Ethics, Art, Animals, Unsettling Dribble and Reader Poll

Art:21 recently talked about the ethics of using animals in art, prompted over time by Joseph Beuys caging himself with coyote, Damien Hirst hatching hundreds of tropical butterflies, Banksy painting live animals and Guillermo Vargas allegedly starving a dog to death in an installation in Nicaragua. Read more »

That Businessman Is Planning to Paint Over Banksy’s Giant Rat

The Telegraph contradicts BBC, reporting that developer Billy Palmer who bought the Liverpool pub donning Banksy’s 30-foot tall machine-gun toting rat actually has no plans to keep the art work. Read more »

Banksy Vandalized Pub Sells for Way Cheaper Than Everyone Said It Would

When it was first reported that a Liverpool pub with a massive Banksy rat painted on it would hit the market, the BBC said it had the potential to sell for almost $1.5 million (£1m). Well, they were off, but only by about $1,370,000. It ended up selling for $176,00 (£114,000) which was just about $50k over it’s opening bid of $127k. Smartly, the new owners said, “We’ll probably keep the artwork but we’ll do all the rest of the work that needs doing first.”

Historic Pub Vandalized By Banksy Set for Auction

While the Egyptian Theater in Park City is shopping a door that Banksy stenciled a small rat on, an auction house in Liverpool is attempting to sell an entire pub featuring a giant one by the well-off street artist. The oversize rat holding a marker—not a weapon as first reported by the BBC and Daily Mail—was done in 2004 during an art festival. The sale for the 200-year-old Whitehouse pub starts on February 18th with an opening bid of about $127k USD (PDF brochure).

Theater Closes Curtains On Banksy’s 3D Rat, Will Debut It for Cash!

While officials in Park City and Salt Lake were quick to buff Banksy’s promotional artwork at Sundance, private property owners were trying to preserve it and in the case of the Egyptian Theater, remove it for safekeeping. Read more »

Why Would Banksy Ever Trust An Imbecile Like Mr. Brainwash?

In the spoiler for Banksy’s recently premiered Sundance film, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” we noted how Thierry (pronounced Terry) Guetta aka Mr. Brainwash was able to gain access to the elusive street artist’s inner circle because he was cousins with Invader and was introduced by Shepard Fairey, but that doesn’t quite fully explain their camaraderie. Read more »