Hanksy is the handle of a street artist who puts Tom Hanks’ face on copies of Banksy’s art. At his show at the Krause Gallery in Manhattan’s lower east side, almost everything was sold. “The internet and the general public know me as Hanksy,” says the artist with a secret identity almost as well-kept as his target’s. “Some call me a street artist, others call me a bad pun. I take iconic images from the UK street artist Banksy and mash it up with a reference from Academy Award-winning actor, Tom Hanks.” “I think what made [the show] such a success is the genuine honesty in it,” says gallery owner Ben Krause. “Hanksy really is a huge Tom Hanks fan and a huge Banksy fan.” “I guess I am subverting the subversive,” says the artist. “Celebrating [Hanks’] work while also softly pointing out how mainstream and accepted street art has become to the general public. But not everything in life is meant to be taken so seriously.” Is any of this even real? (via The Awl)
