The other day in New York City. I went for a stroll through the city and nearly stepped on one of these little rat lookalike dogs, when I saw this huge image of a rat and immediately I thought: Banksy was here.
Whether it was him or some other artist, the rats stimulate talk. They function as a mood processor and reflect the artists opinion on the financial crisis, the media, advertising - current topics and cynical thoughts.
I wish every city had its Banksys. Vienna certainly lacks this form of expression. And don’t think that an old historically charged place like Vienna doesn’t have empty spaces downtown to offer enough canvasses for urban art.
After asking around whether there were more of these designs around, it was quite amazing to realize how many people were aware of them. The guys in Canal Street led me to the painting on Howard Street and the Hot Dog vendor there sent me to MacDougal and Housten street.
So, supposing it was Banksy who left his oversized footprint throughout Manhattan behind, I had to follow his trail and stop by the probably most visited shop in the West Village throughout October 2008:
THE VILLAGE PET STORE AND CHARCOAL GRILL.
When my cab drove past it, there were at least 50 people queuing up at the entrance. When I returned after dinner, the queue had doubled, now about 5 zig-zag lines long. A store and you couldn’t even buy anything. I’m quite certain that drove America’s shop-o-holic society c r a z y.
My first look fell on this animal. The leopard was wiggling its tail…
I walked around the cage and was… surprised.
The entire store filled with installations giving away, well… messages to think about. Shocking, painfully entertaining, but all of them pretty awesome.
This hen watched her little ones…
well… little processed ones.
This monkey wore headphones and watched a monkey programme on discovery channel.
Or these swimming fish fingers. All in all a fascinating store concept and I guess a more efficient idea to create awareness for a good cause or a social message than the action of some Viennese animal activists who scream their slogans into speaker phones opposite department stores while you want to have a relaxed Saturday afternoon stroll through the city.
