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It is nothing new for subway advertisements to be improved upon modified by some dastardly hooligans. You’ve seen thought bubbles drawn onto a billboard to let you know what a model is really thinking, or genitalia appropriately placed on another. Now there is the latest culprit (or culprits) running around NYC, of what some are calling culture jamming, that has all the blogs across the internet yearning for him/her/them to be the next Banksy. I wouldn’t particularly care about everyone looking for the next street artist to jock and wouldn’t even post about it, but truth is that the work is just pretty damn funny. Some works are more political than others, but I don’t know if this is the act of one person, or a bunch of random acts of billboard mashing. I am going to guess that there are several people all sweating this style right now, trying to be an “activist” to impress some girly draped in American Apparel and sunglasses my Grandmother wore.

See more pics after the jump.

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Remember when the 1980’s were dominated by hair, glam, heavy metal? Of course you do! Deny it all you want, but I guarantee you know all the words to Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me“. Those were great times fueled by aqua net and cocaine, but it all came crashing to an end. Everything died because everyone looking to make a quick buck just produced cookie cutter copies of what came before them. Any sense of originality the bands of the decade had were destroyed by the over flow of water downed crap versions into the market. People got sick of it and turned their radios off!

That is the best metaphor I can think of to describe the state of the art world right now. Every no talent hack is out there blending the talents of those with originality who came before them into a nauseating pile of vomit mixed with puke and some throw up on top. Apparently if you put up a wheat paste poster in LA and NYC you are bad ass and brilliant these days!

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Before.

After.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately some people just have no idea what they are beholding. When Banksy visited New York earlier this year, he left a few pieces of art behind for the world to enjoy. Yet some people view these works as an eyesore in need of a white washing. This just makes me laugh, considering that the legend that is Banksy sells out galleries (with many pieces selling for more than the building he wrote on is worth), walls of his work sell on eBay for $400k, or get covered up to protect their value. It is a shame that people can’t move past spray paint as a medium to see the art that lies within (if they did, this guy might have been able to sell his wall for a few K - sucka)!

As the idea of cameras on every corner begins to be pushed more and more down the throats of citizens around the world, including here in NYC, just think of what that really can mean. Do you really want every move you make documented by the government? I for one appreciate all the anonymity I can get! There is something unsettling about the government knowing where all citizens are, what they are doing and who they can mail tickets to for something as innocent as jay walking. The idea of preventing real crime via camera surveillance sounds great, but walking around like a controlled zombie after a lobotomy is not the world I want to live in. I prefer order based on education, better living standards and concern for one another, as opposed to suppression and fear. How about you? To me, cameras are just a cop out to instill order rather than develop valuable social solutions to the real problems that create a criminal. Beyond that the cameras also become a tool used almost entirely to generate revenue via television. If you agree with me, why not reach out and contact your local politician and let them know what you want them working on, instead of these foolish plans with pocket stuffing ulterior motives.

Photo courtesy of Boing Boing.

Gotta love that wacky Banksy.

Read more on how Banksy pulled this stunt off, despite being watched by closed circuit cameras here.

Following the below post on 11 Spring Street, I felt it was necessary to put up this photograph of the building located just down the street. Right on the corner of Spring and Bowery sits another canvas of street artist and graffiti writers. While this building never reached the notoriety of 11 Spring Street, it’s walls have still been graced with the works of REVS, Judith Supine, WK, Shepard Fairey, the IRAK crew and many, many more. Now the majority of the building is covered in memorial graffiti for Joey Semz. Props.

It has been over a year now since NYC, nay the World lost one of the most valuable street art canvases ever to exist. For years 11 Spring Street was the equivalent of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with the works of modern day Michaelangelo’s gracing every inch of it. 11 Spring Street amplified the difference between graffiti and street art (because yes, there is a HUGE difference) and the battle and embracing between these two cultures. The walls were constantly changing and telling the stories of those putting their mark on them and tales of the city. The reason I am writing about 11 Spring so long after it has been covered in construction tarps and scaffolding, in the interim of being whitewashed and becoming multi-million dollar condo’s, is simple, I walked passed the decomposed shell of a building that was once a gorgeous piece of art, life and NYC and just missed it. This is yet another example of old and true NYC being phased out into anywhere U.S.A.

R.I.P. 11 Spring.

For more information and images check out these links:
Wooster Collective, Wooster On Spring, NY Times, Streetsy