Banksy and his predecessors

Two years ago, my scientist pal introduced me to Banksy and I was amazed (embarassed) that I’d not heard of him nor seen his work before. Today I read on the International Herald Tribune site that his work recently sold at auction for surprisingly high prices.

I’d no idea how pervasive his imagery has become. The first one I saw was much like this one: And here’s more on the forefathers of this type of artist – dubbed “pochoiristes.” –> *and* if you’re inclined to dig deeper: copters on art of the state.

Can you feature the all-of-the-outdoors as your canvas? As your ‘personal’ public gallery? When did this type of work successfully cross-over from graffiti to public art? Clearly long before Keith Haring. When I lived in NYC, he became my touchstone graffiti artist as I saw his work daily in the subways.