We all know the internationally famous British graffiti artist Banksy who is currently doing a month residency in New York. I’m sure we have all heard about the Banksy truck that has been spotted driving around in Williamsburg and was parked under the BQE on Sunday. There was a recent news story about the men charging to see the Banksy in Brooklyn and Banksy himself selling small pieces in Central Park unbeknowst to most passersby.
Banksy Truck under the BQE in Williamsburg
Banksy
Follow Your Dreams, Cancelled
Banksy
Girl with Balloon
Banksy recently put up a new piece in Woodside Queens near 38th Avenue which has been defiled by individuals from a local clothing brand named Problem Child run by a few young Filipino men. Personally, I’ve attended a few of their launch parties which promote collaborations between designers and musicians. They took it upon themselves to leave their tags (i.e. Beardo, Problem Child, etc.) all over the Banksy piece in a way as to promote their clothing line. You know the saying “bad press is still good press?” Well, in this case it may not be so good. Although I’m sure it will get them press in lieu of the bold move they made, it will however mostly lead to great repercussions. This passed Monday morning Problem Child posted a picture on Instagram of the new undefiled Banksy but it has since been removed.
Some of us may be familiar with the early Robert Rauschenberg piece Erased de Kooning Drawing, where he obtained a drawing by the artist Willem de Kooning, erased it and placed it in a simple gilded frame. The work is a development from his early monochrome white paintings that he created in 1951. The written inscription to the frame was done by Jasper Johns and the work meant to serve to discover whether an artwork could be produced entirely through erasure. Behind this was artistic and intellectual merit unlike with the defacing of the Banksy. There is a code among street artists that one does not draw over another artist’s piece unless it is in disrespect to make a statement. This is why the 5 pointz, which may be taken down in the near future for a Realty Project in Queens, are such a seamless mural of street artists working together.
Personally, I do not believe that defiling someone’s work just to get recognition is the appropriate move. There should be a mutual respect between artists and their work, regardless the medium. People have been known to attempt to defile paintings in museums before. Just because a piece is not hanging on the walls of the MoMA does not mean that the attempt or damage should go unpunished. The ignorance behind this act is mortifying. I guess now we’ll just have to see how Banksy chooses to respond to this statement. Here is to your 15 minutes of fame.
Defiled Banksy
Problem Child’s Instagram page
Beardo_Problemchildny Instagram – One of the taggers
BanksyNYC Instagram
Aesthetic Fraktur 