Banksy Does New York

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1

Probably some illegal sh*t

going on here...

- Yeah.

- Yo, dude, we're gonna get...

This project's gonna get busted.

- People over here.

- Get the net out of there.

Yo, you want some help?

- When I get on the truck...

- Yeah. Yeah.

Yo, throw it here.

I got it.

Yo. Yo.

Yo. the cops are here.

Move out the way so I can go!

Yo. yo!

Sh*t.

Yo! yo! Yo!

Where you going?

What are you doing?

Move! Move!

Go!

- It's mine.

- It's not yours.

Let go. Let go.

One last time, you need to let go.

Everybody, let go.

Keep in the dark

to stay out of the light

keep in the dark

to stay out of the light

keep in the dark

to stay out of the light

just hang in the sunshine

la, ah-ah-ah

la, ah, ah, ah-ah-ah

la, ah, ah, ah-ah-ah

la, ah, ah, ah-ah-ah

I'd appreciate if you guys

would back this up.

- Please back up, okay?

- Okay.

Move back!

It was really crazy.

It almost seemed like a scene

out of a movie.

Pleading with the police

to take it out or put it back up.

Turn off your light,

let's step into the dark

sleep away like shining into her

save your face and get behind...

Let's move back.

Move back. Move back.

Into the earth

earth

- He stole it.

- Yeah.

Yo, don't touch me.

What are we doing?

Where am I going?

Let's start off with

a little tutorial on banksy.

Just who is this nefarious character?

Well, that's the thing.

People don't know too much about him.

He's anonymous in the age

where it's nearly impossible

to be anonymous.

He has a great instinct

for pushing buttons.

He's distinguished himself

from other street artists

by having a bigger agenda.

He kind of exploded

into the stratosphere.

All of a sudden, everyone wanted

to talk about banksy...

- "Banksy, banksy, banksy."

- Banksy.

- Banksy.

- banksy.

I've heard about this guy for years.

Like the most famous on earth.

His works are far more famous

than his face.

So, from Bristol, right?

He's an english-born artist.

- What else do we know about him?

- That's pretty much it.

Banksy has never let

anyone see his face.

His following is international.

Banksy's art often has political

and social overtones,

and his controversial work

has appeared on walls across the world.

Including here,

on Israeli security walls

in the occupied west bank.

Since then, he's become popular

on the international auction circuit,

alongside Andy warhol and Damien hirst.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

are among the growing number

of collectors known to pay

more than $1 million for a banksy.

Banksy, a legendary

British street artist,

whose works are now popping up

all over New York City.

All right, he's been tagging the walls

of buildings throughout New York.

There's a well-known graffiti artist

who's making his Mark

in New York City...

On New York City.

I am Beth stebner.

I am a reporter with the daily news,

and I tracked banksy

throughout New York.

He announced that he was doing

a month-long residency,

so every morning, he'd post

to his Instagram account,

and he'd just leave the littlest teaser

of what he was doing.

There's gonna be one piece every day

for the entire month of October.

Every day,

he would post on his website...

...with a picture of the piece,

with no identifying location

for where it is.

Some of them had audio

commentary attached to them.

Supposed to be kind of like

a museum guide.

Hello, and welcome to lower Manhattan.

Before you, you will see a spray art

by the artist "ban-sky."

This piece is typical

of ban-sky's output,

relying as it does

on life-sized characters

viewed at a level perspective

in monochrome.

This effect is achieved by

spraying automotive spray paint

through an intricately cut shape

in a piece of cardboard,

or, to give it its proper term,

"cheating."

The children

in this case represent youth,

and the sign represents, well, signs.

What was interesting to me

as a journalist covering it

was the wide array

of people who showed up.

You had art students.

You had plumbers.

You had gallery owners that just

brought new yorkers out.

Yeah, we're looking

for the "banksky" piece

on 16 and Allen,

which I guess is the first

of his graffiti artwork

in New York City.

- He's doing a month-long...

- Right.

A month-long tour on

the streets of New York, right?

Right.

Putting artwork all over the place?

Yeah.

And we're trying to find the first one.

Right.

Now let us pause for a moment

to consider the deeper meaning

of this work.

Okay, that's long enough.

- What bullshit, huh?

- Yeah.

I actually believe they actually

covered up a banksky original.

So, it turned into

a scavenger hunt, in a sense,

where people would see this piece

and go, "oh, my God, where is it?

I need to find it before it disappears."

There's a lot of talk that it could be

one of the shop owners

or it could be him himself.

I don't know because the paintbrush

is still on the ground.

You just got to come as soon as you can.

I have to work later on today,

but first stop, see the new banksy.

I just wish I could have seen

the full piece.

I wanted to catch the banksy graffiti,

but I just missed it.

Huh, but I don't cry

about the could'ves

worry about the would'ves

sure don't give a sh*t

about the should'ves

so you think you've had it tough

had it tougher than the rest of us

you just couldn't take it

when it got too much

should've known

then you would end up

just like every other,

"coulda been a contender"

For the first time, we saw work

in a really seamless fashion,

where he would put out

this cryptic message on his website...

...which made like a treasure hunt

where you needed to go

and find something

in the part of the city

you'd never been in before.

We would post something, and then...

- Hashtag it.

- ...Hashtag it.

The banksy phenomenon, like,

trained us on to, like, how

to find things via social media.

Every day this month, it seems,

a fresh work will be unveiled,

but nobody knows where

and nobody knows when.

But I'd rather...

So, banksy would post something,

and within a very,

very small window of time,

people would just be tweeting

about it, using Instagram.

You'd just get a barrage

of people taking pictures.

The people who followed him...

It was their job,

it was their quest to find him.

The response to it

would be part of the art itself.

It's never been done like that before.

It was like a giant scavenger

hunt in New York City,

and we were all pawns.

We all played along beautifully.

For now, the city is getting

a new tourist attraction every day

and also a lot more graffiti.

You know what it was?

It was the integration

of the street and social media.

What was happening on the

streets was happening so fast,

there were camera crews

interviewing people immediately.

So, immediately I knew

that this was going to be

an important event

for 31 days in the city of New York,

prompted by banksy.

The "o" would be right here.

So, right where they

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