by Dimitry Tetin

Following Banksy’s art-making pranks is like watching a skateboarder riding a rail in the park without the inevitable end: he never busts his balls. And Bansky never gets his balls busted … too seriously. In his latest exploit, Bansky spray-painted nine stencilled pictures on the 425-mile long barrier that Israel built to separate itself from the Palastenian territories.

Bansky made a name for himself by sneaking his works into four New York City museums—the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Brooklyn Museum in a single day.

In “A Guide to Cutting Stencils,” on his website www.banksy.co.uk, he provides instruction like “Be aware that going on a major mission totally drunk out of your head will result in some truly spectacular artwork and at least one night in the cells,” “Remember crime against property is not a real crime,” and “Any fame is a by-product of making something that means something. You don’t go to a restraunt and order a meal because you want to have a shit.”

On his website he reports a conversation he had with an Israeli soldier while spraying painting the pictures:

Soldier: What the fuck are you doing?
Banksy: You’ll have to wait until it’s finished.
Soldier (to colleagues): Safety’s off
Somehow I don’t think Johny Knoxville or any of the Viva La Bam boys would walk out of a situation like this without shitting their pants.

September 2005