RON ENGLISH JUST BOUGHT THIS BANKSY FOR $730,000 – SO HE CAN PAINT OVER IT...

A Banksy, painted on the side of a building in London, has been sold to artist Ron English for $730,000, but now English says he plans to paint over the mural because street art 

“shouldn’t be bought and sold”.

Slave Labour, a young child on his knees at a sewing machine producing a string of Union Jack bunting, was painted on the side of a bargain store in in 2012 as a protest against sweatshops used to manufacture souvenirs for the London Olympics. It was removed from the wall in February 2013, to the anger and protest of local residents.

The painting was auctioned by Julien‘s in Los Angeles. English said after the sale,

“My idea for this painting is to whitewash it for my good pal Banksy, I only wish I could’ve spent more money for it. I’m going to paint it white again, I’m done. This is a blow for street art. It shouldn’t be bought and sold…. 

We’re tired of people stealing our stuff off the streets and re-selling it so I’m just going to buy everything I can get my hands on and whitewash it.“

English, who said he had spent time in Palestine with Banksy, said, 

“Then of course I’ll sell the whitewash painting for a million dollars. I’m crazy but I’m not stupid.“

If you’re not familiar with English’s work he’s kind of America’s Banksy combined with Warhol on acid (he has fans that are almost a cult.) You can check out his POPaganda here.

(Photo, Wikimedia Commons, YouTube; via Sky News)

ARTIST MARK JENKINS TROLLS PASSERSBY WITH DISTURBING STREET SCULPTURE

Mark Jenkins brought sculpture to street art and he’s known for these surprising installations in urban spaces. His new book, The Urban Theater, documents his often disturbing street installations and also includes pics of viewers’ responses and interactions. Work from Jenkins oeuvre has been exhibited in Lazarides Galleries and the Kunsthalle Wien, among others but his art was made for the street. Jenkins says his sculptures only become complete for him when they interact with their urban environments and the people within them. But these poor people had no idea what they were experiencing, as you can see from their reaction. You can get The Urban Theater here.

A WITTY YEAR-LONG STREET ART BATTLE HAD LONDON AUTHORITIES SEEING RED

A graffiti artist tagged the same London wall over one year in a bizarre and hilarious battle with authorities. He started last summer on July 17th, 2014 and finished nearly a year later. The street artist that goes by Mobstr, has undertaken similar progressive projects before and he explains how this cat-and-mouse game began:

“I cycled past this wall on the way to work for years. I noticed that graffiti painted within the red area was ‘buffed’ with red paint. However, graffiti outside of the red area would be removed via pressure washing. This prompted the start of an experiment. Unlike other works, I was very uncertain as to what results it would yield. Below is what transpired over the course of a year.”

You can see more of Mobstr’s work here. Scroll down for the full progression and punchline.

(via Bored Panda)

KENNY SCHARF KARBOMBZ THE SURF LODGE

I’ve posted before about my pal Kenny Scharf‘s Karbombz – but he just keeps doing them (for free!) He’s collecting the images, like the ones here, for a book. This weekend he’ll be at The Surf Lodge in Montauk using up can after can of deluxe spray. I have a 15 year-old green Beetle that I’m dying for him to bomb. My pal Cary is using the car in the Hamptons this weekend, so I just might drive out and get it Scharfed. Check out the picture just below. That’s Kenny’s grandson, Jet on his Dad Alex’s shoulders. (Believe it or not, I remember when Jet's Mom, Zena was that age!)  Follow Kenny on Instagram to see more. (FYI, you need a reservation and they book up fast...)