> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Crimes of the Art - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/crimes-of-the-art-43/ - Published: 2015-12-29T20:15:46.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T15:46:46.000Z - Description: On this week’s art crime blotter: photos of same-sex couples are vandalized, Justin Bieber's street stencil campaign irks San Francisco, and a man wearing a panda hat steals art from a King Kong fast food restaurant. - Author: Benjamin Sutton - Tags: News, Art Crime, Crimes of the Art, Justin Bieber, Lawsuits, Vandalism, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:13 (2014, 2015, part 3) ![A statue of Elvis Presley outside Memphis Mansion (formerly Graceland Randers) in Randers, Denmark (photo by Insights Unspoken/Flickr)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/12/crimes-art-graceland-randers.jpg) A statue of Elvis Presley outside Memphis Mansion (formerly Graceland Randers) in Randers, Denmark (photo by Insights Unspoken/Flickr) [*Crimes of the Art*](http://hyperallergic.com/tag/crimes-of-the-art/) *is a weekly survey of artless criminals’ cultural misdeeds. Crimes are rated on a highly subjective scale from one “Scream” emoji — the equivalent of a vandal tagging the exterior of a local history museum in a remote part of the US — to five “Scream” emojis — the equivalent of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist.* ## Danish Elvis Museum All Shook Up ![crimes-of-the-art-scream-3](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/crimes-of-the-art-scream-3.jpg) A museum devoted to Elvis Presley in the town of Randers in Denmark has been [forced to rebrand](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35167214?ref=hyperallergic.com), changing its name from Graceland Randers to Memphis Mansion. Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. brought a lawsuit against the Danish institution — which is housed in a replica of Presley’s Graceland home twice the size of the original — demanding that the infringing name be changed and seeking 1.5 million Danish kroner (\~$220,000) in damages. (In case you were wondering, in 2013 Graceland Randers was the [48th most visited](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%5Fof%5Ftourist%5Fattractions%5Fin%5FDenmark?ref=hyperallergic.com#Top%5F50%5Fmost%5Fvisited%5Fattractions%5Fin%5FDenmark) tourist attraction in Denmark.) **Verdict:** Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. should heed some its namesake’s words — [don’t be cruel](https://youtu.be/%5FWGRdZCXF2E?ref=hyperallergic.com). ## Homophobes Attack Anti-Homophobia Photo Show ![crimes-of-the-art-scream-4](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/crimes-of-the-art-scream-4.jpg) An outdoor installation in Toulouse of photographs of same-sex couples by [Olivier Ciappa](http://www.olivierciappa.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) was vandalized, tagged with homophobic messages, reprinted, and then [stolen](http://www.20minutes.fr/toulouse/1746547-20151208-toulouse-taguees-puis-reimprimees-photos-expo-contre-homophobie-volees?ref=hyperallergic.com). The images have since been reprinted again and reinstalled, and the regional police is now [looking for information](http://www.20minutes.fr/toulouse/1750923-20151215-toulouse-appel-temoins-lance-retrouver-vandales-expo-lutte-contre-homophobie?ref=hyperallergic.com) from witnesses that could help them track down the vandals and thieves. **Verdict:** Sadly, this turn of events doesn’t seem all that surprising. ## Panda-Man Steals King Kong’s Art ![An art thief with a panda hat (screenshot by the author via TK)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/12/art-crimes-panda-hat.jpg) An art thief wearing a panda hat. (screenshot by the author via WOWT) ![crimes-of-the-art-scream-1](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/crimes-of-the-art-scream-1.jpg) A man wearing a panda mask [stole](http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Omaha-Police-Man-in-Panda-Hat-Steals-Wall-Art-from--363665161.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) framed artworks off the walls of a King Kong fast food restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. Security footage shows the panda-hatted thief loading the purloined art into his van. **Verdict:** As with most things involving pandas, the facts of this case look pretty black-and-white. ## Bieber’s Graffiti Campaign Leaves SF in Disbeliebe ![crimes-of-the-art-scream-2](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/crimes-of-the-art-scream-2.jpg) Canadian crooner Justin Bieber and the team promoting his new album are in trouble over a street advertising campaign that left the sidewalks of San Francisco covered with the title of his new album and its release date. The city is [demanding](http://news.yahoo.com/bieber-team-hot-water-over-san-francisco-graffiti-181403532.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) that the companies responsible for the campaign (referred to as [snipping](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sniping&defid=2306811&ref=hyperallergic.com)) clean up the sullied sidewalks. **Verdict:** It’s about time cities started cracking down on the commercialization of their sidewalks.