After our local Banksy piece was tagged by the artist’s haters and immediately restored by the artist’s lovers, it appears Cara Tabachnick, the landlord of the building, decided to take no more risks. In order to preserve the piece, located at the corner of Cook St. and Graham Ave., she provisionally protected it with plexiglass, a gate, a guard who’s paid $200 a night to watch the piece, and even CCTV cameras.
We talked to the building manager, Jose Goya, a few days after the gate was installed. He told us they are covering the piece with new plexiglass and a better gate soon, and they’ll be making sure they cover the rest of the window arch. The gate will be open to the public during daytime. Mr. Goya also said that they want to set up a website with information about the piece and the hours it will be on display. We’ll keep you posted on any updates.
They won’t be charging for viewings and pictures of the Banksy, like others have . Mr. Goya seemed truly excited about the neighborhood’s reaction and the amount of visitors the piece has attracted thus far. Both he and Tabachnick seem very aware of the value of the piece in its context and are willing to maintain it as publicly accessible art.
What do think: Does preserving street art might go against the principles of the genre? What would you do you woke up one morning with a Banksy on your building? Give us your take in the comments below!