Banksy is currently in New York City, executing a monthlong show called “Better Out Than In” all around the city. The slippery artist has thus far evaded recognition as he creates his work, although it appears Bansky is documenting the pieces he leaves throughout the city on his project website.
Banksy’s newest art is being thoroughly dissected and cataloged online by fans, but it appears he’s gone a step further into social media and is personally sharing images of his work on Instagram. The account banksyny was created on October 1 and already has over 185,000 followers. There’s no way to know for sure whether it’s authentic, but the account often shows the art soon after it is installed, so it’s either run by Banksy, someone involved in the show, or someone with impressive sleuthing skills who has likely figured out Banksy’s identity.
The most recent posted photograph, updated today, shows an uncanny fiberglass statue of Ronald McDonald getting his shoes shined. According to Banksy’s website, the sculpture will move around to different McDonald’s locations, and a real person will be shining his shoes (yesterday, it was in the South Bronx, at the McDonald’s on 1600 Boston Road).
Instagram isn’t the only platform Bansky is (maybe) responsible for: a YouTube account called BanksyNY has posted four videos thus far and racked up millions of views. The account posted videos from a few of his installations, including one called “The Sirens of the Lambs,” a slaughterhouse delivery truck full of Muppets.
Another video shows passersby wandering past a street art sale in Central Park. All of the art on display was made by Banksy, but it’s being sold for $60 instead of thousands. The video shows how most people ignore the vendor.
There also appears to be a Twitter account, also bearing the @Banksyny signature, which has amassed over 27,000 followers since its creation October 2, though there are only 14 tweets, none linking to the art. New York Times reporter Nick Bilton was unsure that this Twitter account was official, though he reported “people familiar with Banksy say anything linked to by his official Web site is officially Banksy.” Only the Instagram account is linked, so this Twitter may not be sanctioned.
Here’s the most recent tweet:
To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.
— banksy (@banksyny) October 16, 2013
And that’s not all: it also looks like Banksy has a Facebook account (once again, called Banksyny, and using the same graphic as the other accounts) created October 1. The account hasn’t gained as much attention as his other social web endeavors, but it posts the same content that can be found on the project website, like this description of a piece put up in Queens:
There’s something deeply strange about all of this. Banksy has had fan pages on social media for years, but this is the first time the artist has publicly participated in social media (at least as Banksy – who knows if the real name behind the artist is a Facebook obsessed, tweeting mad man). It seems incongruent with his philosophy of critiquing from the outside that Banksy, who is notoriously privacy-obsessed and managed to conceal his identity from the Academy Awards, has decided to sign up for every major social Web platform in what appears to be one fell swoop.
