Dear explorers, Niantic,
I would like to kindly appeal a potentially abusive Wayspot removal. The spot in question, The Pianist, is a grafitti and I believe the removal is not substantiated. The location: 1) exists 2) is relevant and unique (art piece) 3) is safe to access 4) is open to the public (24/7) 5) not on a private residence/land, nor near school or obstructing vital services. The location is within a long abandoned small railway station which is now used by many people as a strolling space and to walk the dogs (see here for google photosphere).
Most importantly, it represents the spirit of exploration ingrained in Niantic games, as the road side is a very mundane wall but when you walk over to the other side, you see a nicely crafted piece of art.
Moreover, this particular location had very good standing in VPS - production quality, as evidenced by a GSB screenshot taken some days before. VPS localisation was possible and there is also a Scaniverse splat still visible on the map (search for adress Kukucinova 6, Bratislava).
I attach some screenshots as well as recent photos of the location. Upon request I can take more photos in specific angles or a video, if needed.
Hello,
I have no special insight into this decision.
Looking at what you have given here I can only guess and my guess is just as likely to be wrong as right.
But I do understand your frustration.
I would suspect that this is regarded as a temporary unauthorised graffiti and as such removable.
I see the word Melon. Is that the tag of the artist? Do they post their works online?
Another issue is that if you use google lens it turns up this image
This seems to be someone testing a new phone and publishing this art work there was also another instance so it might be considered sourced from a 3rd party.
I attempted to search for this name, because I noticed it there too. But it’s difficult as it’s a common word and not really associated with a specific artist.
As for the painting itself, “temporary” would probably not mean being there for at least 5 years - which it is, if you look around the area on google photospheres (such as this one). It’s still there and unlikely to go away unless the wall itself goes away too. I can go and take any number of photos or videos to prove.
The article you found is indeed someone testing phones who has apparently passed through this area. It was posted in november 2021 and photos I gave here as well as the wayspot image are clearly different. As the painting still exists, it would be easy to produce a new photo to be extra sure it’s not considered faked or downloaded from internet.
