Banksy in the Haight (stencil graffiti)
Posted May 8, 2010
Einstein plays dice with the universe while violating San Francisco’s pending Sit/Lie ordinance. Looks like Banksy’s style to me, probably promoting the Banksy movie, as with similar work that has been going up around the city.
Prints of this image are available from Red Bubble.
NOT Banksy. Clearly there are the initials L.T. on the butt
Yes there are – missed that. But, when I zoom in on the original, I can see that they are markered on after the fact – not part of the stencil.
Here’s a link to an article tracking the appearance of alleged Banksy pieces around the city.
The Einstein piece above isn’t in the list; however, it’s less than a block away from the trademark Banksy rat above Villain’s Vault, which is in the list.
Obviously can’t say for sure whether it’s really truly Banksy or not, but it’s definitely atypical for what you usually see around here. For one thing, stencils are most commonly small and done on the sidewalk rather than the wall, where they are harder to remove and more likely to get left alone for a while. This is large – life size, like a lot of Banksy’s art, and seems to reflect the familiar Banksy intelligence and wit. There are people around here sophisticated enough to do this kind of thing, however – whoever is doing all the geisha’s, for one – but overall, this is new. Given that there’s been a rash of Banksy-attributed stencils accompanying the film release, and the proximity to a piece which seems more obviously genuine, I think this is probably by Banksy, or one or more of his clones.
If you have the original photo, I would post it. Otherwise, this is not a Banksy in my eyes. For one, the L.T. is too perfectly put, PLUS, its in white paint which shows up in the eyes and arm of this piece. Furthermore, I walk by this exact spot everyday (live in the haight) and didn’t notice this the night it was put up, but did see it the next morning (11am) and the initials were there. Also, the white on the arm is a bit sloppy. As for proximity to the villians piece, its purely a coincidence. Its a great spot. Lots of foot traffic. Furthermore, its a great time to put some art work up while everyone is jacking over Banksy.
Don’t know when it was done exactly, but as of 5/22, the Einstein image has been removed.
could you send me a high-res flick of this piece? I need it for a school project.
Thanks!