BSA Images Of The Week: 11.03.13

November 3, 2013 Artists

Banksy. His last piece in NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Alone In Cell with Banksy Thieves and Car Jumper

No, you can’t make stories like this up. Sounds like a tabloid story right?

Many had just photographed the two twenty-somethings as they scaled a ladder to cut down Banksy’s final installment of his New York “residency” in front of a growing audience of hecklers and fans underneath. Now the photographer, reporter and co-founder of Brooklyn Street Art Jaime Rojo found himself freed from his handcuffs (and shoelaces) to sit in a Queens jail cell on Halloween with the very talkative and nervous young guys who were discussing how their plan hadn’t panned out.

Only one day after BSA published “Banksy’s Final Trick” here and the Huffington Post, the enigmatic British Street Artist kicked in just one more treat for NYC in a plastic candy wrapper spelling out his moniker like a stylized throw-up, and Rojo was privy to more bon mots than he had planned.

Surprisingly, the art sites that had been breathlessly “covering” the events blow-by-blow somehow blew this story as the well known ubiquitous Street Art photographer and author was apprehended by police under their noses – taken by the arm as he photographed the bundle of Banksy balloons being stuffed into the back of their official van.

Luckily the mix-up was swiftly cleared as a case of mistaken identity that the chief lieutenant confirmed when he poked his head in the police car to look at Rojo and told the officer “You have the wrong man”. Apparently somebody had jumped on top of a car and damaged it while the accused thieves were yanking Banksy and the crowd swelled below, and the auto acrobat had worn a cap similar to Rojos. Moments after it was clear they had the wrong guy, the presumed right guy landed on the back seat next to Rojo.

Two hours later at the precinct, our photog was freed by the fairly friendly officers and he walked back to the now-deserted Queens site and hopped on his bike to continue looking for new stuff to photograph – but not before sitting in a cell with the accused Street Art thieves and an assumed car jumper while Banksy’s last October surprise slowly deflated into a curious pile of expensive plastic.

31 days of mischief went by and this anonymous Street Artist had mounted a full-scale multi-part series of installations in the public sphere and presumably has now left town. Meanwhile they’re saying the French artist Invader got popped the night before Banksy’s last balloon tag showed up. His new tiled characters started appearing on Manhattan’s Lower East Side just this week. You can read more about it here.

Aside from that, not much excitement happened here on the Street Art scene.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Banksy, Cost, ENX, Invader, Mika and Swoon.

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. SOLD! $615,000. Banksy purchased the painting on display at the Housing Works Thrift Shop in Manhattan while here for the ‘residency’. After painting the figure sitting on the bench and returning to Housing Works it sold for this incredible price – with all the proceeds going to help people living with AIDS/HIV. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NOT Banksy. Artist Unknown. This piece appeared on the last day of Banksy’s NYC Residency. His official page is not claiming authorship of it. But we’re going to wager a slice of pizza that his is his too. Let’s see what happens. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mika (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Invader (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Invader and the Ho Ho Florist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Invader (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Invader . Cost . ENX (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown(photo © Jaime Rojo)

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