanted its removal, and Tachowa, who was petitioning for squatters rights. In light of all this background, one has to wonder why this piece was chosen for Banksy's artwork?

Banksy's Elephant DID Make a Man Homeless

"If I’d kept my mouth shut about this tank [one assumes to Banksy], it’d have been here forever."

The Independent has posted an article by Guy Adams with information submitted from Zack Skelly including video clips showing Tachowa Covington during his last day at the 'Elephant' of a water tanker.

Even though the folks at Banksy'sElephant, the current owners of the piece and those responsabile for its removal, have vehemently denied Tachowa's living there at the time, these videos tell a different story.

"That was my shit," Tachowa says of the water tanker, as he describes how he was there in the tanker the night the 'Elephant' artwork went up. Tachowa says he gave permission to a man who came by, assumably Banksy, who asked if it was allright to paint on the structure. Tachowa granted the permission, but has regrets about that since. He says on the video, "if I’d kept my mouth shut about this tank [one assumes to Banksy], it’d have been here forever."

It seems that this man, Tachowa, really was made homeless, or, at least more so, by the removal of the water tanker.

And even if Banksy can't be directly blamed for making this homeless, the placement is puzzling. No one is accusing Banksy of intending to put a man out of a home. Still, this tanker had been at the center of a heated land battle between the local community association who wanted its removal, and Tachowa, who was petitioning for squatters rights. In light of all this background, one has to wonder why this piece was chosen for Banksy's artwork?

This Looks A Bit Like An Eviction

At the spot where Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant' used to be, a new piece of street art has shown up. It says 'This Looks A Bit Like An Eviction.'

It is not a new thing that art has popped up at a Banksy location after Banksy's piece had been taken away. What is different about this piece is that it is commenting not only on Banksy's art, but the situation with Mr. Covington, a squatter who might have been made completely homeless when his home, the 'Elephant', was removed after Banksy tagged it.

The 'Eviction' piece is about 4 x 2.

This new piece is clever in its own right and very well done. On the back it says 'Subtle', which we assume is the artist's name.

In all fairness, we must say that we still believe Banksy is one of the 'good guys'. And even if he did hit this water tank so that it would be removed, we doubt he knew someone was living there. We don't think Banksy is in the habit of making folks homeless. We are sure a lot of thought goes into the placement of Banksy's pieces, but perhaps this situation will provide a new angle on the effect the art might have.

This piece was tracked down by Banksy Hunter Keith Toll, who remains on the hunt! Big thanks to Keith for the tip and pictures.

MELROSEandFAIRFAX Scandal: Fact or Fiction?

Some people have been implying that we are spreading rumor as fact.

We resent the implication.

We reported last week that Banksy's supposed billboard takeover might not have been a brazen act of illegal street art at all, but was a pre-arranged 'thank you' to the person who financed Exit Through The Gift Shop.

Then, yesterday LA Weekly posted that the spokesperson for The Light Group, the company that owned the billboard, says that "the notion that the company actually put Banksy up to tagging its billboard is 'just not true.'" They feel that it is 'just a rumor', and that sentiment has been echoed on our blog.

Maybe we are just jaded, but we believe a spokesperson's job is to protect the image of the company, not necessarily tell the truth. In fact, from the White House Press Secretary on down, it seems like the only time a spokesperson does tell the truth is when they are no longer working for the company, and they no longer have to toe the company line.

Furthermore, the quote that the LA Weekly printed from the spokesperson seems to be purposefully vague. It is not a direct quote, but a summary description written by the Weekly with only sound bites in quotation marks. Its sketchy.

On the other hand, the source of our story is an assistant moderator on the Banksy Forums, and he states that he was told this information from two separate sources before going public with the story. Unlike the company, he has nothing to gain from voicing this information, either positive or negative. And in our opinion, someone who has nothing to gain is always a better source for truth than someone who is paid to protect a certain interest.

And, to be more specific, from what we understand, it was an owner of The Light Group who financed Exit Through the Gift Shop, not the company itself. So maybe the company didn't put Banksy up to do the billboard, but maybe the individual did.

It seems the best way to verify the truth of whether or not Bankys' billboard was an 'inside job' is by looking into the financing of Exit Through the Gift Shop, not contacting the company spokesperson.

As with everything in life, there are 3 sides to every story -mine, yours and the truth. We are not putting out rumors as fact. People are free to choose what to believe.

If some people want to choose to believe that it is a random coincidence that Banksy's art work shows up on the same property as the person who financed his film, that is your choice to make. And if those same people think that it is another random coincidence that Banksy's 'This Looks a Bit Like An Elephant' just happened to show up on the side of a accused eyesore that was in the middle of a heated battle with a local neighborhood association also by random chance, that is also your choice to make. But we think that where there is smoke, there is usually fire. And where it stinks bad, there is probably some shit around. We are putting the story out there and letting the readers of MELROSEandFAIRFAX make up their minds.

We would love if some true investigative reporting was done into the financing, and that should answer all questions. (we are an unpaid blog, aren't you guys on salary over at the Weekly? does anybody do investigative journalism anymore or is the news nowadays just a "he-said"/"she-said" thing?).

We think it would be the ultimate irony if the owner of the Light House Group/Investor in Exit Through The Gift Shop were identified, and his wife was a member of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association, and the whole thing was just a scheme.

Banksy's Art Makes Man Homeless

Banksy's art has helped free accused criminals, but now it has made a man homeless.

The plot thickens as it seems there is even more drama and suspicious activity surrounding Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant'.

A lot of news outlets have reported that someone appeared to live in the abandoned water tank, but that he had been gone for awhile.

But according to an interesting article from the Palisades Post , the man is named Tachowa Covington and he was confirmed living there as recently as September 2010. And the word we got from our own explorers who brought us an exclusive feature exploring the inside the elephant is that it looked like someone was currently still living there.

In fact, this story seems to get really devious as we find out that the elephant was already under attack from the "Pacific Palisades Residents Association, who want the City of Los Angeles and Caltrans to clear away abandoned structures, construction equipment and unsightly debris from along PCH".

On the other hand, Mr. Covington was trying to obtain possession of the title to the land through common law statutes which say that the "title to another's property can be acquired without compensation, by actual occupation " as long as "possession must be continuous and uninterrupted for a specific length of time and is some cases the holder must pay all taxes levied."

To further the suggestion of fowl play, a suspicious fire was started in the shed next to the 'Elephant' (as shown in the picture above).

The whole thing seems fishy. Perhaps this is just the random background detailing the history of a piece that Banksy chose to hit because of its unique shape and unrelated to Banksy's choosing the spot. But after hearing how Livin the Dream was not an impressive billboard takeover after all, but a pre-arranged 'thank you' gift to the company that financed Exit Through the Gift Shop, we are really wondering if the Elephant placement was picked in order to get rid of the 'eyesore'.

But regardless of whether it was intentional or not, the effect is that Banksy's stencil on the Elephant effectually made Mr. Covington homeless.

Care To Buy Banksy's Elephant?

I would give my left nut for a Banksy. But I wouldn't spend 20 bucks on the Elephant.

There seems to be a lot of drama surrounding the removal of Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant'. Click the jump to hear what people are saying and view the new website proffering this piece for sale

Got a cryptic email this morning with nothing but this website link to Banksyelephant.com. The website is interesting in that it gives a brief breakdown of who Banksy is, and then tries to offer the Elephant for sale.

It tries to hype the Elephant saying 'One work stood out' from all of Banksy's work in LA. And no doubt the Elephant does stand out. It stands out as an eyesore along the highway. It also stands out as the least artistic, and the most difficult to have or display as this mammouth is bigger than a semi truck.

We are interested to see where this Banksy ends up, because it seems like no one wants it. Who wants to pay tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, for an industrial water tank with some words stenciled on it? Museums don't have the space, and collectors would go for something more aesthetic. Our take is that this beast will cost more to move than it is worth.

And we have heard talk that once a Banksy is removed, it loses context. And this could not be more clear than with this piece. Banksy's stenciled quip was not profound, but it is clever. And it was successful in that it got people to look at this industrial leftover in a different way. But once the elephant is domesticated, once it is moved out of its natural environment, it becomes much less clever. And who wants to look at something like this all the time? Not me. And probably not that many people out there.

After reading up on the history of the water tank before it became an 'Elephant', we have become suspicious that this spot was hit for the sole reason to have it removed. Many people had complained about the water tank being left along the highway for years. Maybe Banksy has a friend who wanted it gone, or maybe he is friends with the owner who finally had financial incentive to have the tanker removed.

And as for the website itself, it grinds us the wrong way. We hate websites that have constant motion, or banners that begin playing without being clicked. It is very professional, no doubt, but a headache to view. Which is kind of like the elephant in a lot of ways.

And the drama doesn't stop end with the Elephant going up for sale. We have been hearing a lot of rumors swirling about Banksy's 'Elephant'. A few days ago we received a brief email saying that the Banksy removal "was all my fault", and the person wanted an interview on the blog. We told them that we would love to hear what they have to say, but we haven't heard back yet.

We look forward to hearing the whole story, and think it will be interesting to see where the Elephant finds a home, and how much it is actually worth (if anything).

Banksy's Elephant To Be Sold To Highest Bidder

Last week, we had the exclusive jump on Banksy's elephant being taken away, and today we get word that it is going to be sold to the highest bidder.

Guy Adams from The Independent is reporting that the owner intends to "flog it, to the highest bidder."

It is a great article, and well worth reading, as Guy does a great breakdown of the Banksy piece and laments how, after so many people (mostly wearing skinny jeans) had trekked over to take picture in front of the 'elephant', that taking it down was like losing the "hipster’s alternative to the Hollywood sign".

And he also makes not that the owner was too miserly to remove the elephant before, but now that it is worth money, it is being carted off.

Its not Banksy's prettiest piece by any means. Wonder how much it will go for?


***Photo by Banksy Hunter Keith Toll***

Banksy's Elephant is Dead

In addition to the Crayon Soldier being buffed, Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant' is being removed today, and M&F has the exclusive drop. Click the jump for more

It seems the life span of a Banksy piece in LA is less than two weeks.

Today is the day Banksy died in LA, as two of the remaining 4 pieces from his recent trip were painted over and crated off.

The Crayon Soldier was painted over, and now Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant' is being removed from its location in Santa Monica along the PCH.

According to what we've heard, someone who wanted the piece approached the land owner and purchased it from him.

We are kind of surprised that someone would want this piece. Sure, its a Banksy, but it is not very aesthetic. And, even more to the point, it is absolutely HUGE. You can see in the pics that the 'Elephant' is bigger than the crane or the semi. We are interested to hear where this ends up.

But today is kind of sad, because we thought the remaining pieces would last longer. Now there are only 2 remaining Banksy's. The pissing Bulldog (which has a full-time security guard protecting it) and the Crayon House Foreclosure (which is covered and protected with plexiglass). So hurry over to see the last remaining Banksy pieces because they could disappear any time.

***Big thanks to Will for the pic***

Banksy's Crayon Soldier Buffed and Gone!

Today is the day that Banksy died in LA

Today, Banksy's Crayon Soldier was buffed out of the wall behind Urban Outfitters in Westwood.

Nothing remains but a green wall, and a heavily stickered door next to where the Crayon Soldier used to prowl.

It almost seems like it would be better to have had it cut out of the wall!

Losing this Banksy feels open, like when you break up with a lover but its not quite over. Even though its gone, it doesn't seem real, and we still need closure.

We went down to JR's exhibit in Long Beach today, and when we got back our inbox was flooded with viewers giving us the tip. Many thanks to everyone, and big thanks to M&F viewer Evan for sending us these pics.

And on other sad Banksy news, the 'This Looks a Bit Like An Elephant' was also being removed today. Damn. Really?

Pics coming soon.

Missed Opportunity for Banksy?

Is this a missed opportunity for Banksy in LA?

This is a version of Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant' painted in the same style as Banksy's 'Is There An Elephant in the Room?' from his Barely Legal show in Los Angeles a few years back.

Clearly, this is not what Banksy put up on the 'Elephant'. It would have required more work, but would have been much more clever.

This was sent in to us by Snyder of Snyder Art and Design who wonders if Banksy might be slippin with this missed opportunity?

And we are sitting here wondering if Banksy is slippin by not issuing a response to the Oscars? His true fan base never cared whether 'Exit' won or lost. We loved the art. And we loved the context that the art was given as it drew hype to the nomination. But Banksy's silence since the ceremony has been disappointing. We never felt that the new art was solely a publicity campaign, but if Banksy gives up after losing, it starts to seem that way.

We think that if this has always been art, and not the award, why not keep the conversation going after the awards have been handed out? Get the last word in, as it were, and as we've come to expect from Banksy. But so far, and at this poing, to leave it hanging seems like a big missed opportunity.

Are These Pictures of Banksy At The Elephant?

Is this Banksy climbing on the 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant' piece? The DailyMail thinks so.

The DailyMail is reporting that this might be Banksy captured climbing on the 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant' piece in Santa Monica.

Its a great story, but we are skeptical.

First, these are just a guy on the piece, not action shots of the art going down. And the only correlation cited in the article is that this is a guy at the Banksy site with a camera. They say that "Banksy is known to go back and photograph his own art", but is he really? Wasn't that addressed in 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' when Banksy says that MBW demonstrated his value by documenting the pieces of art after they had gone up, something that hadn't really been done before. Finally, whoever snapped these shots undoubtedly got some better shots of the face, but the fact that every single shot is obscured makes it seem like the purpose of the shots was aimed to confuse.

Anybody think this is Banksy?

Go Inside Banksy's Elephant

I guess it looks a bit like an elephant from the inside, too.

A couple of thrill seekers wondered if there was anything interesting on the inside of Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant.'

The two thrill seekers, 2wenty and Bryan Mier hey found some art pieces inside as well (Cloud 9), and that someone had been living there (an the place stinks!

Wild stuff!

And we think that its really cool how Banksy, and apparently some other artists before him, saw this unusual piece of industrial equipment as a canvas. Especially love the Cloud 9 piece in there. We have a lot of admiration for artists who create art for art alone, and that seems to be whats happened here in this remote spot.

Dig it~

This Looks More Like An Elephant - Banksy

Another M&F exclusive. This shot looks more like an elephant than anything else. Click the jump for more

The angle of this shot really looks a bit more like an elephant~

We are not sure what Banksy's commentary on this is supposed to be, or if it is simply an example of his utilizing and calling attention to the strange and unusual structures in our society. It is a wild structure, and we have never seen anything like it. Especially puzzling how it is mounted yet still has wheels.

These pics were sent to us by the Banksy Hunter, Keith Toll. Keith's passion for chasing down Banksy and other street art has been nothing short of incredible, and we have thoroughly enjoyed following his hunts. And we've received another half a dozen emails from viewers telling us they met Keith while out on a hunt. His passion is remarkable, and if you see Keith, be sure and say 'hi'!

Keith even climbed up on the elephant and had this to say, "Someone finally came finally and snapped a shot of me. I climbed inside looking for Amy evidence he was there. Smelled like shit and looked like a homeless guy has been living there."

And the update on Keith's searches is that he is currently scouring Culver City or Burbank, or wherever the elusive 'Caution' Banksy might be. Happy hunting, Keith!

Exclusive First Jump Pics of Banksy's 'This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant'

Once again, MELROSEandFAIRFAX get an exclusive night time shots of Banksy's 'This Looks a Bit Like an Elephant'. Click the jump for more

MELROSEandFAIRFAX uber supporter, Keith Toll, tracked down Banksy's 'Elephant' on sure grit and will alone.

He knew that it was somewhere on PCH, and even though it was "dark, wet, and messy" Keith still managed to locate the elephant. Enjoy these night time pics from Keith, and stay tuned to MELROSEandFAIRFAX for more up to the minute releases.

***For those interested in the location see Banksy's Elephant, the directions are in the previous post***