Banksy's Latest Pops Up in Greenpoint, Get$ Covered Up Fa$t
Banksy hasn't been wow'ing street art fans in New York, though he (I'm going to assume it is a "he") is creating a lot of excitement around street art, which is a good thing.
Banksy hasn’t been wow’ing street art fans in New York, though he (I’m going to assume it is a “he”) is creating a lot of excitement around street art, which is a good thing. But his latest work, which his website suggests is in Greenpoint, reminded me a great deal of Elbowtoe’s more poignant phrases that he’s been scrawling on the streets of cities (particularly New York) for at least half a decade. Banksy’s work also riffs off a very popular meme that’s been circulating online as long as the internet has been around: it’s called Troll Quotes, which seems fitting for this Banksy.
I visited the new Banksy on the industrial block of Greenpoint and found a group of onlookers and a camera crew already there. I was able to take a few photos before some men from inside came out, measured the door, and proceeded to cover it up to “protect it,” they explained when a number of people asked. A person named Robert Dunning from Park Slope, Brooklyn, offered the man who was directing the crew $1,000 and a new door for the piece. The man, who refused to be identified, asked, “$200,000?” The man was obviously not tempted by the $1,000 and a door. Dunning later told a reporter that he would be happy to hang the door up on his wall.
Now it is being reported that the door has been removed completely.
Btw, is anyone else noticing the weird haloing around the letters in the new Banksy piece? I couldn’t get a good look to figure out why that was happening before it was covered. Street art photographer Luna Park has offered an opinion on the haloing. She suggested that if Banksy had used oilbar, the haloing may have occured with the sun hit the door and melted it a bit. Sounds possible.
Here are some Elbowtoes from years ago that give you a taste of his text series:
