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The Sm;)e Book Celebrates the Decades-Long, Eclectic History of the Smiley Face

All images courtesy of DB Burkeman and Rich Browd, shared with permission From plastic grocery bags to original emojis to household goods and paraphernalia, the yellow smiley face is an iconic mark of modern culture. A new book funding on Kickstarter celebrates the symbol’s decades-long history as it dives into the eclectic uses that range from fine art to graffiti to Hollywood. In 60 pages, The Sm;)e Book compiles work from 70 artists, including Banksy, the Chapman Brothers, Alicia McCarthy, and James Joyce. Despite the smiley’s well-known status throughout the mainstream culture, the book is particularly personal to co-creators DB…

Amazing Art

Banksy Finances 'Louise Michel' Lifeboat to Rescue Refugees From the Mediterranean

All images © Louise Michel, shared with permission Banksy’s latest artwork can be spotted on a vessel rescuing refugees from north Africa, who are attempting to cross the Mediterranean to find safety in Europe. The anonymous British artist, whose work we’ve talked about extensively, used the proceeds from the sale of an artwork to purchase a former French Navy boat, which is named after anarchist Louise Michel. With a fire extinguisher, Banksy sprayed the exterior with pink paint and adorned it with a version of the iconic “Girl with Balloon.” This iteration outfits the child with a lifevest and swaps…

Art

"My Wife Hates it When I Work From Home" — Banksy Shares Rats Run Amok in his Bathroom from Quarantine

Presumably quarantined like the rest of humanity, Banksy just posted a few images of an artwork executed in his supposed home bathroom. The installation depicts a mischievous pack of his signature rats destroying everything in sight: swinging from towel racks, running on toilet paper, marking the days of quarantine on the wall, and making a disgusting mess of the toilet. The caption accompanying the work on Instagram reads simply, “My wife hates it when I work from home.”…

Art Design

Banksy's Gross Domestic Product Ecommerce Store Launches with Line of Sardonic Homewares

As we recently reported, Banksy debuted a dystopian homewares store on October 1, 2019. Making good on his promise to open an online platform to purchase goods displayed in the Croydon pop-up (which was never, in fact, open to the public, and closed this past weekend), the Gross Domestic Product store went live today. Featuring a slate of items, ranging from a rat race clock to a static-filled HD TV, each piece serves as a social commentary on issues ranging from the refugee crisis to children’s sugar-filled diets. Most items—some of which are pointedly nonfunctional—are available to request for purchase…

Art

Gross Domestic Product: Banksy Opens a Dystopian Homewares Store

…project to his larger body of work, Banksy incorporated familiar motifs. The fireplace and stenciled jacquard wallpaper from his Walled Off Hotel, the stab-proof Union Jack vest he created for Stormzy to wear at the Glastonbury Festival, and the Basquiat-inspired ferris wheel that appeared outside the Barbican all appear in GDP. In a statement about the project, Banksy explains that the impetus behind Gross Domestic Product is a legal battle between the artist and a greeting card company that is contesting the trademark Banksy holds to his art. Lawyer Mark Stephens, who is advising the artist, explains, “Banksy is in…

Art

Banksy Sets Up Amongst Venice Street Vendors to Share a New Multi-Panel Painting

…a gas-guzzling cruise ship towering over the ancient city as gondoliers in traditional dress row by. Last week, many media outlets speculated that a stenciled artwork on a canal wall, depicting a migrant child holding up an S.O.S. flare was created by Banksy. But the British artist verifies his own work by sharing it on Instagram and his website, where the piece has yet to appear. The video below offers an on-the-ground view of the artist’s guerrilla street stall. Update: The morning of May 24, 2019, Banksy claimed the rumored migrant child stencil in addition to his streetside setup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2YRRS5aBRw…