He’s reached worldwide fame while preserving his anonymity, putting the spotlight on the underground street-art scene.
Banksy is a British graffiti artist known for his politically charged, satirical work — which he does incognito.
Silhouette stencils accompanied by witty, but scathing, slogans critical of government and capitalism have shown up in cities all over the world for more than a decade.
Some of his work has appeared in deliberately controversial spots — from the Berlin Wall to Wall Street to the Israeli-Palestinian border wall.
Sometimes, however, the graffiti shows up in non-descript places such as a wall of a health clinic or the side of a convenience store.
It’s like the Mona Lisa being put on display in an empty parking lot — fans come flocking to see a “real” Banksy piece.
This month, New Yorkers have been on the lookout for the masked muralist and his city-wide project called “Better Out Than In.”
In a hilarious and appropriately anti-establishment turn of events, a couple of New Yorkers are turning a buck by charging people for a glimpse of his latest work.
They covered the illustration — a beaver chewing on a broken parking sign — with a cardboard box, allegedly charging $20 or the same value in pizza from fans.
Despite not selling his work personally or having conventional museum exhibitions, the artist has gained a large following, propelled by his Oscar-nominated documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop.”
One of his works, “Bird with a Grenade” was sold by a high-end international auctioneer for over $200,000 in 2011.
So, is $20 a pop really too much to ask?
Social media alerts a-la “OMG-a-real-Banksy” brought a mob of camera-happy tourists to a tough Brooklyn neighborhood it would otherwise never venture into.
The corner of Bradford and Pitkin became an attraction instantly, but what do the people who live in the neighborhood get out of it?
Besides media coverage and numerous selfies on Instagram, not much.
It’s easy to call these guys bamboozling opportunistic nuisances.
I empathize with you, New York City art lovers.
The struggle is real.
But the truth is, these guys are business-savvy entrepreneurs.
In fact, New York City was built on go-getters who made capitalism work to their advantage.
Banksy would be proud.
I would argue they’re not the only ones exploiting the opportunity.
The gentrification of neighborhoods, or the hipsterfication in this case, can be an exploitation of the people who live there if it has no intention of lifting up the original residents.
Making a poor neighborhood a center of art and culture for a new socioeconomic class is an eviction in its own right.
Obviously, the corner of Bradford and Pitkin isn’t going to become the next Greenwich Village overnight.
But it’s important to consider why these hustlers are indeed hustling every day.
Daniela Guzman is a UF journalism senior. Her columns run on Mondays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 10/14/2013 under the headline "Banksy’d be proud people hustle his work"
