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.”
Reader Chloe sends these images of what is surely a new Banksy piece in Bethnal Green. And she seems to have captured the face of the artist, hitherto unseen. (However, we’ve seen that flower shape before, around Shoreditch—perhaps Banksy is here teaming up with someone else.)
The work seems to be some kind of riposte to Tower Hamlets council, which recently declared it would erase all of Banksy’s graffiti in the borough.
The YouTube video that claims to have caught Banksy at work
A video claiming to show graffiti artist Banksy at work around the capital while he explains his motives is becoming a major hit on YouTube.
The clip features an interview with a man who, in a thick West Country accent, claims to be the anonymous guerrilla artist, and follows him around London as he creates several works.
In keeping with the Bristol-born artist’s desire to keep his identity secret, the face of the man in the film is never seen, and he wears a large hat throughout.
His agents refused to comment on the video, which shows the man whitewashing a wall to create a blank canvas before painting an image depicting the Mona Lisa using a bazooka gun, believed to have been in Noel Street, Soho.
It has since been painted over. The artist defends his work as he paints, asking: “Who is doing worse? Is it the billboard people or the writers?”
He also boasts of being able to finish a piece in under a minute.
“In London you can get a really good image up in 30 to 40 seconds. I believe what I am doing is fair enough and makes the city look better.” He even claims the police have helped hone his skills.
“The Old Bill are a big part of the creative process, they are like this third party helping you make decisions on the design and the amount of detail you use.”
The video also shows the artist climbing over walls to paint a railway bridge.
“If a train driver sees you they call the British Transport Police straight away,” he said.
In the film he claims to be half entertainer, half activist. “If you can be arsed to get up in the middle of the night, go out armed with paint and paint pictures that people see when they are on the train on the way to work then you are in the entertainment business. You’re also in the start-a-revolution business, and a bit of both is probably ideal.” If the film is of the real Banksy – who has become a seriously collectable artist in recent years, selling a piece for charity at Sotheby’s New York in February for almost £1million – it will be the first time his fans have been given a detailed insight into his working methods.
However, alongside the authentic Banksy pieces painted on buildings across London, there is an increasing trend for others to create “homages” to his work, complete with stencilled signatures, leading to confusion about what is, and is not, a genuine Banksy.
These are more allegedly photos of Banksy with Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz fame.
World’s Famousest Graffitist Stenciler Banksy Caught on Film with DamonAlbarn
Banksy is a graffiti artist who did the Blur’s “Think Tank” CD cover . Until now nobody knew what he looked like.
THE public is making its mark on graffiti artist Banksy’s first British exhibition in three years as a whole street has been transformed into an art exhibition.
The Cans Festival, a three-day street party of stencil art, kicks off yesterday in an old tunnel formerly used by taxis, which was vacated when Eurostar left its Waterloo terminal in London.
Artists from as far afield as Brazil, Canada and Australia are also taking part.
Huge installations include smashed up cars, a CCTV camera-laden tree, an ice cream van, a cut-out of the Queen, and statues as well as artwork on the walls.
Boris Johnson also features in murals by a Dutch artist named Hugo Kaagman.
In one piece – We Need Change – the politician’s face appears by a picture of a Smurf.
From today the public can add to the exhibition with their own stencilling.
Banksy said: “Graffiti doesn’t always spoil buildings, in fact it’s the only way to improve a lot of them.
“In the space of a few hours with a couple of hundred cans of paint I’m hoping we can transform a dark forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art.”
The free event is open to the public from 10am until 10pm on Monday.
After that, the installations will be removed from the road, but the artwork will remain on the walls.
The exhibition takes place in Leake Street, near Waterloo Station.
Members of the public are being invited to take part in Banksy’s latest project, as an army of graffiti artists turn a whole London street into an art exhibition
The Cans Festival starts on Saturday in an old tunnel formerly used by taxis
It was vacated when Eurostar left its Waterloo terminal in London
Banksy had noticed an abandoned access road. Eurostar, which no longer owns the tunnel, helped to put his brainwave into action
Artists from as far afield as Brazil, Canada and Australia are also taking part
Huge installations include smashed up cars, a CCTV camera-laden tree, an ice cream van, a cut out of the Queen and statues, as well as artwork on the walls
Banksy said: “Graffiti doesn’t always spoil buildings, in fact it’s the only way to improve a lot of them. In the space of a few hours with a couple of hundred cans of paint I’m hoping we can transform a dark forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art”
The public will be able to play their part by adding to the exhibition with their own stencilling
The free event is open to the public from 10am on Saturday until 10pm on Monday
The public are being encouraged to bring their own stencils and wear clothing they don’t mind being damaged
Banksy’s pieces include a classical-style statues with a twist – one named David In Flak Jacket and another called Homeless Venus. Another statue is named Brew Period and is painted in camouflage colours and holding a can of Special Brew
The Cans Festival takes place in Leake Street, near Waterloo Station. For more information see www.thecansfestival.com
Banksy is a world’s most famous Graffitist Stenciler graffiti artist who did the Blur’s “Think Tank” CD cover . Until now nobody knew what he looked like. R those photo caught him at work??
IT’S a typical Banksy stunt – flypost the capital with a whole heap of posters and get Internet blogs buzzing with anticipation. But tomorrow at 10.30am all will be revealed.
A crack team of top stencil artists, led by the infamous Bristolian, will turn a south London street into a massive outdoor art gallery.
The location – being kept top secret until the official unveiling – will play host to more than 40 artists, including 3D Del Naja, Blek and Sten. Newcomers are also invited to create their own works at The London Cans Festival (being dubbed “a street party of stencil art”) which will run over the Bank Holiday weekend to 5 May. www.thecansfestival.com
