It was only a matter of time before Better Out Than In, Banksy’s month of working on the streets of NYC, ventured outside of Manhattan. And unsurprisingly, the first outer-borough works arrived in Williamsburg and Bushwick. The street artist gave a few pieces of citizen graffiti a “Broadway makeover,” slapping the phrase “The Musical” over existing tags that say “dirty underwear” (Williamsburg), “Occupy!” (Bushwick) and “Playground Mob” (Lower East Side). It’s not the first time Banksy has come to Brooklyn, but it’s been a while, and it’s nice to see him outside of Williamsburg.
UPDATE: We found the “dirty underwear” piece at 204 Bushwick Avenue, between Meserole and Scholes. When ANIMAL editor Bucky Turco came across the piece, he spoke to area resident Robert DeJesus, who said the original tag had been there for at least two months, but that Banksy’s “Musical” addition was added three days ago.
When Bucky told DeJesus it was by a famous artist, DeJesus asked an older man who had been cleaning the piece to stop.
“I should build a wall around it and start charging money,” he joked.
We got the LES piece, too. It’s next to 7 Delancey Street, between Bowery and Christie.
A car service driver who works in the area told ANIMAL the “Playground Mob” tag has been there for “mad long.”
UPDATE 2: The “Occupy” piece is was at Broadway and Hewes Street in Williamsburg Stanwix Street across from Renaissance Court in Bushwick, and has already been buffed according to Street Art News. The above photo is what it looked like when Banksy posted it on his site.
Here’s what the wall looks like now as confirmed by Bucky and Krystyna Printup. It has been so painted over that the “Occupy” is no longer visible and presumably, not even the Banksy restorer can fix it.
(Photos: Bucky Turco/ANIMALNewYork)
