Banksy Paints New York
Oct 11, 2008
Secretive British street artist Banksy has unveiled his latest project, a mock pet supply store at 89 Seventh Avenue South (near Bleecker Street) in Greenwich Village. “The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill”, is Banksy’s first official exhibition in New York and his first to make the use of animatronics.
The New York Times reports on the installation: “Open for Pet Supplies/Rare Breeds/Mechanically retrieved meat” says a sign in front of the shop. Bales of hay dot the sidewalk, along with a kiddie dolphin ride, wrapped in a fishing net like the day’s catch. But it is the leopard in one of the storefront windows that stops passers-by first. ‘Is that — real?’ a woman asked on Wednesday, peering at a large furry object perched on a tree branch, its tail swinging. It’s not: it is an ingeniously arranged fake fur coat. The robot monkey is more lifelike: it sits, breathing, in a cage inside the store, wearing headphones, holding a remote and watching a television clip of some fellow monkeys in an amorous moment.”
Said Banksy in a statement: “I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming.”
the exhibit it will be open to the public daily through Oct. 31.
Source: The New York Times
