Cleaners Paint Over Priceless Art

The Melbourne city council learned the hard way that one man's art is another man's crap on a wall that needs to be painted over. The council hired a cleanup crew to get rid of graffiti on Hosier Lane, a street renowned for its street art. While there, the crew got rid of the graffiti, as well as a piece by Banksy, who is regarded as one of the world's greatest street artists. From the article: "The reclusive Banksy ... painted several stencils in Melbourne during a 2003 visit. His satirical and distinctive art is often directed at anti-war, cultural, and anti-capitalist themes. Banksy in 2005 painted nine images on Israel's West Bank barrier, including a ladder going over the wall and an image of children breaking through to a tropical island. In 2008, a London wall bearing one of his stencils was said to have sold on eBay for almost $500,000."

Comments

it's != its

[Dagger2]

a street renowned for it's street art

Look, it's bad enough seeing this in the comments constantly, without having it in the summary itself. Is it so difficult to just read your sentence to yourself -- "a street renowned for it is street art" -- and realize that it's not quite right?

The painter did his job.

[blair1q]

The person who ordered the graffiti removal did not.

Now slashdot will be on Conroy's blacklist

[ross.w]

You've discussed graffiti, which is a crime in Australia and material that discusses or promotes it are Refused Classification. Welcome to the blacklist ladies and gentlemen, with more to come.