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.
Invader in New York City. Photo by Hanksy.Alex Produkt in Montreal. Photo by Alex Produkt.Fred le Chevalier in Paris. Photo by Jeanne Menjoulet.Unknown artist in London. Photo by Alper Çuğun.Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by exilism.
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.Ken Sortais in Vardø, Norway. Photo by Darkhorse Winterwolf.Endless (maybe) in London. Photo by failing_angel.Unknown artist in Munich, Germany. Photo by Lord Jim.Unknown artist 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.Tek33 in London. Photo by Alex Ellison.Ernest Zacharevic in Singapore. Photo by Ronald Tan.Unknown artist in Nottingham. Photo by KylaBorg.
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.Revs. Photo by carnagenyc.Clepto and Ghost Owl. Photo by Brian KnowlesUnknown artist in Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo by Jocelyn Kinghorn.Unknown artist in Venice, Italy. Photo by Corrado Disegna.
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.Deeker. Photo courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project.Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.Unknown artist. Photo by Tristan Taussac.Unknown artist in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Stik in the East Village facing Tompkins Square Park
Early last month, UK-based Stik spent a few days in NYC and left one more variation of his signature character on East 9th Street in the East Village. This coming Tuesday, October 29, he is participating in ARTWALK NY 2013, a benefit auction for the Coalition for the Homeless. Piggyback, a woodcut print on Japanese paper, was fashioned during his recent visit to Japan.
On a huge canvas at the Dorian Grey Gallery on East 9th StreetPiggyback, woodcut print on Japanese paper, to be auctioned at ARTWALK NY 2013.
Photo of Stik on East 9th Street by Tara Murray; inside Dorien Gray Gallery by Dani Reyes Mozeson and Piggyback print, courtesy of the artist
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.
Aiko in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.Harlequinade in San Francisco. Photo by DangerRanger.Paul Richard in NYC. Photo by Chris Christian.Spud at 5 Pointz in NYC. Photo by David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott.Unknown artist in Toronto. Photo by Mary Crandall.
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. Photo by red DOT Photo Video.Hero de Janeiro in Amsterdam. Photo by Tobias Abel.Unknown artist in Granada. Photo by Jeanne Menjoulet.Unknown artist in Nottingham. Photo by KylaBorg.Unknown artist in Barcelona. Photo by Digerible.
Today we have Lush‘s fifth comic in a 10-part series. Remember folks, Shepard Fairey and Bansky are the exceptions and even they worked their asses off for years. As Woody Guthrie said, “if you ain’t got the do re mi, folks, you ain’t got the do re mi.” What do you think? – RJ
