Better Out Than In
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''Better Out Than In'' was a residency undertaken by the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
ous
graffiti artist Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in Graffito (archaeology), graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple writte ...
and political activist
Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
during October 2013. Banksy unveiled at least one work of art daily, documenting it on both a dedicated website and an
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account. The majority of the works were
stencil graffiti Stencil graffiti is a form of graffiti that makes use of stencils made out of paper, cardboard, or other media to create an image or text that is easily reproducible. The desired design is cut out of the selected medium and then the image is tran ...
and chiefly political, a distinctive characteristic of Banksy. Other pieces and multimedia exhibits toyed with
dark humor Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
and
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
. The unpredictability of the show and Banksy's elusive nature stirred excitement amongst fans, while defacement from competing street artists and vandals became an imminent problem. While Banksy's works were inherently illegal, no official complaints were reported to the police; most property owners praised the art and some took measures to protect it. The month-long residency drew controversy amongst some locals for its more politically strong pieces, and received mixed reviews from critics. An HBO documentary film covering this period and residency titled '' Banksy Does New York'' was released in 2014.


Background

On 1 October 2013, Banksy announced on his website that he would be attempting to host a show in New York City for the entire month. This came after posters promoting an October event started showing up in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The title ''Better Out Than In'' is a reference to a quote by
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...
, "All pictures painted inside, in the studio, will never be as good as those done outside." In an interview with ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', Banksy said "New York calls to graffiti writers like a dirty old lighthouse. We all want to prove ourselves here," and that he chose it for the high foot traffic and hiding places.


Works

The works Banksy has included in ''Better Out Than In'' primarily consist of
stencil graffiti Stencil graffiti is a form of graffiti that makes use of stencils made out of paper, cardboard, or other media to create an image or text that is easily reproducible. The desired design is cut out of the selected medium and then the image is tran ...
, much of which are political in nature. His first installment, which he captioned "the street is in play", depicted a child reaching for a bottle of spray paint on a sign reading "graffiti is a crime". The sign was stolen and later replaced by
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
-based graffiti group
Smart Crew Smart Crew is a supergroup and art collective originating from Queens, NY, that was formed by SYCO13, MEY (Meyhem Lauren) and LUK in 1997. Throughout the years, the crew has acquired members and has become a collective of various artists includi ...
with a new sign that read "street art is a crime". Like most of his other works, the piece has audio accompaniment that can be heard either on the website or by calling a toll-free 800 number. In the East Village, Banksy's fifth work was housed in a delivery truck as a "mobile garden," which included
theatrical property A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...
showing a rainbow, waterfall, and butterflies. The following day Banksy posted a photo of a tracking device he found under the vehicle. Banksy's installments are located all across the
five boroughs 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
, with some being purely multimedia exhibits. On 6 October, as a way to have made an installment in
Dumbo, Brooklyn Dumbo (or DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one situated between the Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which ...
, a primary arts district of the city, Banksy posted a video featuring the
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
character
Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...
being shot down by
Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
rebels, the meaning behind which puzzled many. On 9 October, Banksy unveiled one of the more elaborate and politically strong pieces of the series. It featured armed soldiers and horses spray-painted on a car and trailer in an empty lot on the Lower East Side. Instead of commentary about the work, the accompanying audio was that of a classified video from the July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike. After being dismantled, the car was towed away to prevent further defacement. Day 11 saw an elaborate political display questioning the "casual cruelty" of the meat industry. Entitled ''Sirens of the Lambs'', Banksy drove around a military-style cargo truck filled with squealing, stuffed animatronic livestock. The truck fittingly made its debut in
Meatpacking District, Manhattan The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. The Meatpacking Business Improvement District al ...
, but toured the rest of the city in the following weeks. On 13 October, Banksy made headlines when it was revealed that the art an older man was selling outside
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
was actually authentic, signed Banksy canvases, sold for only $60 each. Having not announced this beforehand, tourists and park goers were unaware of the value the paintings had, which the BBC estimated could be upwards of $32,000 each. Banksy posted a video on his website chronicling the surprise sale, which revealed that a total of seven paintings were sold for $420 taking. A woman from New Zealand who bought two for $60 each later sold them for £125,000 at a London auction in 2014. Banksy unveiled one of his most controversial pieces of the series on 15 October, with a depiction of the
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
skyline featuring the former
Twin Towers Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
, with a burnt-orange
chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...
in place where one of the hijacked airplanes struck the North Tower. The silhouette appeared on the side of a building in
TriBeCa Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...
, with an identical depiction along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, facing the downtown skyline. The Brooklyn Heights piece was eventually buffed out by the city, requiring chemicals and a high-powered pressure washer. The removal followed a taunt Banksy had directed toward the city on his website. Meanwhile, the sister piece in TriBeCa served as a shrine, people placing flowers next to it, as well as a letter asking no one to touch the painting.
Acrylic glass Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bran ...
was eventually installed to protect the piece, before someone painted over it. Banksy extended his work beyond the canvas and city street with other political statements, including on 16 October, when he crafted a giant
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...
sculpture of
Ronald McDonald Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, an ...
, with a real live Banksy assistant shining its shoes. It was unveiled in
the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
but was moved outside of a different
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
restaurant across the city around lunch time for several days. The work criticized the "heavy labor required to sustain the polished image of a mega-corporation", as the narrator of the audio accompaniment put it. On 18 October there was a pair of paintings that Banksy collaborated on with Os Gemeos depicting a single soldier amongst masked citizens and vice versa. "The audio commentary Banksy provided suggests that this piece functions both as situational criticism of the art world as well as a tribute to the Occupy movement. Yet it also recognizes that the installation may be unsuccessful at actually advancing any agenda". Banksy's second trip to the
South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
was on 21 October and resulted in a piece depicting a child spray-painting the words "Ghetto 4 Life" on a wall, while a butler waited on him with a platter of spray paints. The work immediately drew a crowd from fans, despite angering many residents, who found the message offensive. The Sphinx sculpture appeared on a worksite in Willets Point on 22 October, entitled ''Everything but the kitchen sphinx'', and was quickly swarmed by eager Banksy fans. The attention caught the workers interest, who were reportedly selling bricks for $100 each, and onlookers watched as it was loaded into a truck and taken away. The fate of this piece was heavily chronicled by the HBO documentary '' Banksy Does New York'' (2014). The piece was taken from its original site, kept in a garage and later appeared in the Art Miami New York modern art fair. The 23rd installment was cancelled due to police activity, according to Banksy's official website, which stirred rumors that he had come under arrest. That same day, an outlined canvas with the caption "Better Out Than In #AnonymousGuestbook" appeared on a building in Red Hook. The idea of an open-canvas collaborative piece was presented to Banksy two weeks prior by a community art director. The story then led many to believe the "anonymous guestbook" was outlined by Banksy himself, however this was later debunked to have been the work of a group under the name Anonymous Guestbook. ''Waiting in Vain'' was the show's 24th installment. Located outside a
strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...
in
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...
, it illustrated a man in a
tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...
holding flowers, presumably jilted by his date. After some of the club's entertainers posed in front of the piece, the owner had it carefully cut from the shutter gate before vandals could deface it. It is planned to go on permanent display inside the club. The 25th piece came suitably
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
-themed. Located on the
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...
, it exhibited a
Grim Reaper The Grim Reaper is a popular personification of death in Western culture in the form of a hooded skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe.bumper car Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. They are ...
in circles to an elaborate light show,
fog machine A fog machine, fog generator, or smoke machine is a device that emits a dense vapor that appears similar to fog or smoke. This artificial fog is most commonly used in professional entertainment applications, but smaller, more affordable fog mac ...
and
Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...
's "
(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...
." The accompanying audio guide offered a self-mocking interpretation, with Banksy stating that often "the role of art is to remind us of our mortality," implying that with this mounted art show that goes on "for so long we wish we were dead already." The site of the exhibit was once that of an antique shop, some remains of which were placed in a coffin that occupied the lot for months. This prompted other interpretations of the installation's message, paying homage to the "ghosts of Bowry," as the antique store owner suggested. The 27 October piece was a message on a wall in Greenpoint that read "This site contains blocked messages." It made reference to an unpublished column Banksy had submitted to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. The controversial essay criticized the city's decision in approving the
One World Trade Center One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and as the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Tr ...
, which he described as "vanilla" and looking like "something they would build in Canada." In what became his second reference to the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, Banksy argued the building was a betrayal to everyone who lost their lives that day, and that its blandness is a sign the terrorist won. The final piece of the month-long series was a group of balloons that together read "BANKSY!", tied to the wall of a building alongside the
Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...
in Queens. Banksy included the message "Save 5pointz" in the caption for the piece on his website, referring to 5 Pointz, a nearby outdoor art exhibit considered to be a focal point of such culture that had recently been approved by the
New York City Department of City Planning The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...
to be
demolished Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apa ...
to make way for condominiums.


Defacement

Most of the works that make up the ''Better Out Than In'' series were defaced, some just hours after the piece was unveiled. At least one defacement was identified as done by a competing artist, OMAR NYC, who spray-painted over Banksy's red mylar balloon piece in Red Hook. OMAR NYC also defaced some of Banksy's work in May 2010. As a result of the continued defacement, fans rushed to the sites of the installments as soon as they are announced. A group of men took advantage of this and threatened to deface a stencil painting of a beaver in
East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough line to the north; ...
, charging money for people to take photographs. Some took matters into their own hands by guarding the works, others restoring them once defaced. In part because of the defacement, but also because of the great value of the artworks, property owners have also gone to extreme measures to protect the art. Some hired security guards, others covered the art with
acrylic glass Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bran ...
, and yet others installed metal roll-down gates.


Response

The month-long show was widely publicized and covered by the media. Hedge fund manager
Nelson Saiers Nelson Saiers is an American mathematical artist and former hedge fund manager. Before 2014, he worked in finance as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank AG and as the chief investment officer at Saiers Capital, LLC (formerly Alphabet Management ...
, through his website Heybanksy.com, pledged to donate $100,000 to Hurricane Sandy victims if Banksy created artwork highlighting their ongoing suffering. Although it was unclear whether the artwork was ever created, Saiers went ahead and made the donation regardless. Mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
, while supporting the arts, criticized Banksy's work, calling him a vandal, contending that defacing property was not his definition of art. On 17 October the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' wrote under the front-page headline "Get Banksy!" that police were pursuing Banksy, but noted the hunt is difficult because he has never been positively identified in public. In response Banksy posted an image of the front page on his website with the caption "I don't read what I believe in the papers." The
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
later denied they were actively looking for Banksy as no property owners had filed any formal complaints.


Controversy

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
Borough President Rubén Díaz, Jr. called Banksy a "modern-day Picasso" and praised him for choosing to unveil his 16 October Ronald McDonald replica in the South Bronx. This came before Banksy's 21 October piece, which brought discontent to the President and other residents. The piece featured a child spray-painting the words "Ghetto 4 Life" on a wall. Díaz stated it reinforced "outdated negative stereotypes," and defended that Banksy should become aware that graffiti art and culture originated in the Bronx. The owner of the graffitied wall and his partner, however, praised the work and its message, calling it "beautiful" and owning its preservation to the artist's fame. Banksy's
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
article about One World Trade Center, posted on his website on 27 October, came as an insult to many across the city. Former
FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...
Deputy Chief Jim Riches wrote that it was a "disgrace to New York City and all the families who lost loved ones on 9/11." Sally Regenhard, a leading voice for families of September 11 victims, expressed concerns about Banksy's 15 October depiction of the Twin Towers in TriBeCa, saying the piece was "horrific" and that the placed flower looked more like an explosion. A Century 21 department store near
Ground Zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...
had planned to show Banksy's work on 29 October, but cancelled due to the controversy.


Critical reception

Banksy's ''Better Out Than In'' series has received mixed reviews. Many fans raved over his work, flocking to each site everyday of the show. ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' magazine art critic
Jerry Saltz Jerry Saltz (born February 19, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American art critic. Since 2006, he has been senior art critic and columnist for ''New York magazine, New York'' magazine. Formerly the senior art critic for ''The Village Voice'', ...
wrote Banksy's well-executed work stood out from other graffiti, but that the meaning behind the pieces aren't as deep as fans like to believe. "No other graffiti artist has a PR machine remotely like Banksy's," he writes, arguing Banksy is more of a "promo man" than an artist. Will Ellsworth-Jones, author of ''Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall'' writes that ''Better Out Than In'' shows Banksy's range of mediums has grown to incorporate multi-media and performance-based works. He pointed out the "wonderful commentary on money and art" displayed with hiring an anonymous salesman to sell Banksy paintings in Central Park for $60.


See also

*
List of works by Banksy The following is a list of works by Banksy. Banksy, active since the 1990s, is an England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director whose real identity is unknown. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark hu ...
*
Graffiti in New York City Graffiti in New York City has had a substantial local, national, and international influence. Growth of graffiti culture in New York Graffiti began appearing around New York City with the words "Bird Lives" but after that, it took about a d ...
* List of damaged or destroyed works by Banksy


References


External links

* * *
Map of art installations

Official site of Banksy
{{good article 2013 in New York City Graffiti in New York City October 2013 in the United States Political art Vandalized works of art in New York City Works by Banksy