UPDATE: Well, while the audio description for this piece says that Banksy (called “Bambi” in the description) “is delivering calm,” the scene on St. Mark’s between 2nd and 3rd Ave is anything but calm, with a hoard of photographers desperate to snap pictures of the piece. So, maybe this truck was a bit more clever than I initially anticipated. So much for calm, the people want spectacle!
Despite the late-in-the-day post, today’s Banksy hasn’t been tracked down yet, although with the sun going down, I suspect we are only a short time away from the piece being found. For Better Out Than In piece, Banksy has installed a fake garden scene in the back of a box truck. Starting this evening, the truck will be traveling around the city “every evening from dusk.” According to the Better Out Than In site, the truck will be in the East Village tonight. I couldn’t help think of Marcel Duchamp’s Étant donnés when I first saw this piece, but Banksy’s piece doesn’t seem to have the same sinister twist. It’s just a bit of greenery (although perhaps fake greenery) in the city. So, get ready to chase down this truck. Or, try visiting a park or (if you have access to a car) going camping this weekend. Either way. Still, I like the idea of this lush little world contained in a tagged-up box truck.
Before getting to today’s + 5, I want to bring up this Buzzfeed article. First of all, the idea is pretty similar to Banksy + 5, which was adapted from an idea by Jonathan Lynn of Anewspace. That could be a coincidence of course, but Buzzfeed has a history of swiping content and ideas from others. Also, the headline, “F#©K Banksy, What About NYC’s Real Graffiti Artists?”, is ridiculous because they they go on the write about 3 street artists, and the only graffiti in the post is what is shown in the background in two of the photos. How about real writers like KATSU, ADEK, KUMA…?
But screw writing about art and graffiti. If Banksy’s audio descriptions are saying anything, they are saying, “YOU ARE OVERTHINKING THIS! LOOK AT THE ART AND ENJOY!” So here are some photos… Today’s + 5 are by Petro, El Bocho, JohnXC and two unknown artists:
Photos by KylaBorg, Olivier Bruchez, svennevenn, Daniel Hadley, Fabian Mohr and from banksyny.com