“Banksy – Elizabeth and Houston at 6:30” I happened to just be a few blocks away when I got that text last Friday, and my curiosity led me to the old location of Billy’s Antiques. For the past month, Banksy has made New York his open canvas. His project “Better Out Than In” has so far called out the design of the new World Trade Center, given people a legit reason to visit the Hustler Club, and made the site of seeing stuffed animals change from a childlike innocence to harrowing nightmare.
Crossing Houston all I could see was a wave of phones raised in the air and a few people standing on top of a SUV (which was later reported to have caved in). I made my way through the crowd and came face-to-face with the Grim Reaper – something I was not expecting to see for many years. A smoke machine and lights went off and then all of a sudden Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” started to play. All I could think of at this moment was that it was ridiculous.
I’ve seen other writers sit there and try to pick apart his work and scrutinize it. But why does everything have to be analyzed? Can we maybe just enjoy the moment? Isn’t that what art is – something that provokes an emotion and feeling, that you decide how to take in? For me, it was another awesome NY moment – the kind that inspires so many to make the decision to move here, or stay here.
Our lives have changed so much in the past ten years. Remember the mystique and mysteriousness that rock stars used to carry? The anticipation of an album coming out – and that damn wait? I used to walk to The Wiz wondering if the album I wanted would be sold out by the time I got there. What did the artwork look like? There was genuine excitement and most importantly, APPRECIATION. Sadly, the days of those feelings are few and far between in a world of demanding immediacy and where everything is so easily accessible.
Then came Monday morning and Banksy popped up again in my neck of the woods on Neptune and Stillwell in Coney Island – you know, real Brooklyn. This piece included a Robot, Barcode and Pigeon. When I got there, someone was laying on the floor underneath the Robot, while another posed in front of a can of spray paint as if it were hairspray. As a group of random Banksy fans huddled together for a group photo (including a guy holding a sign that said “I am Banksy”), one of my favorite captured moments to date was created thanks to this project. Once again, it wasn’t the technical part of the art but the appreciation and love for something that brought people together and made a day in the life memorable. From these experiences, I now have my own understanding and appreciation for what Banksy is doing… he’s brought the tangible spirit back to NY. Better out than in? He’s right.