Prince William: I Am Banksy

(NEWSER) - Controversial artist Banksy has mounted a huge show at his hometown Bristol City Museum—but the secretive vandal is nowhere to be seem, the Times of London reports. The exhibition was planned in secret through Banksy’s representatives. “We couldn’t even tell the council and the whole thing could have been a huge hoax,” the museum’s director said. The show includes paintings and sculpture. More»

UK guerrilla tagger turns out to have posh background

(NEWSER) - An exhaustive investigation has uncovered the carefully guarded identity of guerrilla graffiti artist Banksy, the Mail on Sunday claims. The man whose works are coveted by celebrities and sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars is Robin Gunningham, now 35, who attended a posh private school as the son of middle-class parents in Bristol, in the west of England. More»

Kirchner rips planned destroyer, Prince William deployment

(NEWSER) - Some 30 years after Britain and Argentina fought a war over the Falkland Islands, tensions are rising again. Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner plans to file a formal complaint to the United Nations about Britain's recent "militarization" of the disputed islands, the BBC reports. Argentina has been enraged by the deployment of Prince William —whose uncle Prince Andrew flew a helicopter in the 1982 conflict—to the islands, and by Britain's plan to send one of its newest warships to the region this spring. More»

He urges Brits to vote online to protect favorite open spaces

(NEWSER) - The man who would be king has turned tree-hugger on YouTube. Prince William has made a videotaped plea to Brits to pick their favorite green spaces for protection. Local authorities have chosen several sites for protection as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, which is aimed at blocking development at popular open areas, notes the Telegraph . Too many sites have been nominated, however, and William urges Brits to vote on their favorites online. "Many of these sites may be lost in the future if they are not protected," warns the 29-year-old prince. "Protecting these sites will mean that millions of people for generations can take part in sport, play, and enjoyment." William's message comes on the heels of the British government's proposed planning reforms, generally viewed as paving the way for new development. More»

Now your grandmother can be a vandal

(NEWSER) - Graffiti’s latest trend stems from a grandmotherly tradition—and it’s more likely to prompt laughter than arrests, proponents say. Yarn bombers knit sweaters and cozies for public objects from lampposts to cars to mailboxes, the New York Times reports. Victims have included the iconic Wall Street bull and the statue of Rocky outside Philadelphia’s Museum of Art. “Street art and graffiti are usually so male dominated,” says one yarn bomber. “Yarn bombing is more feminine. It’s like graffiti with grandma sweaters.” More»