Space Invader Leaves His Mark on Highland Park

An invasion is underway in Highland Park.

Fortunately, the invaders appear to be more or less benign, depending on how you feel about street art.

Over the last three weeks, tile renditions of 8-bit ghosts and aliens have been plastered outside two Highland Park locations. The works bear a strong resemblance to those of famed French street artist, Space Invader.

Two spots now bearing the Space Invader mark include THIS Gallery on North Figueroa Street and the live/work condominums on the corner of York Boulevard and Aldama Street.

Though it's possible the tile tributes to Pac-Man and Space Invaders are the work of a copycat, a recent post on the Los Angeles Times Blog indicates that Space Invader has indeed been plying his trade in the city of Angels recently.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Space Invader is one of two Frenchmen detained last Friday by the LAPD on suspicion of vandalism near MOCA's Little Tokyo Gallery.

The Times report continues:

Officials believe the pair were in L.A. for  MOCA's "Art in the Streets," billed as the first major U.S. museum survey exhibition on graffiti and street art.

According the Times, the two men were released, and investigation into the street art shenanigans is still ongoing.