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[h1]'Give us back our Banksys:' Community group in LA calls for thieves to return work done by the elusive artist during Oscars
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By Amy Oliver
An original painting by elusive street artist Banksy is a serious investment. So serious some are using drastic - and even illegal - measures to obtain one.
A number of new works attributed to the artist, which sprang up during the run up to the Oscars in Los Angeles last month, have since been defaced or stolen.
Now one LA community group is calling for them to be returned.
Now you see it... A work attributed to street artist Banksy, featuring Peanuts character Charlie Brown, has been physically cut out of the wall at a burned-out house on Sunset Boulevard
'Just before the Academy Awards a number of unique pieces of 'graffiti' appeared in Los Angeles, San Diego and neighbouring communities,' group All Voices wrote in an open letter.
'A majority of this art was attributed to world-famous, anonymous British graffiti artist, political activist, film director and painter Banksy.
'Unfortunately, much of this art was immediately removed and in most cases stolen from the private property where it was originally painted.
Child's play: Another Banksy, featuring a boy brandishing a machine gun with crayon bullets, appeared on the wall of a clothes shop in the Westwood district
Gone: The work, probably worth more than $100,000, has now vanished without trace, most likely painted over
'We are calling upon the individual or individuals responsible for the theft of this art to come forward and return the art to its rightful owners - the communities that received these unique and spontaneous gifts.'
The group then offered to buy the pieces themselves as a gift to the people, in order to put them on public view.
The pieces that have disappeared include an image of Peanuts character Charlie Brown smoking a cigarette while brandishing a gas can on the wall of a burned-out building on Sunset Boulevard.
Subverted: Another suspected Banksy piece featured a sleazy Mickey Mouse downing a cocktail and putting his arm provocatively around a scantily-clad model on a Sunset Strip billboard
Where's it gone? The Banksy ad was replaced by another but the whereabouts of the painting is unknown
This appears to have been physically cut out of a wall and the hole has since been boarded up. Someone has even cheekily posted up a 'goodbye' bill on the board.
Another features a stencil of a child holding a machine gun loaded with crayons, standingin a field of brightly-coloured flowers, which appeared on the wall of a clothes shop in the Westwood district.
This has completely disappeared without trace suggesting it has been painted over.
An image of Mickey Mouse downing a cocktail and putting his arm provocatively around a scantily-clad model, which appeared on a billboard above a petrol station on Sunset Strip, has also disappeared with a new advert put up in its place.
...And in London: A classic Banksy black rat stencil was cut out of a wall in the city with an angle grinder. It later appeared on eBay for £20,000 (around $32,000) but was later removed after complaints
Banksy was reportedly in LA at the time of the Academy Awards, but failed to show up during the ceremony despite being nominated for an Oscar for his documentary film, Exit Through The Gift Shop.
The All Voices letter said: 'We believe it is a sad commentary on our society that selfish and destructive individuals would act alone to deprive so many people of thesimple enjoyment of these unique artworks and we sincerely hope that those responsible will do the right thing and return these works immediately.'
They also called for the artist, famous for eluding the press, to get in touch.
'...If you are Banksy, please get in touch with us so that we can provide you with a means of accessing our site so that you can easily post whatever messages you'd like to share with people that love, respect and appreciate your art,' the letter added.
How do I get my hands on this
