We’ve seen billboard takeovers, a spider hanging from a bridge, bus bench replacements, but here’s something new– a statue takeover. The only other recent examples of something like this that come to mind would be UCLA/USC pranks, but those weren’t designed with art in mind.



L.A. Artist REBVS, who also does murals and paintings, created this giant 5′ paper mache head, and installed it on top of a statue outside the Manufacturers Bank at Second and San Pedro. It’s still up as of this morning. If you check out his instagram, he documents the creation of the head and its placement.

The original statue is of Ninomiya Sontoku and was done by Junichiro Hannyo. Ninomiya Sontoku is known as the “Peasant Sage of Japan”, and is a notable 19th century agricultural leader, philosopher, moralist and economist.