Banksy Klansman Piece in Alabama lasts 36 hours before being painted over then removed!

The striking image of a lynched Klansman on the wall of an abandoned gas station outside of Birmingham, AL certainly did what a good piece of art is supposed to do. Provoke thought and discussion.

Below is a link to an article in the Birmingam Weekly that covers that short 36 hour window that the Banksy Klansman hung from a rope, legs limp on the wall of an abandoned weed strewn gas station along I-59 in the deep south.

It is a shame that the piece did not last longer, but I can see where townsfolk would be uneasy about this in their locale. As a fan of street art there is still more to this story that I want to know about. The piece was spraypainted black before the piece of wall was physically moved. Was it done by the same people? And was it removed right after it was painted over? Does it still exist is some form?

And the big question is.... I'm sure at this point whomever removed it/defaced it must be more aware of Banksy's fame at this point, and I am confident that this peice could have fetched upwards of $75,000 at auction if it was removed without being destroyed.

*Update* Might have answered my own question as this was posted on banksyforum:

I went down to Birmingham from Nashville Monday night to check this out…it’s not everyday something like this is happens so close. Got to the site around 11:30pm (not a good idea in that neighborhood that late!) only to discover that the piece had just been painted over. The paint was still drying...I was gutted.

So...we went back Tuesday morning to get a better look. We ended up sticking around for pretty much the entire afternoon. There was a steady flow of the people in the neighborhood stopping by to check it out as well as those tipped off by sites like this. It was really amazing to see the range of responses that this piece evoked. Some people saw it as death to racism…other just saw it as hate. As one local said...”Hate breeds hate”…it didn’t matter to him who was hanging from the noose…all he saw was hate. Overall…it really sparked some great conversations between people who probably never would have stopped to talk if it weren't for this piece. Love it or hate it...I think the piece did it's job.

While we were there...we had started talking to and older African-American man who ended up being the property owner. He had seen the image the day before and had come back to take video of the place – only to find it painted over. He understood the painting and appreciated the quality of work...but he had no idea what he was dealing with...so I got to fill him in and explain why so many people were coming by to take pictures.

Long story short...in an effort to protect this image from further damage or from disappearing altogether...I told him he might want to take the piece down himself. Not sure if I'll get some flack for that on this site...but I thought it was the right thing to do. So…my friend and I ended hanging out with this amazing gentleman for the day and helped him remove the work. He did let us each keep one of the blank grey panels…so I guess I can say I own an original Banksy! HA!

Anyways…I told him I told him I’d help out and try to get an idea of what something like this could fetch if being sold. Any feedback would be great! I’d also be curious to know if anyone thinks there is any restoration that can be done. I'm not thinking there is...but I thought I'd ask.


Banksy Tags Birmingham

You Trip I Trip Road Trip!!!

About two weeks ago I found out about an arts event that was taking place last weekend in Beacon NY. Beacon features the art museum Dia: Beacon which features art from the 60's through the present and opened in 2003. Dia: Beacon and is housed in an old Nabisco factory which was then used by International Paper before being donated to the museum.

But we didn't even make it to Dia: Beacon since we headed there to check out the live painting for Electric Windows which is a street art installation that will hang in the windows of an abandoned and derelict factory for the next year. Last weekend 20 street artists headed to Beacon to paint their own 8' x 12' canvas live on the street while people milled about and djs, bands and spoken word sessions went down on the other sidewalk. Main St. is a thriving arts scene with at least 8 to 10 art galleries, plenty of interesting independent and ethnic restaurant choices side by side with hair salons, convenience stores and cutesy tea rooms and candle stores that look like they would fit right in on Cape Cod.

From talking to the locals the town (with a 2000 census population of just under 14,000) had all the same issues facing them that we see here in Worcester. Of course they have the advantage of being one hour by train from from New York City and sit at the base of a mountain on the shore of The Hudson River and we here in Worcester sit in The Heart of The Commonwealth.

Walking around the downtown area from gallery to doggie treat shop to coffee shop Crystal and I got nothing but a good vibe from the town. And it is easy to see that they are in the process of leveraging their past, their urban blight, the hand that they were dealt over the years and using the bones of unique features of their old buildings to create something that is viable for today. After all this is an event that made Crystal and I drive 3 hours each way to pump our small disposable income into their town's economy just because they were getting street artists to come and install pieces of work on an abandoned building.

Friday-Rene Gagnon & Kenji Nakayama Opening Reception

Where: 38 Cameron Gallery
38 Cameron St.
Cambridge, MA 02140
When: Friday 1/11/08 7pm-9pm
Runs thru: 2/29/08

This looks to be a impressive showing of street art and stencils at 38 Cameron in Cambridge. I first found out about Rene Gagnon back in the summer leading up to the art project "The Wall At Central Square". In visiting his website prior to the event I saw that we both grew up in the same city and he was just a shade older than me. I really digging most everything he has for sale up on his website. Most pieces combine a great use of graphics and paint and superb layering details. I think the "Buy Back Your Manhood" cardboard series in his store are kick ass, they sort of remind me of Faile, but hanging them might be tricky.

With the stencil stylings of Kenji Nakayama we switch gears from Rene's in your face style to completely dark, moody and hyper detailed stencils. This pieces sort of remind me of HDR photos they have that certain something to hold your attention. Plus there are a few pieces of freight cars which I appreciate since the train tracks are right outside the backdoor.


38 Cameron
Rene Gagnon
Kenji Nakayama

Choose Your Own Adventure Stencil Graffiti- San Francisco

San Francisco artists Stranger One and Stranger Two created an interactive art installation titled "She Loves The Moon". The story uses stencils in the format of the Choose Your Own Adventure books that I enjoyed while growing up.

There are 43 stencils in all, with the story beginning in two different locations, converging at a point and has 4 alternate endings depending on the path the reader takes.

This is a superb street art concept, the interactivity really seems to intrigue and pull in the passerby. This is a great way to integrate street art into urban surroundings in a very nondescript way, but can create a real and lasting impact with passerby. There are still street art detractors will consider this "vandalism", but in my opinion stencil art such as this which is simply painted on the sidewalk and tells as story such as this does nothing but enhance an environment, not detract.


She Loves The Moon On Flickr
Night Bandits Of Graffiti

Banksy Does New York

UK street art stencil god Banksy will be putting on a show in New York aptly titled "Banksy Does New York" at the Vanina Holasek Gallery in Chelsea from December 2 thru December 29.

I don't know if the show will be featuring any originals or just prints, but I certainly think it would be worth a train, car or bus ride to NYC just to gawk at the show. Unfortunately I know I will be priced out of buying anything, but there certainly isn't any harm in going just to look and soak up the experience.

Vanina Holasek Gallery
Pictures On Walls
Bankrobber London
Banksy Wiki