Social media exploded this afternoon after it was discovered that Banksy had kicked off a month-long New York City exhibition on the side of a building at 18 Allen St., near Canal. It only took a few hours before someone had messed with the mysterious artist’s new work.
The image depicts a kid standing on another child’s back, holding some spray paint. Until about 9:30 this evening, the mural also included a sign that read, “graffiti is a crime.” As we rounded the corner from Canal onto Allen a short time ago, a guy on a bike was spotted ripping the sign from the wall. As onlookers approached, he got jittery and fell from his bike before pedaling up Allen Street with sign tucked under one arm.
Earlier in the day, Street Art News revealed the Allen Street location. “For the next month,” Banksy announced on his web site, he would be “attempting to host an entire show on the streets of New York” through a project titled. “Better Out Than In.” A few hours ago, Banksy tweeted, “looking fwd to getting my hands dirty tonight.” Where will he strike next?
UPDATED 6:39 a.m. 10/2/2013 This morning Animal reports that Smart Crew has replaced the sign, after slightly altering it. The sign now reads, “street art is a crime.” Vandalog has more on what Banksy might be up to with this project and what we can look for in the days ahead.
UPDATED 8:29 a.m. Now the Banksy has been painted over:
poor guy. I like his work but that comes with the territory.
It is to bad this happened a lot of people like Banksy’s work and all it takes one hater and some paint to ruin it. Hey Hater with a roller why not white wash out some Walmart or Citibank signs for a change and do the world a favor?
Art is our only salvation from the horror of existence.