banksy

Banksy on Aesthetics

Hamilton Nolan · 08/20/15 08:55AM

“I’m lucky because what I make either succeeds or fails. Some people undoubtedly would tell you that’s why it’s crap art, but that’s the way it is. I feel sorry for Abstract Expressionists—how do they know when to go home?”

Gaza Man "Cheated" Into Selling Banksy Painted on His Door for $175

Andy Cush · 04/01/15 06:04PM

When Banksy lands in a city and begins a street art-making spree, there's a routine that usually follows. First, the stenciled paintings are ignored, then, after people realize what they are, they are gawked at and occasionally vandalized. Eventually, they are cordoned off and protected from the public, and finally, they are physically removed, and someone makes a lot of money, or hopes to. An extreme version of this complex lottery played out for one unlucky family in Gaza recently.

Mysterious Winning Bidder of Banksy Charity Auction Backs Out

Max Rivlin-Nadler · 11/10/13 10:27AM

Capping his month-long residency in New York City, Banksy donated a work of art titled "The Banality of the Banality of Evil" to Housing Works, a charity that provides housing to the homeless and AIDS patients. The work was to be auctioned off to raise money for the charity, but in classic fashion for the reclusive artist, the auction devolved into finger-pointing and accusations, with the anonymous winning bidder backing out of their bid.

Banksy's Newest NYC Installation: The Grim Reaper in a Bumper Car

Camille Dodero · 10/25/13 06:39PM

At dusk, Banksy revealed the newest piece in his month-long rampage of New York City's streets: a Grim Reaper in a scythe-powered bumper car, listlessly bobbing to Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." The installation sits at the corner of Houston and Elizabeth Streets and, according to Banksy's site, will remain there through Sunday.

Tom Scocca · 10/25/13 11:09AM

Here is a thoughtful article, in the New York Post, about the "complex prestige game" that informs the New York graffiti community's disdain toward Banksy: "'Street art' is associated with whimsy and even gentrification—things the mainstream considers socially good, or at the least, nondestructive."