Illustration: Taking the Piss

"Taking the Piss" a BANKSY quote

Illustrated by Gavin Aung Than of Zen Pencils

[ Previously: A Cartoonist’s Advice ]

Street Art: Darling Look

"Darling Look" by Mobstr

Local residents woke up to a new mural by Mobstr this morning, paying direct homage to Banksy’s Slave Labour, which was removed from the same Poundland wall in July 2013.  This latest work is a precurser to the Sex Drugs and Painting Walls Canvases show, opening May 15th 2014 at the Old Truman Brewery, in London’s East End.

Street Art: Banksy Pop-Up Sale

If you were in Central Park Sunday, you were in for a surprise.  As part of his residency, Banksy set up a sales booth with 100% genuine, signed canvases.  The Banksy twist?  The sale was unannounced and almost wholly unremarked upon.  Though there were dozens of pieces of art worth probably hundreds of thousands of dollars, only three people made purchases for grand total of US$420 in sales.  One of those people even managed to haggle the price of their purchase down by half.  The Guardian estimates, the artwork sold could be valued at about US$225,000, so I'm guessing that those three people probably woke up Monday feeling like they had won the lottery.

Of course, few people would have guessed that these were authentic Banksy works, both because the artist is so high profile and because New York City sidewalks are littered with people selling Banksy ripoffs.  The performance piece continues Banksy's theme of examining the value of street art.  After all, if we value art for its beauty, why should it matter whether or not it's authentic? 

For those of you following along the past few weeks via Instagram, Banksy’s website (or perhaps following his tracks around New York), the artist has been creating a new artwork every single day in October as part of his "Better Out than In Residency."

News: Banksy Residency (Part 2)

Banksy gave an email interview to the Village Voice to discuss his #BanksyNY residency, "Better Out Than In" which will be taking place on the streets of New York this month.  In other news, Nelson Saiers has announced that he’ll donate $100,000 to victims of Hurricane Sandy if Banksy paints something that raises awareness about the storm and its victims.

Street Art: Banksy in New York

Banksy is hosting an entire “show” on the streets of New York for the whole month of October.  The project is called Better Out Than In. The artist's fans are already scrambling to figure out where Banksy will strike next.  Check his website everyday for updates and #banksynyc on Twitter and Instagram.  The Beast is among the foremost mainstream media outlets tracking his work, if you're interested in following that way. 

Banksy is also accompanying each painting with a humorous museum-style audio guide.   You can listen to the first recording on his website or by calling 1-800-656-4271 and dialing 1# when prompted.

Street Art: Banksy on the Olympics

Let the Games Begin by Banksy

While there's reported been a serious crack down on taggers in London in the run up to the 2012 Olympics, it seems like they just can't suppress Banksy.  The master street artist has commemorated the upcoming events with two new, politically-charged pieces. As always, he's incorporated the surroundings into his pieces beautifully.

For more, read the great article at The Atlantic Wire about Banksy and the complex politics surrounding street art and the 2012 Olympic Games.

Photography: You are not Bansky

"You are not Bansky" by Nick Stern

Mash-Up: Harry Potter / Banksy

"The Snatcher" by Hillary White

Available for purchase at Society 6

Street Art: Banksy on the Riverbank

Banksy on the Riverbank

Photographed by thelonelyvillein 

People are crediting this new piece that just popped up in the U.K. to Banksy, though it's authenticity hasn't been confirmed as of yet.

Video: How to Sell a Banksy

How to Sell a Banksy is a documentary by filmmakers Alper Cagatay and Christopher Thompson about their quest to sell a found piece of Banksy street art. The documentary is now available for download.

Banksy’s work now reportedly changes hands for millions.

But he puts up his street art for free. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you got your hands on one of these? Does it mean you’ve found a winning lottery ticket or just scraped some worthless crap off a wall?  

Quick Pic: Shopping Graffiti

"Shop ’til you Drop" by Banksy

Photographed by Unusual Image Photography

This new “Shop ’til you drop” Black Friday stencil appeared on a wall in Mayfair, Central London. The stencil appears to be the work of Bansky, but it has not yet been confirmed that this is an actual Bansky piece.

Gallery: The Art of Banksy

Banksy is the nom de guerre of a prolific English graffiti artist, political activist, director and painter whose true identity has remains unknown to the public despite his increasingly public career. His provocative stencil graffiti can be seen throughout the U.K., and thanks to an Oscar nomination for his 2010 documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop, in several spots in the U.S. 

Banksy in the United Kingdom

Banksy began his career in the Bristol graffiti scene in the early nineties as a hybrid of stenciled and freehand graffiti. By the turn of the century, he worked almost exclusively in stencils in order to create intricate pieces very quickly. Today, most of his work in the U.K. is located either Bristol or London.

In the Media: Simpsons Couch Gag

Last Sunday, Fox sprung what must have been one of the most closely held secrets in American television history. The Simpsons episode "MoneyBART" featured an opening sequence storyboarded and directed the notorious graffiti artist Banksy.  The sequence began with a few small visual gags, like the town billboard beginning defaced and Bart writing the line "I must not write on walls."  Then, it took a rather shocking turn with a minute-long sequence depicting a sweatshop of animators churning out Simpsons animation cells and merchandise.

According to The Showbiz 411, the political commentary is particularly eye-brow raising in light of reports that the sequence was inspired by reports that the behind The Simpsons now, in fact, outsources most of its animation to a South Korean company. You can read more at the New York Times, where Al Jean, an executive producer of The Simpsons, talks about the Banksy intro.

TechCrunch is reporting that Fox is yanking down clips of the opening sequence as fast they can find them, even from Banksy’s OfficialYouTube account.  So, I've posted screenshots below.  Still, for a short time, you can watch the entire the episode on Hulu.  Also, don't forget to check out the official Banksy website.