NYC Gallery Fakes Fake BANKSY Installation Really Badly
Photo: Maria Mayoralgo
While throngs of ignorant street art groupies will undoubtedly be cheering BANKSY’S so called “first show in NYC”—which is bullshit by the way, his work debuted at the Triple Five Soul store on Lafayette back in 2003—we took a more thorough look at the non-BANKSY affiliated BANKSY show at Manhattan’s Vanina Holasek Gallery. Although we knew this was an unsanctioned exhibit from the get and merely a gathered collection of his work—mainly comprised of prints seen a thousand times before—we didn’t expect the gallery to actually have the bullocks to try their hand at modeling the entire exhibit as if it were an authentic BANKSY-styled installation.
From the stenciled boy in front peering into the windows draped with Union Jacks to the ironically taped poster on the front door, this show had all the signs of a white walled gallery trying to slum it and imitate a “street art” aesthetic. In a thoroughly disappointing attempt at mimicking the increasingly photographed “prankster,” the Chelsea-based gallery even: purposefully hung his prints and artwork lopsided, haphazardly splattered paint for effect, sloppily scribbled the titles with prices in pencil directly on the wall, and strung up some “Caution” tape to give it that “art terrorist” feel, sigh! But by far, one of the worst offenses was this ridiculous looking stuffed animal rat seen peering over one of the walls—a sad homage to BANKSY’s infatuation with the vermin motif. However, we can only blame ourselves as the writings were, literally, on the wall. Before you enter Vanina Holasek there’s a stenciled poster (pictured above) wheat pasted outside directly adjacent to the gallery that sums up the exhibit in two words: “NOT BANKSY.” Not at all! If you want the real thing, you’re gonna have to head to the Holy Land and look for “Santa’s Ghetto.”
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I am looking to sell some of my Banksy collection - Di-Faced Tenners.
They are in perfect condition (mint) and I have kept them in an acid free folder and my house is smoke free.
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Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/banksyfreak/
I have uploaded a video showing the note to Youtube.
The quality is not great and does not do justice to the detail of the actual print. For better quality images please see the photos! (see below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPBWnYhnQvk
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Comment by Banksy Freak — December 11, 2007 #
While the exhibit is lame (and lamely done), your snobbery sucks. Don’t call the crowd “ignorant street art groupies.” You were there too, and even if they liked the exhibit, they’re not ignorant. Lack of common sense has nothing to do with them being there; honestly, I’d go too if I could see a lot of Banksy work in one place, crappy or not. Are they supposed to search all over the city to view it instead?
Comment by tony — December 12, 2007 #
It was an embarassing show. They are entirely full of shit with their stories about where the artwork came from. No respect for the work, the staff were smoking in the gallery. They even ripped of Banksy’s images and screenprinted them (cheaply) on tshirts and sold them for $50 out of garbage cans.
Comment by theoneyoumiss — December 12, 2007 #
I just found this while doing a search. I’ve always had an appreciation for artists that embrace the fact that art is ephemeral, and I personally hate the notion of trying to preserve art permanently, so naturaly I’m drawn to public art in general. I just had to comment on how freaking absurd it is to me that anyone would care about smoking near a print of a painting that was meant to disappear anyways. I also hate how people capitolize on art that wasn’t intended to be a product to begin with (though I’m image searching for the particular rat I want as a tattoo, it’s not much different). Thanks for the interesting post. That’s all
Comment by Trza — February 19, 2008 #