For much of the past year, the face of Tom Hanks—inarguably America's Most Beloved Thespian—has been plastered around the Lower East Side by the mysterious Hanksy, a street artist (or collective, it's unknown) who mimics the iconic work of the even more mysterious Banksy. And now, Hanksy is going legit: the artist/collective will have its first gallery show at Krause Gallery starting this Friday. more ›

Steve "ESPO" Powers, who recently wrote a very public love letter to Brooklyn, is back to work, and just unveiled this latest creation. Arrested Motion notes that the piece is called "Train To Always," and is located in Downtown Brooklyn. The stops have names like "Meh," "Lonely," and "So So," which sort of makes us think we need a new name for this type of adorable street art. Tweeffiti, perhaps? If that's not your cup of twee, leave your idea below... more ›

Did you guys know that tomorrow is Steve Jobs Day? It is, so get your black turtlenecks ready. In the meantime, check out this amazing, and subtle, tribute to Steve Jobs on Bond Street (between Lafayette and Broadway), which shows a young and an older Jobs. The man himself would probably appreciate such a smart design. [via Suri R] more ›

Finally, Brooklyn is catching up with Beverly Hills with the introduction of this new Liposuction facility (courtesy of TrustoCorp, of course). The drive-thru service offers fat trimming in just 60 seconds, and for just 25 cents. Afterwards you and your trim self can probably make some extra cash by canning the fat and selling it at the Brooklyn Flea—just say it's locally-made moisturizer or something. more ›

Remember when Tesla covered the Five Man Electric Band song "Signs"? Jeff Keith passionately declared, "So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own fuckin' sign!" YEAH. Anyway, whenever we see one of these new street art signs that song begins spinning on repeat in our brain. Join us, won't you: more ›

Earlier this year Macy's announced they were giving their ugly garage in Downtown Brooklyn a makeover. They brought on graffiti artist ESPO (aka Steve Powers of the Waterboard Thrill Ride) to create a love letter to the borough, which he's just about done with. Yesterday Gothamist's Jake Dobkin photographed the piece, still in progress, and sprawling around Hoyt, Livingston, and Fulton Streets. This isn't the first love letter he's written though, so don't feel too special. more ›

There's an impromptu 9/11 memorial on Fifth Avenue this morning using cups, chalk, and good old NYC sidewalk. A sign explaining the installation, which starts at 14th Street and continues for almost ten blocks up the avenue, says that a group called "Illegal Art" has marked each of the 110 floors of the World Trade Center in chalk, heading north for 1,368 feet, the height of the taller of the two towers. "Passersby, like yourself, are encouraged to walk the height of the once standing buildings along 5th Avenue and write any words that express your feelings or experience related to 9/11." more ›

The latest etiquette signs from artist Jayshells have officially made their way to the streets of New York, currently instructing passerby on Bleecker Street, Astor Place, and in Times Square on how to be good citizens. more ›

Trustocorp have been developing quite the reputation with their public art projects, from street signs advising you to cheer up to street signs notifying you that you're lame, from indictments of reality TV shows to warnings not to feed the hispters. Now, they've unveiled their newest project: they’ve gone into magazine stands, bookstores and pharmacies throughout Hollywood, Manhattan, Williamsburg, LAX and JFK to mix copies of their fake gossip rags, featuring pregnant Donald Trump, a sexed-up Sarah Palin, and an overdosed Lindsay Lohan, in with the real ones. Unlike their other projects, which were somewhat passive in nature, this "intervention" seems harder for the consumers of tabloid culture to ignore. If you see any of the fake magazines on newsstands, send us a picture at tips@gothamist.com. more ›

Irene's wrath was felt by the Houston Street mural on Sunday, where Animal NY notes that "the rainfall mercilessly drenched JR’s work to the point that Kenny Scharf’s mural appeared to be making a comeback." It actually looks pretty cool, so maybe Irene can retire and focus on her creative street art side. Or maybe she's a hurricane and has no feelings about street art. At press time, her rep was unavailable for comment. more ›

In 2008 Joshua Allen Harris brought inflatable street art to our street—essentially, plastic bags in the shape of an animal that get blown up when a subway passes underneath the grates they're tied to. Yesterday a new piece arrived in Astor Place, which Animal NY notes may have been there for a documentary being filmed about street art. more ›

The street art pranksters at TrustoCorp have taken over some Lower East Side phone booths and replaced the old ads with some new ones. This time they're giving the big wigs at Reality Television HQ some free ideas, promoting a couple of shows that don't exist: The Real Housewives of Baghdad, and The Real World North Korea. [via Laughing Squid] more ›

A new iPhone app called Banksy-Locations delivers you directly to the street artist's work—all you need to do is give your current location, and the map will become a guided tour of his nearby pieces. (One blog notes that it will likely also become a roadmap for the anti-graffiti set who want to buff out Banksy.) It includes videos, photos, and information about the mysterious artist... but does it know its Banksy from its Fakesy? We paid $1.99 and downloaded the app to find out... but it keeps crashing. more ›

Artist Cy Twombly died in Rome yesterday at the age of 83, leaving behind a catalog of work spanning some fifty years. The Times has a full obituary today, but here are the highlights, and some pointers on where to go to see Twombly's transfixing, large-scale paintings and sculptures here in New York. more ›

French graffiti artist JR and the Bronx's Hunts Point Alliance for Children have teamed up to present "Through A Mother's Eyes," a community art project that involves members of the neighborhood, through images taken by and of Hunts Point residents themselves. With the areas physical structures being plastered with the people who live amongst them, the focus of the project is "community art" in its truest sense. more ›

We are now several layers away from the Shepard Fairey mural that took over the Houston Street wall last year. Most recently it was adorned by the work of Kenny Scharf, and as of today it's been taken over by street artist JR. Here's a shot of his wheatpasted piece—it sort of reminds us of Dr. Eckleburg's eyes, so watch out East Village sinners, you are under watch. You too, SoHo. more ›

Yesterday we learned that the Brooklyn Museum was cancelling plans to host "Art In The Streets," a graffiti and street art-themed exhibition currently at LA's Museum of Contemporary Design. The Museum says their reasons are purely economic, though the show had already raised some ire before it even opened, and has been tied to a spike in graffiti-related arrests in LA. We spoke to some prominent street artists and gallerists here about their thoughts on the move: more ›

Remember way back in April, when we heard about the Brooklyn Museum's plans to host "Art In The Streets," a graffiti and street art-themed exhibition? The one that got the Daily News all riled up about "giving the destruction of other people's property a hallowed place in high-art halls?" Well, looks like we won't be seeing works from Fab 5 Freddy and Swoon in the Museum's hallowed halls, after all—the Museum has canceled the exhibition. more ›

Street artist Shepard Fairey gained fame after years of putting up his Obey stickers and wheatpastes on every surface of this and other cities—but does he do it all himself now that he's got fame and, presumably, fortune? According to his wife: no way. But of course, that's not what he wants you to think. TMZ recently bombarded the couple at the airport, where their awkward interaction went something like this: more ›

Have you seen the giant, slightly disconcerting stair-level faces being plastered across stoops near Bergen Street and 4th Avenue in Park Slope? They're kind of hard to miss, but where did they come from? We did a little digging, and discovered, of course, it's not only in the name of art, but in the name of getting a giant cash prize! more ›