Catching New Yorkers Catching Banksy

New York is currently all in a tizzy over "Better Out Than In," a month-long "residency" by British street artist Banksy. It started October 1, with Banky's posting of this photo, a clue to the location of a piece he created on the Lower East Side. In less than 24 hours, it was defaced and removed. The same thing is happening to most of the other work he's been putting up, which is quickly turning his daily website postings into immediately-must-know info if you want to see his art before it disappears.

I got lucky this morning and figured out the location of today's piece in one of my favorite places for graffiti-hunting: Red Hook. The 'hood neighbors mine, so I hopped on a bus and got a chance to see "helium balloon" in all its unspoiled glory. "It's less than three hours old," another art-spotter said to me, just as it started to rain. "It's like we're seeing a newborn baby."

I'm now very curious to see how this little guy will grow and change over the next few days. Because the end of that spray-painted string is simply BEGGING for something to hang off it--I mean, other than just a few New Yorkers with iPhones and Instagram accounts, don't you think?

[UPDATE: It's already been tagged! That was fast--check it here.]