Thieves have swiped valuable graffiti by renowned British artist Banksy from outside the Melbourne house of underwear mogul Mitch Dowd, Australian police said.
The theft comes just weeks after Melbourne street cleaners unwittingly painted over one of Banksy’s famed stencils, prompting an apology from local authorities.
The latest piece, of a rat carrying a suitcase, was painted on the door of Dowd’s electricity meter box and disappeared in either late April or early May, when he was out of the country.
“The house faces right onto the pavement so everyone would walk by and see it all the time, and now all that’s there is a black box,” said Dowd, the designer behind the eponymous underwear brand.
“It’s a well-known rat carrying a suitcase that’s about eight inches (20cm) high. It’s black on a red background and it’s been there for over a year.
“It’s sad that as soon as the articles on Banksy came out that people would think it was valuable.”
Works by Banksy, who has stoked his mystique by keeping his true identity secret, have surfaced in the West Bank and post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans and sell for tens of thousands of dollars at auction.
Last week, a London pub claimed to have captured Banksy on CCTV as an unknown artist daubed a picture of a girl confronting a lion in its beer garden.
“I think it goes against everything Banksy does because he travels around the world doing graffiti pieces for the community, so I think he would be really disappointed that someone wants to turn it into something commercial,” Dowd said.
Graffiti aficionados have cast doubt on the authenticity of the work, with gallery owner and street art expert Andy Mac saying he doubted the work was a genuine Banksy.
“To my knowledge, Banksy has not been back in (Australia) since 2002 or 2003. I would be very surprised that this stolen work is in fact a Banksy,” Mac told The Age newspaper.
Self-styled Banksy aficionado Ryan Brett said the piece looked to be merely a poor copy, with “sloppy artwork” that was clearly the work of an amateur.
“Just look at the detail Banksy uses with all of his work. He does a much better job than this muppet,” said Brett. (AFP)
澳洲警方表示，小偷近日大膽妄為，將歪腦筋動到著名英國塗鴉藝術家班克西的作品上，把內衣大亨米契•道得家外面的塗鴉作品給偷走。
這起不尋常的竊盜案，剛好發生在墨爾本街道清潔工，無意地將班克西某知名作品抹掉的幾個星期後。此舉也讓當地官方連忙向大眾道歉。
班克西的最新作品是隻提著手提箱的老鼠。這幅塗鴉原本在道得家的電錶箱門上，但卻在四月底、五月初，道得出國時消失了。
以自己名字當作內褲品牌的道得表示：「屋子直接面對人行道，所以每個人經過時，隨時都可以看得到，但是現在只剩下一個黑色的盒子。」
「那是隻有名的老鼠，拿著個手提箱，身高約八英吋（二十公分）。老鼠的顏色是黑色，而圖案的底色是紅色，塗鴉在那邊一年多了。」
「很遺憾的，關於班克西的文章發表後，人們都認為那些畫作很值錢。」
以隱瞞自己真實身分而出名的班克西，最近的作品出現在中東約旦河西岸，以及遭卡崔那颶風肆虐過後的紐奧良，每幅作品都以數萬美元的拍賣價格成交。
上星期倫敦某酒吧宣稱閉路電視拍到了班克西，錄影顯示一位不知名的藝術家，正在該酒吧的啤酒花園塗鴉一幅小女生對抗一頭獅子的圖案。
道得說：「我認為這違反班克西的初衷，因為他跑遍全世界塗鴉，就是為了人們的社區生活，所以有人將他的作品當成商品來賣，他會感到很失望。」
然而喜好塗鴉的人對這些作品的真實性存疑，身兼藝廊老闆與街頭藝術家的安迪•麥克說，他懷疑那些塗鴉是班克西的真跡。
他跟《時代報》說：「據我所知，班克西自二００二年或二００三年以後就沒回來（澳洲）過。我很懷疑被偷走的這個塗鴉是他畫的。」
自稱班克西粉絲的雷恩•布列得說，該作品看起來只是個粗糙的贗品，一個「凌亂的作品」，所以這顯然是業餘的人所為。
布列得說：「只要看班克西所有作品中的細節就知道了。他的畫功比這個笨蛋好太多啦。」（法新社╱翻譯：吳岱璟）
Have you ever dreamed of using an entire city as your training ground, effortlessly moving across walls, buildings, stairs, and obstacles? This is not just a fantasy from the movies. In cities around the world, a group of enthusiasts practice this seemingly impossible sport — “parkour.” The origins of parkour can be traced back to 20th-century France. A military officer named Georges-Hebert witnessed the incredible physical abilities of local residents in Africa, which inspired him to create the Methode Naturelle, or natural method. This training method cleverly combined climbing, running, and swimming with artificial barriers to mimic nature. Later, David Belle
Street lights are often taken for granted until a power outage plunges the world into darkness. When that happens, the value of these lighting installations becomes evident as the world turns into a more dangerous place for pedestrians and motorists alike. The Chinese could claim to be the first to have constructed a crude type of street light. Around 500 BC, residents of Beijing employed a type of street lamp that used hollow bamboo pipes and natural gas vents to create burning torches. Later, ancient Romans adopted lamps fueled by vegetable oil, which relied on slaves to light and
A: Who else is on Billboard’s list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century?” B: No. 15 to 6 are: Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Usher, Adele, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Britney Spears. A: I can’t believe that Adele’s only at No. 10. B: No. 5 to 1 are: Lady Gaga, Drake, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Beyonce. A: Well, they surely deserve the honor. A: 《告示牌》雜誌的「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」，還有誰上榜啊？ B: 第15至6名是：麥莉希拉、大賈斯汀、妮姬米娜、阿姆、亞瑟小子、愛黛兒、亞莉安娜、小賈斯汀、肯伊威斯特、小甜甜布蘭妮。 A: 真不敢相信愛黛兒只排第10名。 B: 第5至1名是：女神卡卡、德瑞克、蕾哈娜、泰勒絲、碧昂絲。 A: 這幾位真是實至名歸！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
A: The 21st Century is now entering its 25th year. B: So Billboard has released a list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century.” A: Who are the greatest pop singers? B: No. 25 to 16 are: Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny, One Direction, Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, BTS, The Weeknd, Shakira and Jay-Z. A: Wow, my favorite K-pop supergroup BTS has made it to the list. A: 21世紀正在邁入第25個年頭了。 B: 《告示牌》雜誌特別公布：「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」。 A: 最偉大的歌手有哪些？ B: 第25至16名是：凱蒂佩芮、紅髮艾德、壞痞兔、1世代、小韋恩、火星人布魯諾、防彈少年團（BTS）、威肯、夏奇拉、Jay-Z。 A: 哇，我最愛的韓流天團BTS也上榜了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
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