He made his name through graffiti artwork, but now one of Banksy’s murals has had to be rescued – from graffiti.
Two fans of the secretive guerrilla artist are spending thousands of pounds to restore a giant artwork called Large Graffiti Slogan, after vandals ‘defaced’ it with spray paint.
A team of builders cut out the three-ton section of reinforced concrete wall carrying the street art, lifted it by crane on to a lorry and took it to a secret location where it will be cleaned up.
Archive for November, 2009
Banksy fans move an entire wall – to save his work from, er, graffiti artists…
Saturday, November 28th, 2009Utah:Graffiti on highway signs costing UDOT big money
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
SALT LAKE CITY — Some lanes on I-15 in Salt Lake will have to be shut down next week because interstate signs that have been tagged with graffiti need to be replaced.
About two weeks ago, someone hit the southbound exit 304 sign with orange paint. The paint doesn’t really cover anything, but Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Nile Easton says the signs will have to be cleaned or replaced.
“We’ll have to go in with a crane lift and a boom lift and clean off that sign,” says Easton. “It’s not safe for our crews, and it’s not safe for our motorists.”
Replacing signs isn’t cheap. He says, “The big signs can cost upwards of $10,000.”
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Gary Caldwell says it’s dangerous any time you have to shut down interstate lanes. On Oct. 25, a construction worker was killed on I-215 when a driver hit him, even though the lane he was standing in was closed.
Caldwell says, “It’s not a joke. Shutting down lanes is serious for us.”
Graffiti on signs also creates problems for drivers. This past March, highway signs at the mouth of Parley’s Canyon at I-80 and I-215 had to be replaced after they were nearly covered with graffiti.
“When drivers are approaching the sign and looking to see which way to go, if they swerve the wrong direction, it causes crashes,” Caldwell said. “Graffiti on signs is dangerous, and we are sick of it.”
Last year, UDOT spent close to $70,000 to replace signs hit with graffiti. This year, they’re close to that number and may even pass it.
UDOT isn’t sure how the orange paint got on the exit 304 sign. Easton thinks it could have been a paintball gun or a paintball water balloon, but says it could’ve been something else entirely. He just wishes those who tag highway signs would stop.
He says, “It’s not safe for our crews, and it’s not safe for our motorists, so to have to do it just because somebody thought it would be funny to paint a sign, it’s just a stupid thing to do.”
Via:www.ksl.com
Get Your Graffiti in Crackdown 2
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Ruffian Games, makers of Crackdown 2, need your help in adding graffiti to the streets of Pacific City.
The design team at Ruffian is holding a contest to have your art submissions be added to Crackdown 2 as in-game graffiti. The deadline is December 9th, and judging from the submission on the website from lead designer, Steve Iannetta, (pictured) you have a pretty good chance of making the cut. Crackdown 2 is set to be released in May 2010.
The contest website describes Pacific City as a “mess” in Crackdown 2, which takes place ten years after the first game:
Deranged freaks roam the landscape, buildings have been wrecked beyond recognition, burnt out husks of cars litter the highways, there’s dog mess and graffiti everywhere. Well, not quite graffiti everywhere yet as we haven’t quite got round to drawing it yet.
“And that’s where you guys come in,” the website goes on to say. “Lazy swine that we are we thought we’d ask you to do our work for us.”
At least they’re honest about it.
Via:www.escapistmagazine.com
Graffiti Artist Arrested At His Own Art Exhibit
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009Graffiti arti
st Jason Williams, also known as Revok, was arrested at an exhibition of his work at a Mid-City gallery and graffiti-art store Sunday, authorities announced.
The 32-year-old, described as a prolific tagger whose moniker has been spotted throughout the region, was nabbed at the 33thirdshop at 5111 West Pico Blvd. by the Special Problems Team the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department’s graffiti team.
“A probation search of his residence was conducted and several hundred paint cans, spray tips, a fire extinguisher and other implements were found,” states a sheriff’s department release. “In addition to the above, he had a replica LAPD badge, a stolen ‘detour’ sign and digital photos of his graffiti work on his phone.”
Williams was arrested on suspicion of possessing vandalism tools, possessing a counterfeit badge and receiving stolen property. Authorities say he was on probation at the time of the arrest.
Deputies stated that Williams was the star of the Montana Paints-sponsored art show (a flier for the event actually shows Revok as one of many artists) and that he was paid $1,000 to attend. They say he makes money from t-shirt sales and prints and that he was featured in a segment on KABC7 news in recent months.
Check out some of Revok’s work here.
VIA: LAWEEKLY
Famed Anonymous Graffiti Artist to Show Himself in NYC
Saturday, November 21st, 2009
The internationally renown tagger “BNE,” whose graffiti has covered cities around the world is coming to New York City for an official show.
Of course, being classified as a vandal the world over can cause some law-enforcement problems for a guy just trying to make a cryptic name for himself, so even though the date and the time is known, the where is undisclosed, for now.
“Due to concerns for BNE’s freedom, we will notify attendees of the venue at a later date.” says the press release for the event. But it certain to be in New York — we’re guessing Williamsburg or Soho, just ’cause.
The anonymous, never-photographed artist has conducted campaigns in cities like Tokyo, Bangkok, New York and San Francisco, where his stickers prompted Mayor Gavin Newsome to post a $2,500 reward for his capture in 2006.
The event, brought together by ad agency Mother and culture website Animal New York, will take place, somewhere in the city, Thursday Dec. 10, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and showcase BNE’s work from around the globe. (Full disclosure: Mother does work for NBC New York, and we’re big fans of animalnewyork.com). The exact venue will be given to attendees at a later date.
It’s appropriate that the infamous graffitier’s first official show is being sponsored by an ad firm, since he sees his ubiquitous tagging as part of a global ad campaign.
“While in Japan, I suddenly realized that other graffiti writers weren’t my competition, it was [big] corporations,” BNE said in a statement. “Their ability to blanket the streets with advertisements is unparalleled, although it cost them a lot more than my campaign.”
Via:NBC
2 Years in jail for graffiti.
Saturday, November 14th, 2009
A man who went on a graffiti-painting rampage in Pueblo was sentenced Thursday to two years in jail.
Jared Calderon, 18, pleaded guilty in Pueblo Municipal Court following a two-month investigation.
During a search of Calderon’s home, the Pueblo Police Department’s gang unit said it found evidence linking him to at least 20 graffiti incidents in the city.
Calderon was fined $500 for each of 20 offenses, totaling $10,000. He was ordered to serve 500 hours of community service and make a $2,000 donation to Pueblo’s graffiti-removal program. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
REVOK Gets Nabbed In Australia Thanks To Twitter
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
***VANDAL VACATION*** from WWW.REVOK1.COM on Vimeo.