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[caption id="attachment_10409" align="alignnone" width="497"] Not quite the cat's meow, but I respect the thought that goes into any stencil graffiti.[/caption]

Yesterday I saw another version of the stencil graffiti of the Cat on a Pedestal, this time in on the edge of the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.

I was making the first leg of my journey westwards from the bottle depot through the alley on the north side of West Broadway Avenue. It was in that lane, west of Columbia Street, that I saw the cat. I'm quite sure it wasn't there even a few days ago.

[caption id="attachment_6800" align="alignnone" width="427"] During Banksy's NYC residence, the media covered how works like his Allen Street stencil, were quickly vandalized, and painted over.[/caption]

Banksy, the never-seen, but always visible British street artist is, if I can be blunt, a frikkin' genius. And I'm not talking about his stencil art, which is clever indeed. No, I'm talking about his business model. A graffiti artist's work is never done -- others will inevitable tag and embellish it over time. Street art is always at risk of being defaced, and erased. Banksy has clearly turned this to his advantage, and harnessed it to help drive the value of his original stencils.

His recent, month-long, residence in New York City saw him painting the town red, as it were, and waiting -- often not very long -- for the city to paint over many of his celebrated stencil pieces. Far from being annoyed when a building manager, or the city's ant-graffiti squad, painted over one of his stencils, he was probably laughing -- all the way to the bank. Scarcity drives up the value of a popular artist's work, and Banksy is not only popular, but he controls the perception of his works' scarcity, and the way he does it, using the street, and the media, is a work of art in itself.

[caption id="attachment_6804" align="alignnone" width="497"] Another Banksy NYC piece covered in the media after being... covered.[/caption]

Banksy takes Manhattan ►

[caption id="attachment_6427" align="alignnone" width="497"] Banksy stencil on Melrose Avenue, and Orange Street, in Los Angeles, California.[/caption]

British street artist Banksy is kinda famous for his thought-provoking stencils. He might have started on the streets of London, England, but he's definitely global now. And Banksy isn't a graffiti artist anymore, he's an artist artist, and one who doesn't need a publicity agent -- he can handle that himself, thank you very much.

[caption id="attachment_6428" align="alignnone" width="497"] Banksy stencils selling in Central Park, NYC, over the weekend. The elderly vendor is not Banksy.[/caption]

His recent "residency" in New York City has been a public relations bonanza. Over the weekend, for instance, he set up a pop-up booth in Central Park on Saturday. On his website, Banksy wrote: "Yesterday I set up a stall in the park selling 100% authentic original signed Banksy canvases. For $60 [USD] each." The Guardian newspaper' item points out this is less than a tenth what his original stencils sell for in art galleries. Banksy's says the day's take was $420 USD. Earlier he made some noise with his moving installation "Sirens of the Lambs" -- a slaughterhouse delivery truck full of shrieking stuffed animals. But all of this is nothing compared to the video he's released on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsF3HspQY6A

Graffiti and street art: Banksy vs. King Robbo ►
Banksy makes himself scarce ►

This piece of stenciled street art appeared a month-or-so ago in the East lane off Granville Street, between 10th, and 11th Avenue. As for the idea being conveyed -- many Fairview residents do just what is shown -- put their pets on a pedestal. Beyond the idea, it's an example of the effort that goes into making a stencil graffiti. The simple animation below shows how it might've been done using two stencils, two colours of spay paint -- white and gold, and a chisel-tip black marker. After it was finished, I talked to a binner who saw the piece being put up. The white background, and the black lines were both done using brushes. Click the above photo to enlarge it.

What a lucky Kitsilano homeowner! Their new garage -- still a work in progress -- has attracted a real artiste. It's unusual to see a tagger go right into a new construction and cut loose, creatively-speaking. Perhaps the partial concrete construction of this garage, was the lure. The main work is an interesting two-colour stencil, with red spray bomb, of a riot-gear-clad police officer. Will the homeowner alter their plans to accommodate, and incorporate this gift of art? There's no telling. But we can be fairly certain they were overcome with emotion when they first saw it.

[caption id="attachment_5013" align="alignnone" width="497"] The baton makes this stormtrooper stencil particularly striking.[/caption]

I appreciate stencil graffiti; you don't just dash it off, it's premeditated. There's a person, or persons, lately doing a bit of stencil graffiti in Fairview's alleys. The stencils are one colour. small -- three to five inches square, and they are positioned out of normal lines of sight. This stencil of U.S. President Barack Obama, is no more than five inches square, and so positioned on a wall that a dumpster will often be partly in front of it. Click the image to enlarge it.

Not such a fan of indiscriminate tagging; about as creative as a dog marking territory, says I. But, graffiti can be visually and mentally stimulating -- the stencils of Banksy for example. The tentacles-and-wave stencil, pictured above, and below has survived for years, in the alley on the North side of West Broadway, near the cross-street of Columbia. I don't know if it borrows from any actual Japanese woodblock prints, but, I think the use of woodblock style is sly, and appropriate, and cool. It makes me smile, and think every time I see it. Click on the images below to enlarge them.