Paintings of banks on fire turn art teacher into celebrity after being questioned by police for terrorism (PHOTO)

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In this photo taken Aug. 24, 2011, artist Alex Schaefer stands in front of a Chase bank branch that was the inspiration for his oil painting depicting the structure on fire along Van Nuys Blvd. in Van Nuys, Calif. Schaefer has had the police visit him twice after he painted a plein air painting of the bank building on fire. Schaefer explained his paintings are intended to be a metaphor for economic havoc caused by banking practices. The painting is part of a series that will be in a show on the theme of "disaster capitalism" held at the Beacon Arts Building in February 2012.

Tags: art center college, art center college of design, police encounterThe Los Angeles art scene is abuzz over 41-year-old teacher Alex Schaefer after one of his paintings, showing a Chase bank branch set ablaze, sold on eBay for $25,200.

But before he broke the bank (literally and figuratively), Schaefer had to stare down Los Angeles police detectives in July, and then again in August.

After an anonymous complaint, officers treated his initial painting as a threat, and Schaefer was interrogated twice over whether he was planning any terrorist activities.

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