Filed under: Design, News, Lifestyle
Art indeed lives in the eye of the beholder, and as far as the Earl of Glasgow is concerned, the psychedelic mural that Brazilian street artists painted on the side of a 13th century Scottish castle is art and deserves to stay. The locals? Yeah, well, they apparently see things differently.
In a unfolding drama that reeks of those HOA boards who insist that all doors be painted beige, Patrick Boyle -- the Earl of Glasgow to you -- has asked Historic Scotland to allow the drawings commissioned by his children to remain indefinitely on his Kelburn Castle in Largs, Ayrshire.
(Click through the gallery below.)
The original agreement was that the controversial graffiti mural, which features surreal cartoon figures in a depiction of urban culture, would be removed in three years. The project cost about $30,000 and was started in 2007.
With no disrespect intended toward beige doors or those who worship them, graffiti long ago left the realm of gang scribbles. The elusive Banksy's graffiti is considered part of Britain's heritage, and academics there argue that it even deserves protection by law. Some of Banksy's work has sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Besides, isn't a man's home his castle (or in this case, a man's castle his home)?
On this side of the Atlantic, we've certainly felt entitled to paint our homes in whatever fashion we so chose, as long as we don't have an HOA ordering us otherwise.
Much fanfare was given this week to Julian Schnabel re-painting his pink palazzo in the West Village. And nobody ever denied our right to bad taste. Check out these.
Heck, we even transform our homes into life-size billboards by letting someone paint their product logo all over them. And we have a long history of doing this. Remember when the sides of New England barns were used as billboards for chewing tobacco?
Frankly, we'd like to see the Brazilian crew who worked on the castle try their hand on the New York Subway.
Also see:
HOA Sues Marine's Family for Banner in Support of Son
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Soldier Evicted by HOA While Serving in Iraq
HOAs: What Homebuyers Need to Know
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