Street art icon Banksy’s New York City “Better Out Than In” residency continued this morning with the discovery of a miniature version of the Sphinx that he made out of crushed cinder blocks. The “statue” was discovered in the Willets Point neighborhood and like any of the other Banksy art that has been found throughout the city this month, people immediately flocked to it. Unfortunately, like some of his other recent efforts, Banksy’s Sphinx was gone after a few hours today, as a group of men showed up, claimed it as their own and dismantled it.
But don’t think that they simply took it home to turn it into a coffee table or a very elaborate bong. No sir, like other entrepreneurs before them, these men were simply trying to capitalize off of the phenomenon, as they reportedly tried to sell the bricks for $100 a pop before they eventually loaded the Sphinx into their truck.
Best of luck trying to A) reassemble someone else’s art so it looks even remotely as good as Banksy made it, and B) selling pieces of crushed cinder block for more than $0. Capitalism may be alive and well, but it has seen smarter days.
UPDATE: Via our pal @TwoEightNine, this is the very obvious manner in which we’re alerted to Banksy’s new efforts.
//instagram.com/p/fyGiHvsoWa
(H/T to Animal New York, banner via and thieving pic via)