June 22, 2007
BREAKING: Alleged Splasher Faces 15 Years in the Clink
At around 11pm we got a text message from a friend at the Shepard Fairey opening in DUMBO, saying that the "Splasher got caught at the show tonight". So far the information we're hearing is that two guys attempted to set off a stink bomb at the show, but were stopped by security. It remains to be seen if the stink-bombers are the same guys who set off a stink bomb at the Faile show last week (and then called 911 reporting a gas leak, which got the show shut down), or if they were indeed the ones splashing streetart pieces all over town a few months back.
Wooster Collective was also at the scene, and has some details and a possible picture of one of the suspects:
Two young guys entered Shepard Fairey's opening night party at 81 Front Street in Dumbo with a backpack. Moments later they were seen attempting to light a homemade stink and smoke bomb that was hidden in a coffee can. As they were setting it off, two guys nearby saw what was happening and managed to stop the guys from igniting it before it went off. Seeing the scuffle, the security guys hired for the evening caught one of the two guys (shown above) while the other was able to get away.
So as we write this the police are now detaining the guy as they figure out what, if any, charges to file.
So why might this be connected to the Splasher?
For the last few weeks speculation has been circulating amongst the art community here that is was the Splasher who lit off a similar stink and smoke bomb at the Faile show a few weeks back in Nolita. Going beyond it just being a practical joke, the guy who lit the smoke bomb then called the police informing them that there was a gas leak in the building. Minutes later fire engines arrived and the show was cleared out.
One thing seems clear - there are two motivations that have been driving the Splasher. Attention and a jealous desire to sabotage and ruin the work of well known artists who have gained a certain amount of notoriety. It then makes sense that after gaining a ton of press over the last few weeks, that the Splasher would try to take things to another level by not only ruining the artwork on the streets of people like Faile and Shepard, but by getting even more attention for ruining their gallery shows as well. Since it would be all too obvious to walk into an art show and throw paint on the wall, why not then attempt to close down the show by causing a panic?
We'll add detail tomorrow, once we find out what the hell is going on-- if you were at the show, tell us what happened in the comments. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: some questions we'll need answered before we'll believe the identification:
1. Is the kid in the photo the mysterious "Zac" referenced in the NY Magazine piece?
2. Are either of the suspects known to anyone in the streetart scene?
3. Were either of them seen at the Faile show last week?
UPDATE: here's a picture of Shepard at the show-- if you missed the opening, we've put pix of all the pieces up on Streetsy.
UPDATE: a few comments of note-- the first is from our friend who was at the show:
eyewitnesses say that he was the same guy as at faile withthe stinkbombs and the same guy as at the bma. the guy ny mag identified as swoon's old assistant. judith supine has an eye witness account of the details as does wooster apparently.
Here's another that sums up a lot of the email we're getting:
I was at the opening last night, and while I can't say whether or not those two people were collectively 'The Splasher', I can say what they were doing was extremely dangerous. The show was absolutely packed (I was told there were 3500 people on the guest list)., and it could have really turned into a stampede situation where people got hurt had they succeded.
And we spoke to Marc at Wooster Collective-- he said the photo of the alleged Stinkbomber was sent in by someone at the show who feels that there is a big difference between splashing some work on the streets and setting off a smokebomb in a crowded gallery. The reason Marc put up the picture is to encourage people to come forward and identify these kids, and thereby discourage them from pulling these stunts before they cause a situation where people get hurt.
Still no word on whether these guys are The Splasher, however.
UPDATE: Sam scanned the front and back of the ObeyBucks that Shepard has been leaving around town.
UPDATE: Juliana Bunim at the Brooklyn Paper is reporting that the captured Splasher suspect has been charged with reckless endangerment and attempted arson, which carries up to 15 years in prison as a penalty. Apparently the DJ was responsible for detaining the kid before he lit his smoke bomb:
DJ scratches ‘bomber’: Keen-eyed spinner may have caught ‘Splasher’ By Juliana Bunim for The Brooklyn PaperA quick-acting disc jockey saved the day — and quite possibly helped catch the art world’s elusive Splasher — at Thursday night’s glitzy opening to graffiti legend Shepard Fairey’s DUMBO installation after one of the guests attempted to light a flammable device amidst a crowd of 500 street-art lovers.
DJ 10 Fingers first spotted the would-be “art critic” as he prepared to ignite what cops called a “flammable device” towards the end of the opening of Fairey’s “E Pluribus Venom” show at 81 Front St. at around 11 pm. A witness said the quick-acting disc jockey subdued the man just in time.
A half-hour later, the bomb squad rushed to the scene to “investigate some sort of flammable device,” and arrested the alleged would-be bomber, said an NYPD spokesperson.
The suspect, whom police said was from Bushwick, was charged with reckless endangerment and attempted arson, which carries a maximum of 15 years in jail.
Few noticed the attempted ignition — and 10 Fingers’ subsequent intervention — but the opening night celebration ended shortly thereafter.
Security “immediately swept the entire room to make sure there weren’t more devices,” said event coordinator Michael Petrovich. “We went into shut-down mode, trying to get everyone out in an orderly fashion. Luckily, not too many people realized what was going on.”
Petrovich said there was a second suspect who fled the scene, but police would not confirm that claim. The incident has left many in the art world wondering, could this be
the famous Splasher — a shadowy figure who has made headlines (in some circles) by vandalizing outdoors works by established graffiti artists.Nobody knows his (or her) identity, but at a street artist gallery opening earlier this month in Manhattan, a critic set off a “stink bomb” — and many believe it was the Splasher.
Fairey wouldn’t talk about the Thursday night incident, but in an earlier interview with The Brooklyn Paper, he made it clear that he disapproves of the Splasher’s approach: “If you want to critique the absorption of the street art world into the bourgeois system, then say it in a way that’s not just totally destructive and really meaningless. The Splasher is just destroying and not making any contribution. And he’s selective about splashing only people who do some of the best work because they’re the ones who end up succeeding commercially.” (For the full interview, see here).
As of Friday, however, it was unclear whether the attempted bombing of Fairey’s opening was indeed the work of the Splasher.
But then again, how would anyone know?
“This is not a situation where someone is going to come out and say they’re the Splasher,” Petrovich said. “These individuals are either stupid or they just have some sort of jealousy.”
Anyone heard anything else?
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so they will press charges of vandalising their vandilism? I can see it in court now. "so I was illegally painting some grafitti on some public and privately owned walls and this dickhead splasher just vandalized my shit Judge"
look at the post below this and rethink if anybody really gives a fuck.
wow, crazy!
really? wow
Charged with anything? Hell, I can think of a half-dozen things to charge them with, from disorderly conduct (violation) to felony reckless endangerment or attempted arson.
i didnt know harry potter.was the splasher
While I don't agree with graffiti (euphemistically called "street art" by Dobkin and crew) in any form, I find it HILARIOUS when the Splasher defaces hipster's art and they get angry about it. The cognitive dissonance must be intense!
No, the person in that photo is not the same Zach who was stalking Swoon. But like the kid in the photos, Zach also looks like a douche.
It seems obvious that by now "the splasher" is a franchise operation, no?
the splasher is no single person.
Whoever he is, I'm diggin that pink polo shirt! How punk rock!
i'm a hyperpretentious d-bag. i feel the need to use phrases like cognitive dissonance. also, they aren't pressing charges he vandalized their vandalism, other guy. if charges are pressed it will be for disrupting the art show not being the splasher. he'll probably (hopefully) just get his ass kicked for the latter. and really must we be bombarded with comments about "vandalism" evvvery time a post is about street art. go read the nytimes.
what are the facts here? i'm not defending anyone at all (attempting to set off a stink bomb like that is just stupid), but i don't really see the facts that connect this to the splasher. throwing alleged before splasher in the title doesn't really cover this. it looks like just some stupid kids.
i'm pretty sure they didn't catch me.
i liked it better when the "street artists" would just have a dance off in the subway station to settle their beef.
That's all you've got? Speculation in the "art community" (i.e. morons) that the Splasher set off a stink bomb at a show?
Very responsible, Wooster and Jake.
oh btw, you left off the last paragraph from the wc post: "Obviously at this point we don't know if the guy above is indeed the Splasher. But in the next couple of hours we expect that now that a photo has been shown of the guy caught tonight for trying to sabotage Shepard's show, that more of the story will come out."
can jake just get his own vandalism blog already?
hate crimes against vandals
before I was a potty trained street artist they called me the splasher.
bahahahahahaha. i don't even have words to describe how funny this whole situation is to me.
The splasher pictured here looks a lot like Simon Rich, Author, Ant Farm
another minority cultural artifact co-opted by well to do whities.
Could the motive be to make a statement against 'established' street art (and not attention and jealousy)?
Either way, its friggin hilarious...
"hey you got your vandalism om my street art!"
"hey you got your street art on my vandalism!"
I was at the opening last night, and while I can't say whether or not those two people were collectively 'The Splasher', I can say what they were doing was extremely dangerous. The show was absolutely packed (I was told there were 3500 people on the guest list)., and it could have really turned into a stampede situation where people got hurt had they succeded.
I don't see why there's so much debate about this. People seem to be taking sides here, as if the thoughts "this is great art" and "the person(s) should be punished if caught" are mutually exclusive. Of course both are true, and that's one of the aspects to street art that makes it what it is; the illicit nature of it, the danger, the urgency, all of that makes street so appealing to the artists themselves.
I agree that if the people involved put the gallery attendees in any sort of trouble then that was irresponsible and indefensible, but the general idea of vandalizing vandalism is brilliant. Then again, if they got caught, they better expect to be punished.
At least they get to suffer for their art
I think the splasher(s) are a left over team from Giuliani's quality of life task force acting out of sheer dedication to the old beady-eyed chief.
As for art statements on top of art statements goes, it just goes to show you the state of the arts in gentrified New York City. They should go splash the Stock Exchange. (Like when Abie Hoffman and company entered the visitors gallery at the NYSE and threw dollar bills to the floor creating chaos and bringing trading to a halt that day --- not that's an art statement!) YIPPIE!
Yes everyone is upset with the splasher but if you spell his name right publicity is publicity.
Don't make an untrained artist the next big thing in Street Art.
Damn, somebody beat me to the punch on "Harry Potter is the Splasher!"
Jake, I fixed a short section for you.
"One thing seems clear - there are two motivations that have been driving the vandal. Attention and a jealous desire to sabotage and ruin the vandalism of well known vandals who have gained a certain amount of criminal notoriety."
Okay, everyone repeat after me with your best Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis impressions:
"I am Spartacus... er, the Splasher!"
Let's go get some paint! It's time to reclaim our city and our walls from those who consider themselves artistically blessed and entitled to exposure.
#22 - How true. It's funny how if a Black poor person does graffiti cause he's rebelling against society he's ghetto trash but if a Rich white person who's emulating a black poor person does it then he gets a art show cause he's "artistic"
thanks for the updates to the post. again, not defending the kid in anyway whatsoever (very stupid and dangerous of them) but the rationale behind posting his pics is concerning. what happens when they're identified online by name? a pat on the back for gothamist and wc, maybe a mention in the local press and internet vigilatism may turn ugly. why not just leave the identifying of these kids to the police?
If I knew who/where he was I would beat the sh!t out of him.
Fairey and Faile and Swoon are at the forefront of the art world. Faile's show cleared 1.5 million 2 weeks ago. Swoon's pieces are in the collection of the MoMA. I would much rather have free public art on my corner than an Ad for Virgin mobile. I was very sad when the splasher hit an amazing WK Interact piece on my block in the LES. I use to pass it everyday and see something different every time. Now it's just pink sh!t thanks to this brat.
Splasher is sloppy. Stuff gets splashed next to his targets (my awning) and I gotta get up on a ladder and clean it up or get a new one. Fireman don't like to be called in on a prank at a gallery, the department doesn't exist for that purpose. Stinkbombs don't cause a stampede, people just leave, but lighting some kind of homemade device is a little scary to me. Splasher, you may not like the art/artist, but c'mon, doing pranks like that at a crowded opening can put life and limb at risk. How far are you willing to take your actions to get your point across? What is your point anyway? You are pissing off a lot of people who are not your intended target. Ever heard of the innocent bystander? My personal take? Police are down to punish street artists no matter what ethnicity, income level, school degree, etc., and very harshly for that matter. Whose side are you on boy, whose side are you on?
That coffee can could have easily been filled with c-4. No joke there -- send him to Guantanamo.
I wouldn't light anything but I would throw paint on that "art"
garbnzgh, i think social punishment works in smaller communities-esp. in cyberspace: http://cypherpunks.venona.com/date/1994/09/msg00214.html
"Struggling" trust fund art-school students with BFA's, using a medium previously only used by graffiti artists, creating commercial "street art" for the hipsters, riding the wave of "underground" coolness and cashing in taking it all the way to the bank. "Failes show cleared 1.5 million, swoon's pieces are in the MOMA." $3,500 for a small box piece at the Faile show hardly sounds street. Slapping up prefab pieces to the wall takes away from the trade of real street art. They should stay commercial and stick to making cool tees for the hipster community. Who cares if the Splasher splashes paint on their sticky rice paper? Sounds like all this publicity is feeding their best interests.
"Splasher is sloppy. Stuff gets splashed next to his targets (my awning) and I gotta get up on a ladder and clean it up or get a new one."
If you had cleaned off the graffiti quickly, this wouldn't have happened. Blame yourself. If you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas. Too bad that law never passed forcing property owners to pay the bill after the city cleans off a wall.
All you street artists (and groupies) are just a bunch of sheep after the Shephard. 3500 on a guest list?! You've got to be kidding me....stop riding the poser bandwagon.
the splahser is jealous? are you retarded? the splahser is just doing what every other lame graf artist is doing- challenging tradition and authority.
Since when is challenging tradition and authority a bad thing?
#39, c'mon. My fault? He splashed the bldg next door in the early morning hours. The splash went off his target onto his non-target. If it was my fault, then it was yours too. Sheesh. Besides, it's not like he did it while bizness was open. Everyone was in bed. I rent, not own. Take a deep breath! Now release!!
snitches get stitches
Sometimes I splash my own work, just to give it more 'street cred.'
don't care.
re: Since when is challenging tradition and authority a bad thing?
I like how we're confusing "challinging tradition and authority" with "being an asshole."
Do these kids have nothing better to do with their time? I say send 'em around to some of the schools in Brooklyn or a shelter or something...give them something useful to do. They can make their statement there.
Oh no, it's the SHROPSHIRE SLASHER!!!!
oh wait, no, it's just the B-burg Splasher... lame.
WOAH WOAH WOAH. The splasher is an asshole and all, but it's seriously fucked to cheer on the NYPD pressing for FIFTEEN YEARS IN JAIL for this bullshit. Jake, the way you've handled this is not cool at all.
That shit WAS lit and looked really scary when the wick was burning down before someone put it out with their foot. If more people saw that or if it actually went off there could have been some serious problems with such a big crowd and one door. Fuck that kid, he put himself in the uncomfortable position he is in.
Whoever is doing this is a total douchebag. That piece in the picture is a wonderful piece of art, that is part of the community. I can't believe someone would be so lame and ruin so many nice pieces. Street art or not its still art, and many people like myself enjoy seeing these pieces. I was at the show last night and I support Fairey and his work.
15 years? does this get you people off? is your sense of self worth that high? you guys are mediocre designers who wheat paste large prints designed in illustrator at home - you have no can skills, no ability nor the balls to bomb a subway and yet you want this kid in jail?
please, jen, fire this dipshit.
you are rich white kids who usurped an out of date and out of style form of art that came from the streets of new york and you want to throw kids who don't like what you're doing in jail - for 15 years.Did you ever think that if original graff artists got this kind of treatment you assholes wouldn't be around?
yes call me outraged. un-fucking-believable.
SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!
Defacing fine street art is akin to, but not as gratifying as splooging in the face of a hot chick.....you could do it, but why?