I recall walking through a street of San Francisco (though I can't remember which one - maybe the Haight somewhere) when I saw a big spray-painted piece of art on a wall above the top of a building. I instantly recognized it as being in the style of Banksy. I doubted it at the time because I'm a London expat and it seemed too much of a coincidence to have your "local" artist suddenly turn up in your new neighborhood.<p>It was only later I looked it up online and found it was actually his work. I'm actually a little surprised that stall at Central Park didn't at least get a few people questioning who the artist was. Perhaps they did, but for brevity the video doesn't show those interactions, because they didn't end up buying anything.
Very rarely is a picture or painting interesting just by looking at it, but the story behind an image is much harder to sell on the street. As to "people don't recognize art when they see it" type of posts, there are plenty of Banksys out there you've never heard of. In addition to that, what would the appropriate reaction have been according to the poster? People fast-food shopping art at a street corner, like that's any better?
This is one of my favorite Banksy works. It was a block over from my last office. Unfortunately it was defaced by some other graffiti artists. Ironic<p><a href="http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Banksy-Hits-Boston.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/...</a>
Was that guy Banksy? I thought he never let himself be photographed without a disguise?<p>My favorite Banksy was outside of Galapagos when it was in Williamsburg. I loved walking by it until Splatter destroyed it.<p>Now, I'm actually in NYC for Comicon and I find out that Banksy was in Central Park .... I'm so sad now.
Colbert is trying to get some Banksy art on his studio <a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/429573/october-07-2013/banksy-s-new-york-reign-of-terror" rel="nofollow">http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/42957...</a>
Banksy is just the remainder of an unbalanced equation in the matrix. Marketing has triumphed over Art. The rebel artist is an anomaly, but it is not unexpected. Which has led you, inexorably, here.