The British street artist has been in 'residence' in the Big Apple - but you had to be quick to catch his creations. Here's what you may have missed.
We're big fans of street art at Creative Bloq, so over the last month we've been keeping an eye on secretive British artist Banksy. Taking on a monthlong 'residency' in New York, he's been creating a new picture, video or prank somewhere in the city every day. Here are the ones we liked the most...
01. West 51st Street
Banksy's murals are always artful in their own right, but to get the full benefit, you always have to consider the context:
The Hustler strip club in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan is the perfect location for this pathos-filled depiction of a man in a tuxedo being stood up on a date.
02. West 24th Street
"Are you the sort of person who enjoys going to art galleries but wished they had more gravel in them?" asked Banksy when posting this image on his Instagram account. "Then this temporary exhibition space is for you. Housing just two paintings but also featuring a bench, some carpet and complimentary refreshments."
Riot cops may have become a bit of a Banksy cliche over the years, but he still manages to brings fresh wit and a new angle to his politically provocative imagery.
03. Cooper Union, East Village
Banksy can always be relied on to get playful with his surroundings in inventive fashion, and here's a great example.
This construction zone in the East Village, across from the First Ukrainian Assembly of God Church, was the perfect venue for this 'concrete confessional'.
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04. South Bronx
This fiberglass replica of a sad Ronald McDonald, having his shoes shined by a real person, appeared outside a McDonald’s restaurant in the South Bronx.
An audio guide describes the character as "arguably the most sculpted figure in history after Christ” and the artwork as “a critique of the heavy labor required to sustain the polished image of mega-corporation".
05. Brooklyn
The day after the New York Times declined to publish Banksy's submitted article decrying construction at Ground Zero (below), he posted it on his website instead, and this artwork (above) appeared in the Brooklyn area of Greenpoint.
In the column, which Banksy mocked up to look as if it had appeared in the paper, he writes that: "One World Trade Center is a non-event. It's vanilla. It looks like something they would build in Canada."
06. Meatpacking district
The title, 'The Sirens of the Lambs', says it all. This slaughterhouse delivery truck toured the meatpacking district and then citywide over two weeks of Banksy's residency.
While the toy animals - which were controlled by a team of mime artists - looked cute and cuddly, the truck emitted a loud, disturbing screaming noise wherever it went.
07. Queens
This 1/36 scale replica of the great Sphinx of Giza was made from smashed cinderblocks. It was located at Willets Point, Queens (at 35th Avenue and 127th Street).
08. Lower East Side
Often, Banksy's murals are quickly covered in tags by rival graffiti artists. But here the process was reversed, as the artist beautified a number of graffiti scrawlings on New York walls with this ironic 'The musical' logo. This example appeared at the Bowery and Delancey Street on the lower East Side.
09. Upper West Side
Banksy is known for harnessing the most mundane street furniture to create arresting art. This stencil on 79th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave, attracted big crowds of people, some of whom attempted to deface it.
10. Yankee stadium
This cat, sporting graffiti tags instead of spots, was created across the street from the Yankee baseball stadium at East 162nd Street and Jermome Avenue.
The piece is titled 'Bronx Zoo' - a reference to the team's nickname in the 1970s due to widely publicised infighting.
