On Saturday, while people flocked to Banksy’s new piece “Concrete Confessional” in the East Village, the artist had simultaneously put up a stand of “Spray Art” on southeast corner of Central Park, near 5th Avenue and 59th Street. The original and signed Banksy’s were generally ignored all day, with the exception of three people who bought a total of 8 pieces without knowing. The first woman negotiated a 50% discount, another just needed some wall art for his new house.
This was a one time thing, Banksy revealed on his website. The whole thing reminds us of when famed violinist Joshua Bell played incognito in the Washington D.C. Metro in 2007 or when Natalie Portman was rumored to have posed as homeless in Harvard Square for a psychology project in college (this was a rumor that circulated at the when Portman and some members of the Untapped Cities staff were at Harvard).
Michelle is the founder of Untapped New York and the author of The Art Spy (HarperOne, forthcoming) Secret Brooklyn, Secret New York Hidden Bars & Restaurants, and Broadway. michelleyoungwriter.com
