Banksy's New Olympic Themed Wall Murals

Posted on his website are these two new images by Banksy as an homage to the Olympic games which began yesterday in London.


detail:


Banksy

A Mash Up of Banksy's Art and Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks = Hanksy.

above: Banksy's Flower Thrower becomes Tom Hanks chucking Wilson, the volleyball that kept him company in Castaway

Street Art and Graffiti often tends to be tongue-in cheek to begin with. Add another layer of puns and fun and you've got Hanksy's work - A mash up of the street art by Banksy and the movies of award winning actor Tom Hanks.



The street art references Hanks' roles in films such as Big, Catch Me If You Can, Forrest Gump, Castaway, A League of Their Own, Apollo 13 and The Money Pit to name a few. The familiar Bansky stencils are modified to include Hanks' head and lines relating to the movies, infused with puns and wordplays.


above: the Hansky exhibit at Krause Gallery
The images and work of Hanksy have appeared on the streets of New York and Chicago and New York's Krause Gallery featured much of his work on paper in a recent exhibit.

The following images are from that show.













And here are some shots of Hanksy's work in situ:




Tom Hanks isn't the only celebrity in the work by Hansky, check out his street art of Ted Danson, Ryan Gosling (Drive-Thru), Bill Cosby (Jello) and Erkel (Cheese):





The text below is courtesy of the Krause Gallery:
A street artist is doing some amazing new street art in and around NYC.
He goes by the name of HANKSY.
Add the overwhelming popularity of Tom Hanks to the cool factor of the most famous street artist of all time, Banksy, and you get HANKSY. HANKSY has become a social media phenomenon with his imaginative street art spoofs by taking images of Banksy’s work and adding in references from Tom Hanks’ films.

“People have speculated whether HANKSY is just a play on words or perhaps something a bit more, does he hate Banksy? Is it homage to one of the greatest street artists and actors of our time? Maybe it’s an attempt to subvert the subversive or perhaps it plays on the uniquely American pleasure the public finds in trivial imagery. Maybe in the end its much more straightforward? Add a certain ‘sometimes’ vowel at the end of a specific actor’s surname and it sounds an awful lot like the world’s most well-known street artist. (via Krause Gallery)

The Awl has an interview with Hanksy here

You can see several of the Hansky graffiti work in situ here at flickr.

Creative License. Comparing Michael Kalish's Works With The Original Art That Inspired Him.

above: a composite of Banksy's Flower Thrower with the license plate version by Michael Kalish

There are actually several artists out who have found creative ways to "up-cycle" license plates from automobiles. One of the most respected and well-known, is artist Michael Kalish.

His impressive repertoire of work contains imagery of American culture - from flags and automobiles to portraits of entertainers such as Johnny Cash. But in the pieces I am sharing with you in this post, he's taken modern, pop and urban art by well-known artists and recreated them in his style using metal license plates.



At first glance, these works of artists Banksy, Warhol, Tom Wesselman, Murakami, Keith Haring, Shephard Fairey and Roy Lichtenstein look like the original pieces until you get closer and see that they've been crafted from metal license plates.

I'm going to share with you both Michael Kalish's creations along with the original pieces that inspired him.

Roy Lichtenstein's Girl With hair Ribbon by Michael Kalish:

detail:

The original by Roy Lichtenstein:


Andy Warhol's Marilyn by Michael Kalish:

detail:

The original by Andy Warhol:


Tom Wesselman's Beautiful Bedroom Kate by Michael Kalish:

detail:

The original by Tom Wesselman:


Banksy's Flower Thrower by Michael Kalish:

detail:

The original by Banksy:


Shepard Fairey's Obama by Michael Kalish:

The original Obama art by Shepard Fairey:


Takashi Murakami's Louis Vuitton Pattern by Michael Kalish:

detail:

The original by Takashi Murakami:


Dog, Baby and other Keith Haring icons by Michael Kalish:

dog close-up:

The original by Keith Haring:


About the Artist:


Michael Kalish is an internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor who has a natural ability to transform ordinary objects into extraordinary works of art.

The subjects of Kalish’s work reference a broad sampling of American culture, from the all-American pastime of baseball and the morning cup of Java to portraits of popular, political and cultural icons.

His signature medium, the license plate, embraces his ideal of Americana with his own contemporary sophistication, curiosity and distinctive style. Many of his unique sculptures have found permanent parking spots in a number of Hollywood homes.

Over the past 15 years, Kalish has garnered national and international press exposure as well as solo shows and representation in galleries around the world. He has been the feature of stories in publications from the NY Times and People to Art in America and USA Today, as well as TV appearances on CBS Sunday Morning and CNN’s “To the Top.” realize marks an entrance into a new medium of work for Kalish, publicly installed monuments.

Michael Kalish

The Best Halloween Costume Ever! Banksy's Flower Thrower Comes To Life.

The Design Director of San Franscisco's Y Studios, Pittsburgh born George Schnakenberg III, gets my vote for the best Halloween costume I've seen in years. With ample design skills and impressive execution, George turned one of stencil street artist Banksy's most famous works, The Flower Thrower, into a full costume designed to emulate the 2D image.


above: George created the flat looking outfit by creating black and white shadows on his pants, hoodie, bandana and gloves.


The original artwork by Banksy:

Matching the prop:


Throughout the Halloween evening, George had photos of himself taken with various friends and in various environments (please note, I have cropped and adjusted the lighting and levels on some of these images for greater visibility):





George even made up his face to emulate the stencil art:

and managed to eat:


Nice work George!
You've set the bar really high and I can't wait to see what you do next Halloween.

all images courtesy of George Schnakenberg III