Who is BNE? Why are cities of the world covered in stickers bearing the graffiti artist’s initials? And why is McDonald’s his biggest rival?
“While in Japan, I suddenly realized that other graffiti writers weren’t my competition, it was corporations,” says graffiti artist. “Their ability to blanket the streets with advertisements is unparalleled, although it cost them a lot more than my campaign.”
The first ever showing of his work this Thursday in NYC may answer none of these questions, but I’ll be there anyway trying to figure it out. Look for an exclusive interview with BNE on Consumerist later this week.
BNE Show
Thursday, December 10th 7-11pm
Location: secret future House of Mother location in Hell’s Kitchen, New York
BNE Exhibit 12.10.09 [ANIMAL]
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In the early 1980′s a friend of mine would post photocopies of himself and his non-DePlume all over lower Manhatten. He did it because he could. I found it rather refreshing to view small posters that were not advertising anything for a change. Later it became sort of a pre-internet FACEBOOK for him. He would just plaster up hundreds of small photocopies announcing some mundane thing he did that day.
BNE was a monster in the 90s. He always had THE classiest roller hits and block-busters.
On the real front of mark ups, I’ve seen UFO a whole lot, east coast, west coast, parts of Europe…that is one crazy white boy. He’s been at it for YEARS!
In nYc, i’m amazed how much the whole SmarT krew gets around with stickers. DCV what up! Jace..what’s good homie, DocR…you are an animal ! COPE(BX), Revolt, CYCLE!
I dunno about this BNE, but I have a feeling it’s a sleeper.
Trust me when I saw BNE has been at it PLENTY long. Way before UFO .
There’s a Boston graffiti artist I love, Pixnit: http://www.stencilarchive.org/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=14463. She’ll actually send you stencils as “spores” to spread the art; I’ve thought about requesting some, but I’m afraid I’d be just putting it perfectly lawfully in my own garden, which is probably rather undermining the point.
Who is BNE? He is the terror that flaps in the night…
He is the modern day Kilroy in a peacetime setting.
Some say that all his pot plants are called Steve.
Yes, because advertising on a space you pay for is exactly the same thing as trashing other people’s property. This guy’s a vandal, no different from someone who smashes windows. The city should show up at his showing with a pair of handcuffs and a bill for the cost of removing all his stickers from city property. He gets to decide which gets used.
Thanks for saying that. You’re not the only one who doesn’t think “hipness” exempts you from the law.
I think his point was that a lot of companies don’t pay for those kind of blanket advertisements (of course they pay for the printing + workers’ time), like hanging hundreds or posters or tossing leaflets everywhere. They just do it.
I wish judges’ punishments would more often include the perp manually removing all the stickers or signs or paint. Be it individual or corporation. If corporation, make the CEO go down there with a scraper or hose and remove every single one by himself.
This garbage is all over the Williamsburg Bridge bike path. Must be dozens concentrated in numerous spots. They should be fined to clean that mess up.
This reminds me of the ghost bikes in D.C. I thought the idea of the ghost bikes was just brilliant, and provocative, and a very grassroots way of memorializing someone. But scattering them on public streets ended up causing a lot of ruckus, and some businesses complained. I think it came down to the fact that D.C. government didn’t want stuff to start appearing on the streets, and they had to either enforce some kind of status quo (removing everything, even if it’s a memorial) rather than be a #*&@$ human and leave up some memorials dedicated to a bicyclist who was hit by a truck.
Whoops. I forgot my end tag!
Wow, that is really, really cool. Thanks for sharing that link.
Not sure if you saw this, but someone felt similar, and well, the article says it better than I could.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/09/10/ghost-bikes-return-to-dupont-circle-alice-swanson-rides-again/
BNE is short for Benet. He is a graffiti writer from SF I believe. What is the big mystery?
Let me help ypou out with those lead questions:
1) who gives a sh**?
2) because he’s a self-aggrandizing vandal.
3) because this self-important, self-proclaimed insurgent “artist” reflexively hates big corporations, notwithstanding that Ronald McDonald House has helped more people than this little half-wit has met, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of jobs it provides. Remember, big company bad, graffti “artist” good. Please.
Is he related to Kilroy?
Well, he was here.
Another vandal who thinks he’s an artist.
The two are not mutually exclusive.
But in this case, he’s just a vandal.
This can’t be the work of one person. If it is, then this guy must have a pretty sweet trust fund from a dead relative to finance his world travels. LOL.
I have to agree with the others. This isn’t art. It’s vandalism and attention whoring.
This guy has NOTHING on Cool “Disco” Dan.
Just ignore it. That Ben guy is kinda messed up.
If he puts on a show, destroy it.
There’s been some moron plastering up similar stickers all over my neighborhood. I now keep a razor scraper handy to do my civic duty and remove them whenever I see them. Honestly, this is about as “artistic” as a dog pissing to mark its passage.
The one posted above the subway entrance on West 7th says “Big Nut Eater was here”. I assumed it was just some dumb band. Am I not too far off?
If this was a corporate ad campaign trying to be “viral” and “urban”, no one would tolerate it for a moment. But because this is a self-proclaimed “artist”, it is supposed to somehow be OK? Look dude, Christo may have wrapped a few islands near Miami, and then hung orange curtains all over Central Park in NYC, but he had the good taste to take his crap DOWN WHEN HE WAS DONE.
I second the motion for “a bill for cleanup, or handcuffs at the opening”.
I agree. I don’t think The Consumerist should give this criminal a forum to spread his message by interviewing him. Surely they could find someone with a similar message who is not a criminal – someone who appeals to more than just hipsters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97CtJW06H8
“Andre the Giant Has a Posse”……………. seems to want to be the same underground type of marketing. Only this one has something to sell.