Bringing it back 2 Berlin- 2010

Wow.
That is incredibly disrespectful.
Uh, some cages definitly need to be rattled regarding who made such a decision.
I can't believe that someone could even... wow.
That would be like, if highway patrol people cleaned up a Cross and flowers on the side of the road and saying it's an act of vandalism... that shit should not go down.

I can understand buffing tags. No one paying $300/night for a hotel room wants to see a wall covered in poorly scrawled tags made with a fucking sharpie, or a shitty can of $3 spraypaint with a stock cap. Shit, I don't want to see that. It's not art, it's vandalism, and it's ugly.

But to hear that the Teddy memorial got buffed is, to be frank, insulting to everyone who knew him, and his memory. There's a significant difference between a piece of vulgar vandalism, and a piece of art. Graffiti is art. The Teddy memorial piece was art, public and heartfelt art that evoked emotion. It was also a release, a relief, and a very necessary reaction to a tragic, unexpected loss. The amount of time and effort, not to mention emotion, that went into the Teddy memorial piece was staggering. I can say so, I witnessed it first hand.

You don't just walk into a museum and paint over a canvas. Accordingly, you don't just walk under a bridge and paint over a memorial.

Whoever made the decision to buff that piece needs to be relieved of their duties (in laymans terms: FIRED), and the staff they sent out to do it need to be disciplined, if not fired as well.

When will Whistler realize that the community of people who actually live there and support the town year-round in so many different ways matters more than the hordes of tourists they cram into over-priced hotels?

Lastly, a piece of advice: A wall painted grey is considered a blank canvas. And a blank canvas is an invitation.

dave... if you come in here... and you want help repainting it next week... im in... or ill do it... or something.

That needs to be repainted. I know anyone who's there whenever they're there would be willing to help.

Meanwhile, who would one contact if one wanted to inquire about this decision? Preferably an email address to begin with, but a name would be helpful as well obviously.

this really sucks. Was there anything around the painting still, like flowers, or a picture? Because if you repaint it, you should maybe try and do that, to show the people that this really is to the memory of someone, not just a graffiti(which it wasn't anyways).

Launch Operation Freak Power

Kevin feet Banks has been briefed on the situation, stay tuned for an article in the pique,

RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER 4325 BLACKCOMB WAY, WHISTLER, B.C.
V0N 1B4 WHISTLER TEL: 604-932-5535 FAX: 604-935-8109
TOLL FREE: 1-866-932-5535 EMAIL: info@whistler.ca SITE: Credits

Let them know your thoughts. Write a letter to the Pique while you're at it. www.piquenewsmagazine.com

Sorry about the caps, I just copied it from the website.

ditto on writing a letter to the pique... stuff seems to get done in this town when someone writes a letter to the pique. And this is something that should be brought to the towns attention.

Maybe there is a better spot, such as in the skate park, where it won't be painted over? I can understand how the municipality of Whistler wouldn't want so-called 'graffiti' in such a squeaky clean and shiny town, but I'm sure there is somewhere else that a memorial can be left for Teddy that won't have to be re-made every few weeks.

it's a white square on a grey wall,

it makes me ask the question,

Should i write stephen harpers name on this white wash in big blue letters,

sorry, maybe my political vent is aimed the wrong way

or maybe i'll just paint the opposite wall in red waterbased beauty and write ENJOY COKE

I'm sure that keeps with interwest message-hohoho