Who is hanging teddy bears in Northeast Los Angeles? Twitter user @MissMendoza79, who first alerted Patch to the phenomenon, may have tracked down the answers.
After noticing bears dangling from power lines throughout the area, @MissMendoza79 tweeted us a photo of a swinging bear located at Eagle Rock Boulevard and Verdugo Road.
"this lil guy was hanging on a wire on the corner of Eagle Rock Blvd and Verdugo (Public Storage corner). Poor lil guy :(," @MissMendoza79 tweeted on Friday.
@MissMendoza79 added: "sightings seen on Colorado Blvd. York & ER Blvd. Baltimore & Ave 50..."
Theories abound about who is behind the hanging bears, with several commenters indicating that they are a tribute to longtime Highland Park artist Mike Kelley,
Kelley often used plush toys in his work, and Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch editor Anthea Raymond noted that the toys first began appearing in her neighborhood during the winter, which is right around the time of Kelley's death.
Kelley's memorial on Tipton Way in Highland Park is also full of stuffed animals.
However, @MissMendoza79 may have tracked down the real culprits.
She provided a link to the Twitter account @hrtschallenger, which belongs to New York-based pop/ice cream purveyors HeartsRevolution. You can read more about HeartsRevolution's curious beginnings on their website.
The @hrtschallenger Twitter account is filled with photos of dangling bears. Of course, that doesn't mean the bears were actually hung by the mysterious duo, but one bit of evidence suggests they might be.
Several of the hanging bears posted on @hrtschallenger's Twitter page are wearing a band of pink makeup around their forehead, the same makeup worn by HeartsRevolution's female vocalist, Lo. According to her bio, Lo is a Native Angeleno.
Patch Asks? Are @hrtschallenger behind NELA's hanging bears? We've reached out them in hopes of finding an answers.
