Andrew Burton/Getty Images
A piece of street art depicting a heart-shaped balloon covered in bandages, allegedly done by the street artist Banksy, is seen on October 7, 2013, in the Red Hook neighborhood of New York City. The piece was defaced with red spray paint shortly after being completed.
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
And this is why we can't have nice things.
The celebrated, pseudonymous British street artist Banksy has been leaving crowd-pleasing marks all over New York City this month — only to have his work defaced day by day.
Some fans have been shocked or angered by the meta-vandalism, while others have suggested it might be a point of the month-long outdoor exhibit by the world's most famous spray-paint satirist.
"It's not the most remarkable work of his career. And I think almost all the works I have seen are right there on street level," said Caleb Neelon, co-author of "The History of American Graffiti."
"It's almost like he's daring everyone to go right over it."
Well, challenge accepted.
A crew "revised" the very first piece he created this month, a boy reaching for an aerosol can on a sign that reads: "Graffiti is a crime." The sign was swapped out for one that said, "Street Art is a Crime."
In other cases, rivals have simply scrawled over his stuff.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
A pedestrian looks toward street art reading, "Playground Mob, The Musical," in the Lower East Side.
On Monday, while a small crowd was gathered in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, a man "ragged" a painting of a red balloon heart covered in Band-Aids and added his own tag, Omar, the blog Animal NY reported.
When Banksy added the stenciled words "The Musical" to some unremarkable existing Brooklyn graffiti — giving it a "Broadway makeover" — coverup artists either painted over or erased it.
A silhouette of a dog relieving itself on a hydrant now has some additions, including a misspelled jab at the highly collectible artist, whose works have sold for more than a million dollars.
Some dogs have let loose on it, too. And so far, not a word of complaint from Banksy, whose real identity is a secret.
The installation — which also included a YouTube takeoff on Syrian rebel videos and a souped-up delivery truck with a trompe l'oeil paradise inside — has become a sort of scavenger hunt for New York fans who check his official website every day for a photo of his newest work.
Mike Segar/Reuters
Two women have their picture taken next to new artwork by British graffiti artist Banksy on West 24th street in New York City.
The ensuing effort to find and Instagram each one has taken on a sense of urgency as taggers try to get there first.
Neelon said that battles in the graffiti world are not unheard of, and Banksy may be the biggest target — especially for those who think the frenzy surrounding him is a ludicrous.
"There are some people who manage to retain the respect of various other graffiti artists and some people who don’t," he said.
He noted that the ragging — as defacing someone else's work is called — has only brought more publicity to Banksy, who theoretically has the resources to the make his art someplace harder to reach.
"And, of course, he's taking it to New York, where he doesn't stand a chance," Neelon said.
This story was originally published on Tue Oct 8, 2013 12:21 PM EDT
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