Monday, April 25, 2011

Space Invader arrested in LA


French video gamer Space Invader has been arrested in LA, according to a report on the LA Times blog.

Hyperallergic also reported the arrest, but I went straight to the LA Times because bloggers can't be trusted.

Here is what the Times said:

"The Los Angeles Police Department believes one of two French nationals detained on suspicion of vandalism near MOCA's Little Tokyo gallery was the famed street artist known as "Space Invader."

The pair were (sic) detained Friday after authorities reportedly caught them with buckets of grout and pieces of tile near the historic Perez building in Little Tokyo."

Was Space Invader getting up near MOCA to generate publicity for his brand around the Art in the Streets exhibition?

Perhaps the National Gallery of Australia sent him there to publicise its own exhibition called Space Invaders?

Does Space Invader deserve to be arrested since he's technically the antagonist?

Pictured below are Space Invaders ganging up on a police officer:








7 comments:

W said...

Classic! Caught with buckets & grout, just as they were about to tile a wall. Can any judge take that seriously as vandalism?!

aunt hazel said...

that sucks man.
what did you think of the NGA's Space Invader exhibit?
I checked it out on friday, was okay but thought it was a bit lacking..

Acid Midget said...

@W I think the barely newsworthy evidence in its post is a reflection on the high quality of the LA Times' police press release rewriting department.

@Aunt Hazel I haven't been to the NGA exhibition. I'm a fan of a number of the artists included but I refuse to go. How was it for you?

W said...

I'm still waiting for a book or art show that's truly representative of Australian street art. There are too many people listed as street artists who are either contemporary Pop artists or graphic designers posing as 'street' to gain credibility.

Acid Midget said...

Try Christine Dew's 'Uncommissioned Art: The A-Z of Australian Graffiti'.

Or read Acid Midget.

aunt hazel said...

@omar. yeah i just checked it out because it was showing at the gallery at uni. I don't know enough about street art exhibits to give it a proper assessment but i think it showed that it's difficult to make something intended for the street, translate with as much impact and charisma in a gallery. a lot of it might as well have been pop art

Acid Midget said...

@Aunt Hazel: I completely agree with you there. Street art in a gallery is a good intention, and many artists would be proud of the exposure. But it's about the establishment maintaining its grip over the art-history narrative by 'claiming' the movement as its own.

Many street artists would have nothing to do with the national gallery, paid or not.