enhanced poster attributed to secretive British artist Banksy was ripped down Wednesday in Hollywood, amid sightings of other pieces in a reported pre-Oscars publicity stunt. Banksy is nominated for best documentary for “Exit Through the Gift Shop” at the Oscars, due to be announced on Feb. 27 at the climax of Tinseltown's annual awards season. The elusive artist, whose identity is not publicly known, is suspected of being behind a number of Banksy-style graffiti pieces that have cropped up over the past few days. Examples of the provocative British artist's work have been spotted around town, including a Charlie Brown figure starting a fire on the side of a burned-out building on Sunset Boulevard. Another, depicting a child wielding a machine gun, in black and white surrounded by colored flowers, was spotted behind a clothes shop in Westwood, further west beyond Beverly Hills. In Beverly Hills itself another showed a dog urinating on a wall, according to online Hollywood news site thewrap.com. Representatives of the artist could not be immediately reached for comment on the reports, which came 10 days before the Oscars ceremony when the movie world will descend on Hollywood for the 53rd Academy Awards show. – Agence France
