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The British artist known as Banksy took on the streets of New York with this past month’s project, “Better Out than In”. The artist gained notoriety with the documentary (mockumentary?) “Exit through the Gift Shop”, which was released in 2010. Banksy is one of few graffiti artist that has been able to successfully capitalize on street art. His skills are now widely requested, as they lend a comical and professional touch to the many graffiti-plagued walls of big cities. Banksy works hard to maintain his anonymity, even appearing in the documentary with his features blacked-out.
Banksy’s Works
Although Banksy is best known for his sarcastic and sometimes politically charged street art, he is not strictly a street artist, and can create on canvas just as well as concrete. Recently, he is credited with purchasing a second-hand landscape and painting a contemplative Nazi soldier into the piece, then anonymously gifting it to the Housing Works Thrift Shop. The picture went for auction last week with a starting price of $76,000. All proceeds from the painting will go to Housing Works, a charity that is dedicated to ending AIDS and homelessness.
Although most of Banksy’s New York street pieces were spray-art, there were also sculptures, video clips, and various other types of works. Throughout October, Banksy released one piece of art per day in one of the five boroughs, letting followers know the location via his website. The project attracted many fans each day, adding exponentially to the artist’s renown. Some of his works from the Better out than in project include silhouette figures in various poses, cheeky quotations, a sphinx-esque sculpture entitled “Everything but the kitchen Sphinx”, a reaper dummy riding a bumper car, and a truck with stuffed lambs and cow’s heads poking out, making noises of fear as they hypothetically head to slaughter. While not all viewers of the artists work were happy with it, Banksy definitely attracted the attention of New Yorkers and the world.
