Friday 4 October 2013

Banksy shows up on the streets of New York for month-long residency

the guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/02/bansky-arrives-new-york-street-art-residency?CMP=EMCARTEML6852&et_cid=51685&et_rid=7890755&Linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.theguardian.com%2fartanddesign%2f2013%2foct%2f02%2fbansky-arrives-new-york-street-art-residency

Banksy shows up on the streets of New York for month-long residency

British artist announces project called Better Out Than In – but within 24 hours artwork had already been tagged with graffiti

Amanda Holpuch in New York
theguardian.com, Wednesday 2 October 2013 20.21 BST
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British graffiti artist Banksy revealed Tuesday his first work in what he described as an exhibition on walls throughout New York. — Banksy revealed Tuesday his first work in what he described as an exhibition on walls throughout New York. Image: banksyny.com

Banksy has come to New York – and New York doesn’t seem very impressed.

On Tuesday, Banksy announced a “residency on the streets of New York” called Better Out Than In, and by Wednesday, the first of two pieces that appeared had been tagged with graffiti.

The first piece was discovered in the Chinatown district of Manhattan, and shows an urchin-like boy bending over, while another stands on his back, pointing to a sign on the wall that declares graffiti to be a crime.

A phone number appeared alongside the work for what seems to be a type of audio guide. In the recorded message, elevator music plays, and a voice says:

Hello, and welcome to lower Manhattan. Before you, you will see a ‘spray art’ by the artist Bansky. Or maybe not; it’s probably been painted over by now.

This piece is typical of Banksy’s output. The children in this case represent youth, and the sign represents – well, signs.

And indeed it was, tagged the day it appeared by the Smart Crew, a group of graffiti artists based in Queens. By Wednesday it had been painted over completely.

The second street mural found in New York by the British graffiti artist Banksy. Image: banksyny.com

The second piece was discovered on Wednesday, soon after it was announced on the website associated with Banksy's project, by the New York blog Animal. A text-only post on a wall on the west side of Manhattan, it reads, in elaborate script: “This is my New York accent,” followed in more nondescript lettering by “… normally I write like this.”

Two weeks ago, an image of a tagger vomiting flowers appeared on Banksy’s website, under the caption Better Out Than In. It was widely suspected that the image was painted in Los Angeles, setting off a citywide hunt. That particular drawing has yet to be found.

Along with the website, an Instagram account has been linked to the New York project. In the first 24 hours of the announcement, the accounts had acquired more than 8,000 followers.

A Twitter account is also claiming to be associated with the project, though its not advertised on Banksy’s official site.