From street art / graffiti, to public and mobile installations, to even "
public performance art",
Banksy's "Better Out Than In" residency in NYC has seen a gamut of genres being enacted by the elusive "artist", on the streets of New York City, and uploaded on the internet for a news-hungry world-wide-audience.
Regardless of your opinion of "his" work, there is no denying his ability to create news and have news of his artwork and actions being plastered on news sites, somewhat transcending the negativity of "illegal street art" (Mayor Bloomberg disagrees) into "newsworthy" soundbites. And utilizing social media platforms such as instagram @banksyny and
YouTube channel - which leads to his website
http://banksy.co.uk, featuring explanations for the images - wiretaps direct into the current cyber-psyche and helps provide a direct "visibility" to his work.
For folks around the world / on the other side of the world; we no longer need the news sources to let us enjoy / partaketh of, and follow his works, IMHO.
One aspect of this coverage, which I find myself enjoying, is that the images showcased are of the FINAL RESULT. No work-in-progress snaps to bury or burden attention spans, but only a single image of the final piece (two sizes of, if you view via his website versus instagram) and a minimum of accompanying text - letting the piece "speak" for itself (methinks). "Consistency" is key though, as constant display of images no doubt had been planned and organized, and THAT has my kudos as well!
The thing is, in the recent past, not many practitioners showcased their process ala WIPs, but then the floodgates opened and EVERYONE showed off their WIPs, and inevitably the uniqueness begins to run dry in a sea of images, doesn't it?
Nevertheless, I will continue to - and I suspect many others - follow his "art-making-activities" for the month of October, for his "Better In Than Out" residency in NYC, the completion of journey, which may well be a piece of "art" being perpetrated as well.
