19 Days Of Banksy: Look At What The British Street Artist Has Done In NYC So Far

We're about three weeks into Banksy's monthlong "Better Out Than In" exhibit in New York, and we can't wait to see what the next 11 days will bring. The mysterious street artist, back in NYC after a three-year hiatus, has surprised and delighted some but annoyed others with his newest series of stealth installations, the first one (below) popping up on a wall in New York's Lower East Side Oct. 1.

On Oct. 2, following the vandalization of Banksy's first piece, the artists headed to the West Side of New York City to display his next piece. The image "This Is My New York Accent" is considered the iconic piece of the exhibit thus far because it is thought of as his answer to the previous day's vandalism.

On Oct. 3, Banksy took his art to midtown, where the elusive artist stenciled the piece below, which depicts a dog doing his business on a fire hydrant.

Oct. 4 marked Banksy's move to Brooklyn, with several pieces in Bushwick and Williamsburg.

On Oct. 5, Banksy started to make his artwork mobile. The first such piece was found in New York's East Village on a local truck. The installation drives around from evening till dusk, going to different locations in the city.

Rather than presenting the city with another artwork on Oct. 6, Banksy posted this video on his blog. The video, called "Rebel Rocket Attack," portrays a rebel soldier shooting at the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. Later, it became clear that was a signal to New Yorkers to get ready for Banksy installations in that neighborhood.

As expected, Banksy's next piece did show up in DUMBO, in the form of a heart-shaped balloon with Band-Aids all over it.

On Oct. 8, Banksy was still in Brooklyn, this time in the Greenpoint area. This piece is a simple quote that Banksy uses to show how the art world really works. With this piece of art, he shows us that no matter how mundane a statement may be, it can be made profound by simply adding the name of a philosopher at the end.

Banksy gave New Yorkers a two-part piece on Oct. 9 with this illustration, seen below. Utilizing both a truck and a car, Banksy made his way back to the Lower East Side to draw several horses with a man riding them. The piece was later removed from area.

On Oct. 10, the "Better Out Than In" exhibit assumed a smaller form in East New York where Banksy stenciled a tiny rat next to this broken sign (see below).

Oct. 11 marked what may be the strangest art in the exhibit, when Banksy presented the installation "Siren of the Lambs." It is a slaughterhouse delivery truck that toured the meatpacking district in Manhattan, then continued to make rounds across the entire city of New York for the next two weeks. The lambs in the truck are all mechanical and make noise as the truck is driving by.

Banksy drew the piece below in Manhattan called Concrete Confessional on Oct. 12. The religious figure is drawn behind the kind of caution tape that's often used to warn people of the dangers associated with going to a specific place.

On Oct. 13, Banksy pranked all of New York City with a booth set up in Central Park. This installation was part of his social experiment to see whether or not people actually pay attention to what they're looking at. Without associating his name with the stand, he sold $60 stencils of his work. The catch was that nobody actually knew that these were original Banksy pieces signed by the man himself. See the whole video here.

After the art stand got Banksy even more attention, he followed up on Oct. 14 with the piece seen below, a stencil of a man painting the words "What we do in life echoes in Eternity." He also added this quote to his blog to accompany the piece: "Some people criticize me for using sources that are a bit low brow (this quote is from 'Gladiator') but you know what? 'I'm just going to use that hostility to make me stronger, not weaker' as Kelly Rowland said on the X Factor."

On Oct. 15, Banksy's most emotional piece, dedicated to the people of New York, was made public on the side of a building in Tribeca, where Banksy drew the fallen World Trade Center with a flower on one of the buildings. However, as many people appreciated the tribute to the Twin Towers, one dog did not.

On Oct. 16, Banksy gave us this fiberglass sculpture of Ronald McDonald getting his shoes shined by a real live person (see below). The sculpture will visit the sidewalk outside a different McDonalds during lunchtime for the next week. In the audio and video that accompanies each piece, he tells us that the sculpture is his way of taking a shot at big corporations.

Banksy's depiction of a Geisha crossing a makeshift bridge (below) appeared on Oct. 17 in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. The man who owns the building quickly realized he had a one-of-a-kind piece on the side of his property when close to 500 Banksy fans surrounded the area.

On Friday, Oct. 18, Banksy revealed this piece on West 24th St. in Manhattan with a quote: "Are you the sort of person who enjoys going to art galleries but wished they had more gravel in them? Then this temporary exhibition space is for you. Housing just two paintings but also featuring a bench, some carpet and complimentary refreshments. Opens today through Sunday 11 a.m. 'til midnight."

Today, instead of revealing a new artwork, Banksy simply posted this video on his blog:

Although Banksy has thousands of fans worldwide, some people, including Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, do not consider his work to be true art. The Telegraph reported in a recent public announcement that Bloomberg said, "You running up to somebody's property or public property and defacing it is not my definition of art." Also, some residents of the city hit back by defacing many of the pieces Banksy created. Due to the mayor's recent comments about the artist, the New York Police Department is now on the hunt for the elusive artist, and it plans to charge him if he is found. Whether or not you're a fan, stay tuned to see what Banksy has in store.