British graffiti artist Banksy has opened his first official exhibition in New York.
Set inside a fake pet store, works such as a robotic monkey and fish-fingers swimming in a goldfish bowl aim to question the relationship between human beings and animals.
Heather Alexander joined the Manhattan crowds for a look at the surreal menagerie.
A scene titled ‘Tweety’ from artist Banksy’s New York installation
‘Chicken Nuggets’ from Banksy
Visitors at Banksy’s new installation ‘The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill’
Visitors view a scene titled ‘Leopard’ from Banksy
A scene titled ‘White Rabbit’ from Banksy’s installation ‘The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill’
‘Monkey’ from Banksy
A scene titled ‘Leopard’ from artist Banksy’s new installation
Hot Dogs’ from artist Banksy
People viewing artist Banksy’s new installation ‘The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill’
A woman stands besides Banksy’s ‘Tweety’
Guerrilla artist Banksy has opened his first official exhibition in New York. The fake pet shop aims to question “our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming”.
The New York Times said: “Banksy’s statements, like much of his pranksterish oeuvre, should be taken with a grain of salt. But there’s no denying the show’s attention to comically pointed detail.”
Banksy’s animatronic hot-dogs have sparked complaints from people “unhappy about seeing two hot-dogs performing a sex act”, he said.
Banksy said: “New Yorkers don’t care about art, they care about pets. So I’m exhibiting them instead.”
McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets sip barbecue sauce.His exhibition, at The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill, in Manhattan, features chicken nuggets with legs, busily dipping themselves in sauce.
The exhibition also features a fake rabbit wearing a pearl necklace, a robot monkey wearing headphones and watching TV in a cage, and a caged bird which has lost all of its feathers.A rabbit puts on her makeup.
A scene titled ‘Chicken Nuggets’ from artist Banksy’s new installation ‘The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill’ in New York City
‘Fish Sticks’ from Banksy
Banksy Pet Store NYC BBC
Banksy Pet Store NYC FOX TV
Fave Banksy quote:
“The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright, creative and ambitious young people, leaving us mainly with the slow and self-obsessed to become our artists. Modern art is a disaster area. Never in the field of human history has so much been used by so many to say so little.”
See Also: The Cans Festival - Banksy street exhibition (photos)
Banksy’s photos — Has he really been caught at work???
Banksy’s Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill Opens in New York City
The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill
(thevillagepetstoreandcharcoal grill . com)
No.89, Seventh Avenue South,
Greenwich Village, New York
(Between West 4th and Bleeker)
Nearest subway: Christopher Street
Open 10am - 12pm daily
until October 31st
(also viewable at night)
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:42 am
[...] Banksy’s Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill Opens in New York City [...]