Author: RJ Rushmore

RJ Rushmore has been involved in contemporary art as a writer, curator, photographer, arts administrator, and fan since 2008. With a focus on street art, graffiti, and public art, RJ facilitates and promotes catalytic and ambitious art outdoors, in galleries, and online. He founded the street art blog Vandalog and has worked at The L.I.S.A. Project NYC, Mural Arts Philadelphia, and Creative Time. Currently, RJ is Co-Curator of Art in Ad Places.
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Banksy + 5: October 29th

Banksy in a thrift store window. Photo by Allan Molho.
Banksy in a thrift store window. Photo by Allan Molho.

When Banksy announced today’s Better Out Than In piece this afternoon, people began running to a little thrift store on 23rd Street in the hope of scoring the deal of a lifetime. I would have run with them if I were in town. But luckily the thrift store was tipped off to what was about to happen. Banksy had just donated a “crude oil” painting. His crude oil series involves him taking old paintings, in this case one that he bought from this thrift store, and adding his own touches. Two early street artists, John Fekner and Peter Kennard, experimented with similar pieces long before Banksy, but Banksy has really pushed the idea and made it his own thanks to his habit of inserting his modified paintings in places where the unmodified paintings might normally hang.

This crude oil painting, titled The Banality of the Banality of Evil, features the addition of a nazi officer to the idyllic landscape. It’s in a thrift store that benefits Housing Works, a charity fighting “to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS.” Housing Works have put the painting for sale in an online auction ending in the evening on October 31st. As of this posting, the bidding has reached $157,200. If you’ve looking for a new Banksy and have $200,000 or so to drop, you can bid here.

More info and photos over at Gothamist.

Another view of the piece. Photo by carnagenyc.
Another view of the painting. Photo by carnagenyc.

Today’s + 5 includes work by Labrona, Ray Johnson Fan Club, Wakuda, Saki&Bitches and Dscreet:

Labrona. Photo by Labrona.
Labrona. Photo by Labrona.
Ray Johnson Fan Club. Photo by Ray Johnson Fan Club.
Ray Johnson Fan Club. Photo by Ray Johnson Fan Club.
Wakuda in Seattle. Photo by Dustin Condley.
Wakuda in Seattle. Photo by Dustin Condley.
Saki&Bitches. Photo by Amy S. Rovig.
Saki&Bitches in London. Photo by Amy S. Rovig.
Dscreet in London. Photo by Alex Ellison.
Dscreet in London. Photo by Alex Ellison.

Photos by Allan Molho, carnagenyc, Labrona, Ray Johnson Fan Club, Dustin Condley, Amy S. Rovig and Alex Ellison

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Banksy + 5: October 28th

Banksy at Coney Island. Photo by carnagenyc.
Banksy at Coney Island. Photo by carnagenyc.

Better Out Than In is nearing it’s end, but we still have a few days left of daily Banksy goodness. Today’s piece is in Coney Island. As pointed out by Animal, the numbers on the barcode seem to be a reference to a portion of the human genome (if I understand that site). If robots with spraypaint looks familiar, Lush thought so too, writing “Did #banksy just politely rip me off today? You decide, I rip people off everyday anyways.” Funny stuff.

Today’s + 5 includes Invader (more from his NYC adventures on his new Instagram), Alex Produkt, Fred le Chevalier and two unknown artists:

Invader in New York City. Photo by Hanksy.
Invader in New York City. Photo by Hanksy.
Alex Produkt in Montreal. Photo by Alex Produkt.
Alex Produkt in Montreal. Photo by Alex Produkt.
Fred le Chevalier in Paris. Photo by Jeanne Menjoulet.
Fred le Chevalier in Paris. Photo by Jeanne Menjoulet.
Unknown artist in London. Photo by Alper Çuğun.
Unknown artist in London. Photo by Alper Çuğun.
Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by exilism.
Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by exilism.

Photos by carnagenyc, Hanksy, Alex Produkt, Alper Çuğun, exilism and Jeanne Menjoulet

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Banksy + 5: October 27th

Banksy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Photo by carnagenyc.
Banksy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Photo by carnagenyc.

I really like today’s Banksy piece, even though it’s a bit more targeted towards an audience already familiar with street art and graffiti that most of the Better Out Than In. I was shocked these last few days. I was at a big family wedding, and it seemed like everyone I spoke with brought up Banksy. I know he’s got mainstream popularity, but sometimes I forget how much. But hey, if my grandmother doesn’t get this piece, I’m okay with that, because I think it’s a good joke for those who will get it. Plus, with my upcoming ebook Viral Art all about the internet, street art and graffiti, I’m always fascinated by street art that makes a joke about how it will be distributed online. Overall, one of my preferred pieces from the show for sure. The one I’d make a trip out to see in person.

Today Banksy also posted an ostensible “blocked message” to the Better Out Than In site along with this piece: The draft of an op-ed he submitted to The New York Times mocked up to appear as it would if it were published in the paper. But the NYTimes editors rejected Banksy’s article (which argued that Freedom Tower is a terrible building to put up in place of the Twin Towers). That’s not a blocked message. That’s an editor doing his or her job and deciding what to publish. Read the article and see for yourself. Do you really think it meets the standard of quality that people expect (whether or not it’s always reached) from the New York Times? I didn’t have an opinion one way or the other about Freedom Tower before today, and I still don’t have an opinion on it. Shouldn’t that op-ed have convinced me or at least got me thinking about the issue? I’ve definitely offered up some poorly thought out and poorly written criticism here on Vandalog from time to time, but I never expected it to appear in the New York Times or implied censorship when it wasn’t.

So today we have 2 elements to the + 5. First, I want to point out five articles that where I think the writers have done a nice job voicing an opinion about the work of street artists or graffiti writers or the cultures of street art and graffiti:

And for our regular + 5, we have work by Mr. Toll, Ken Sortais, Endless (I assume) and two unknown artists:

Mr. Toll in New York City. Photo by Hrag Vartanian.
Mr. Toll in New York City. Photo by Hrag Vartanian.
Ken Sortais in Vardø, Norway. Photo by Darkhorse Winterwolf.
Ken Sortais in Vardø, Norway. Photo by Darkhorse Winterwolf.
Endless (maybe) in London. Photo by failing_angel.
Endless (maybe) in London. Photo by failing_angel.
Unknown artist in Munich, Germany. Photo by Lord Jim.
Unknown artist in Munich, Germany. Photo by Lord Jim.
Unknown artist in London. Photo by duncan c.
Unknown artist in London. Photo by duncan c.

Photos by carnagenyc, Hrag Vartanian, failing_angel, Lord Jim and duncan c

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Banksy + 5: October 26th

Banksy in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Photo by carnagenyc.
Banksy in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Photo by carnagenyc.

Today’s Banksy is this little piece of advice on a truck in Sunset Park Brooklyn. Animal has the exact location. I’m in a rush, so moving right on to the + 5, today there’s work by Reinhard Schleining, Unga, Tek33, Ernest Zacharevic and one unknown artist:

Reinhard Schleining in London. Photo by duncan c.
Reinhard Schleining in London. Photo by duncan c.
Unga of Broken Fingaz Crew in London. Photo by duncan c.
Unga of Broken Fingaz Crew in London. Photo by duncan c.
Tek33 in London. Photo by Alex Ellison.
Tek33 in London. Photo by Alex Ellison.
Ernest Zacharevic in Singapore. Photo by Ronald Tan.
Ernest Zacharevic in Singapore. Photo by Ronald Tan.
Unknown artist in Nottingham. Photo by KylaBorg.
Unknown artist in Nottingham. Photo by KylaBorg.

Photos by carnagenyc, duncan c, Alex Ellison, Ronald Tan and KylaBorg

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Banksy + 5: October 25th

Banksy's grim reaper at Houston and Elizabeth streets. Photo courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project.
Banksy’s grim reaper at Houston and Elizabeth streets. Photo courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project.

Yesterday Banksy announced his Better Out Than In piece quite late in the day. That, combined with some WordPress issues that we’ve been facing, and today’s Banksy + 5 is a day late. Sorry. Anyway, the piece was announced in the evening because it’s another performance and this one starts at dusk. As you can see in the video below (originally posted to Banksy’s site), the grim reaper in a bumper-car character drives all this little stage Banksy has set up at Houston and Elizabeth streets (right next to where Swoon and Groundswell are working on a piece at the Bowery and Houston mural location). The piece will be active from dusk to midnight today and Sunday if you want to go check it out. Me, I’m not too bothered. Also, there’s an audio description for the piece on Banksy’s site. Interesting side note: Banksy previously used the grim-reaper-riding-a-bumper-car image in this painting that he gave to the band Brace Yourself for changing their name from Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Today we have Clet Abraham, Revs, Ghost Owl and two unknown artists in the + 5:

Clet Abraham in London. Photo by Dave Nolionsinengland.
Clet Abraham in London. Photo by Dave Nolionsinengland.
Revs. Photo by carnagenyc.
Revs. Photo by carnagenyc.
Clepto and Ghost Owl. Photo by Brian Knowles
Clepto and Ghost Owl. Photo by Brian Knowles
Unknown artist in Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo by Jocelyn Kinghorn.
Unknown artist in Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo by Jocelyn Kinghorn.
Unknown artist in Venice, Italy. Photo by Corrado Disegna.
Unknown artist in Venice, Italy. Photo by Corrado Disegna.

Photos by The L.I.S.A. Project, carnagenyc, Dave Nolionsinengland, Brian Knowles, Jocelyn Kinghorn and Corrado Disegna

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Banksy + 5: October 24th

Banksy and the crowds. Photo by carnagenyc.
Banksy and the crowds. Photo by carnagenyc.

If Banksy did today’s Better Out Than In piece illegally, he’s really outdone himself. The stencil of this lonely man is outside of the Hustler strip club, so I’ve got to assume that the spot is busy and guarded at pretty much all hours. It’s also a nice site-specific piece. So much of the best street art is about placement and responding to what’s nearby, and Banksy is a master of that.

For our +5 today, I’ve got work by FKDL, Deeker and three unknown artists:

FKDL in Brooklyn. Photo by Chris Christian.
FKDL in Brooklyn. Photo by Chris Christian.
Deeker. Photo courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project.
Deeker. Photo courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project.
Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Unknown artist. Photo by Tristan Taussac.
Unknown artist. Photo by Tristan Taussac.
Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.

Photos by carnagenyc, Chris Christian, duncan c, Tristan Taussac and courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project

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Banksy + 5: October 22nd

Banksy in Queens. Photo (which I've cropped) by carnagenyc.
Banksy in Queens. Photo (which I’ve cropped) by carnagenyc.

Great piece for Better Out Than In today, although as I imagine Banksy expected, the piece is already in the hands of someone else. According to my source who got up close to the piece, Banksy’s Sphinx sculpture is not entirely made of cinderblocks, but the main bust and possibly more of it is made of some sort of foam and then coated with a thin layer of concrete dust.

I was going to write all about how this piece is a fantastic continuation of Banksy fascination with crowd response, and how this piece is really not about how the piece looks, but whether or not people would steal chunks of it or the whole thing, paralleling the history of theft and preservation that plagues real Egyptian monuments. But then Hyperallergic did that really well. So please, do read their article on this piece.

And of course, the piece has already been removed from the site, although it’s unclear who these people are removing it.

Anyway, great piece.

Today’s + 5 includes Aiko, Harlequinade, Paul Richard, Spud and one unknown artist:

Aiko in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Aiko in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Harlequinade in San Francisco. Photo by DangerRanger.
Harlequinade in San Francisco. Photo by DangerRanger.
Paul Richard in NYC. Photo by Chris Christian.
Paul Richard in NYC. Photo by Chris Christian.
Spud at 5 Pointz in NYC. Photo by David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott.
Spud at 5 Pointz in NYC. Photo by David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott.
Unknown artist in Toronto. Photo by Mary Crandall.
Unknown artist in Toronto. Photo by Mary Crandall.

Photos by carnagenyc, duncan c, DangerRanger, Chris Christian, “David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott” and Mary Crandall

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Banksy + 5: October 21st

Banksy in the South Bronx. Photo by carnagenyc.
Banksy in the South Bronx. Photo by carnagenyc.

Didn’t love this latest Better Out Than In piece at first because it’s not all that original, but once again Banksy shows us that his work is really about the crowd. Check out all the people posing with this piece. No audio guide today, so let me try over-analyzing the joke: Any of those people posing at the piece, or I for that matter, could be that kid with his fancy pants and specialized spray cans, making crappy graffiti or street art in an impossible attempt to identify with a romanticized idea of the ghetto.

Today’s + 5 includes work by Alber, Hero de Janeiro, edit: VJ Suave (thanks to Thiago Maia in the comments) and three two unknown artists:

Alber in Bordeaux, France.
Alber in Bordeaux, France. Photo by red DOT Photo Video.
Hero de Janeiro in Amsterdam. Photo by Tobias Abel.
Hero de Janeiro in Amsterdam. Photo by Tobias Abel.
Unknown artist in Granada. Photo by Jeanne Menjoulet.
Unknown artist in Granada. Photo by Jeanne Menjoulet.
Unknown artist in Nottingham. Photo by KylaBorg.
Unknown artist in Nottingham. Photo by KylaBorg.
Unknown artist in Barcelona. Photo by Digerible.
Unknown artist in Barcelona. Photo by Digerible.

Photos by carnagenyc, red DOT Photo Video, Tobias Abel, Jeanne Menjoulet, KylaBorg and Digerible

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Banksy + 5: October 20th

Banksy on the Upper West Side. Photo by carnagenyc.
Banksy on the Upper West Side. Photo by carnagenyc.

Great placement by Banksy today for Better Out Than In. This is the sort of thing I love to see, where street art is more than just plastering an image onto any wall. The work actually involves the space it’s in. So effective.

For today’s + 5, I’m hoping for a lot of help identifying artists. We have work by Cel Out, one artist who wishes to remain anonymous, edit: Le Cyklop (thanks to everyone who helped with this identification) and two three unknown artists:

"So long, and thanks for all the fins" by Cel Out in Melbourne. Photo by Cel Out.
“So long, and thanks for all the fins” by Cel Out in Melbourne. Photo by Cel Out.
From the series "The silent revenge of Comic Sans" by anonymous in New York City. Photo by the artist.
From the series “The silent revenge of Comic Sans” by anonymous in New York City. Photo by the artist.
Le Cyclop in Paris. Photo by tangi_bertin.
Le Cyclop in Paris. Photo by tangi_bertin.
Unknown artist in Taimali, Taiwan. Photo by Alexander Synaptic.
Unknown artist in Taimali, Taiwan. Photo by Alexander Synaptic.
Unknown artist in New York City. Photo by Dave Baach.
Unknown artist in New York City. Photo by Dave Baach.

Photos by carnagenyc, Cel Out, anonymous, tangi_bertin, Alexander Synaptic and Dave Baach

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Banksy + 5: October 19th

For today’s Better Out Than In piece, Banksy posted the video shown above. As of when I’m posting this late on Saturday night, the video somehow has over 50,000 views and I know at least two people who searched all day for the spot where it was filmed. The power of Banksy…

On a related note, since it’s a little over halfway through October, I thought this might be a good time to remind readers what this Banksy + 5 series is about and why I’ve been posting every single pieces from Better Out Than In and accompanied (almost) all of them with 5 photos of street art or graffiti by artists other than Banksy. Initially, I had planned not to post daily updates about every piece in the show. Maybe I’d send out a link on Facebook, but I didn’t want to take the time to write up and format blog posts every day for something that 1000 other sites would be covering. But Jonathan Lynn from Anewspace in Dublin suggested to me, “you should do a column called ‘this is the new banksy & here is 5 more artists who painted today.” From that, I modified things slightly and we got Banksy + 5: Today’s Banksy plus five photos of work that had either been uploaded to flickr or emailed to me within about 24 hours of that day’s Banksy’ going up. Banksy is a mastermind of getting media attention, and I knew that even the simplest posts on Vandalog mentioning Banksy would get more hits than posts mentioning just about other artist or providing interesting or exclusive content. Just as Banksy uses the media, I figured we could use Banksy a bit. So, let’s get on with the + 5…

Today I want to share with by Nathan Bowen, Skeleton Cardboard, Sened, and three unknown artists edit: Anser, Aaron Rose and one unknown artist. Please leave a comment or get in touch if you know any of the artists that I don’t.

Nathan Bowen and Skeleton Cardboard in London. Photo by Dave Nolionsinengland.
Nathan Bowen and Skeleton Cardboard in London. Photo by Dave Nolionsinengland.
Sened in Tel Aviv. Photo by Astra Nilsson.
Sened in Tel Aviv. Photo by Astra Nilsson.
Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by aesthetics of crisis.
Aaron Rose in Berlin. Photo by aesthetics of crisis.
Unknown artist in Athens. Photo by Jean-Claude Utard.
Unknown artist in Athens. Photo by Jean-Claude Utard.
Anser in Toronto. Photo by Mary Crandall.
Anser in Toronto. Photo by Mary Crandall.

Photos by Dave Nolionsinengland, Astra Nilsson, aesthetics of crisis, Jean-Claude Utard and Mary Crandall