You can say without a breath of hyperbole that BLU is one of the most imaginative, creative and pioneering street artists on the planet — we’ve often gushed about his works such as the MUTO animation and his truly monumental Big Bang Big Boom piece. That’s why this article of news is so disturbing, especially since it’s taken place in our own Los Angeles. On Wedsnesday of this week, BLU painted a giant mural on the wall of the MOCA Museum in Los Angeles, depicting a field of coffins wrapped in dollar bills. Politically charged, and anti-war as most of BLU’s work, the piece made a strong statement — as street art often does, and should. Only 24 hours later, however, the mural was buffed over and erased. This is truly shocking for art fans, and believers in free speech in general. As we noted at the beginning of the year, when Jeffrey Deitch was named the new director of MOCA, it marked the first time a gallery owner was named a director of a major American museum. As an avid fan of street art, Deitch’s selection was to mark a new era at the much lauded musuem. And his upcoming exhibit in Spring of 2011 on the history of street art, titled Art on the Streets, was evidence of this evolution. But this latest decision is nothing less than explicit censorship — surely the antithesis of art, and of a museum’s basic essence. To be mentioned, there are those that believe this could be some sort of Banksy-type publicity stunt, so we’ll keep our eyes on the story. But if it isn’t (why would they only keep it up for 24 hours?), and MOCA has caved into some sort of outside pressure, then Deitch will have disappointed many who had hope in his new position.

via unurth