Jaunted

Art

Melbourne Hates Wild Style

March 24, 2006 at 3:21 PM | 0 Comments

Art and commerce--despite Jeff Koons' best efforts--don't always get along. Their most recent scuffle, reported on by famed artist Banksy, is taking place in Melbourne. The city was famous for tolerating graffiti artists, stencils in particular; its distance from just about anywhere else meant that the art was quite different from other graffiti worldwide.

Well, it was different, until the city painted over much of it in preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. There was some discussion of a designated zone for the art, but city went the whitewash route instead.

Banksy thinks Melbourne's efforts don't bode well for London's graffiti in preparation for the Olympics in 2012. So, only six more years to see Banksy's work in the UK!

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·   The Writing on the Wall [The Guardian]