Here on Urban Art Monster, It has always been our goal to feature upcoming artists, as well as established artists, in order to eventually make their work available to the public. Although, we aren’t able to offer authentic Banksy artwork just yet (we’re hoping he’ll contact us any day now and offer us some originals to put for sale), we are happy to announce that the very first print we are making available through the site is this limited edition print by Banksy himself.

The original “Donuts” piece went on exhibit in a Bristol City Museum exhibit, titled, “Banksy Versus Bristol City Museum.”

In July of 2009, Pictures On Walls (POW) offered a “Donuts” print which measured 30 x 22 inches in chocolate and strawberry. Each print was limited to 299 and a special lottery system was implemented for the print where buyers needed to register before hand in order to be chosen for purchase.

About this print:

Here on Urban Art Monster, we’re offering you another chance to own your own version of “Donuts” print by Banksy. This high quality print is a replica of the 2009 “Donuts” print offered on Pictures on Walls in 2009, complete with the Banksy signature on the bottom, right-hand corner (Note; this is not an original). This edition of “Donuts” is a limited edition of 100, printed on 45 lbs. Matte Litho-realistic paper. The print was created using archival ink and is a large 36 x 24 inches in size.

It’s long overdue that we feature Shepard Fairey here on Urban Art Monster. He is easily one of the most popular urban/street artists around and after the creation of his Barack Obama “Hope” Poster, he is practically a household name.

Recently, Fairey released a print featuring Cope2 and Martha Cooper which sold out within minutes of being posted on ObeyGiant.com. The print was a 18” x 24″ Screen Print which was signed by Shepard Fairey, COPE and Martha Cooper. The prints were a numbered edition of 450 and like most of the prints on Obey Giant, the prints were limited to 1 per household.

If you still want to buy an Obey X Cope2 X Cooper prints, it may not be totally impossible (as long as you’re willing to pay out of your ass) on ebay.

Amidst an Academy Award Nomination for the street art documentary, “Exit Through The Gift Shop” and a best selling coffe-table book, “Wall and Piece,” the faceless urban artist Banksy has underground followers wondering whether Banksy has “gone Hollywood.”

Several new Banksy pieces have popped up in and around Hollywood, California just a couple of weeks before the 2011 Oscars where, “Exit Through The Gift Shop” is expected to win the statute in the category of Best Documentary. The new pieces that have appeared in the upscale California area have again sparked the never ending discussion of whether Banksy’s creations are the epitome of subversive, public art or just plain vandalism.

There is no doubt that the new pieces which have appeared in Hollywood are just as unique and communicate the same level of social commentary as all of his past work. One piece depicts a child soldier standing in a child-like, crayon garden while shooting an over-sized gun. Upon closer inspection you see that the ammunition in the machine gun is actually crayons. His other piece depicts Charlie Brown pouring a tank of gasoline on the ground while smoking a cigarrette. At first, the Charlie Brown piece may not seem to work as well with it’s environment as past Banksy pieces, but the piece takes on new context once you know it was created on the side of a burned down building.

However, the never ending question of whether Banksy’s creations should be considered fine art or just vandalism has given way to an entirely new question, “has Banksy gone commercial?” This isn’t Banksy’s first trip to Hollywood, California. Back in 2007, he held a gallery exhibition where buyers included celebrities like Bradd Pitt and Angelina Jolie among others. The show was said to be extremely lucrative for the artist and since then, Banksy’s art has only grown in popularity.

His latest trip to Hollywood also comes with a storm of criticism from underground art fans who say Banksy has “sold out.” It just so happens that the Child Soldier piece was done on the side of an Urban Outfitters clothing store. The same store sells Banksy’s best selling coffee-table book, “Wall and Piece.” Coincidentally, it is also the only Banksy piece in Hollywood that hasn’t been removed or covered up.

You can check out tons of Banksy art and other west coast street artists on Melrose and Fairfax.

You can check out our newest link to ToyKyo in our blogroll. They are an online art store from Belgium and they feature amazing artwork by the artist Parra as well as others. The “Fly New Coffee Table” is one of Parra’s latest creations and (as of the date of this post) only one more is available to buy from Toykyo for 2,200 Euro. Keep checking out Urban Art Monster for more on Parra Art.

SASN is a Miami-based street artist. These images were submitted anonymously to the graffiti website, www.MiamiGraffiti.com several years ago, but you can still see SASN’s art around the streets of Miami-Dade.

With no real documentation on where or when Space Invader’s mosaic were placed in and around Miami Beach, it is difficult to say how many are in existence. The fact that urban art thieves have joined forces with city maintenance workers in removing these pieces makes it difficult to even document where they are.

This piece by invader is currently located just steps away from the Miami Beach convention Center, where Art Basel 2010 was held. As you can see by these photos, the mosaic was placed over 10 feet high and above a crosswalk signal. Unlike other invader pieces, this one may have some longevity just because it is directly across the street from one of the biggest schools in Miami Beach and frequently patrolled by police.

Read more about Space Invader in Miami.

UPDATE: Just read what I wrote about this piece having some sort of longevity… As of mid-February, this Space Invader Mosaic has been removed.

This film brings up an interesting question, “What is street art worth?” An original art piece by Banksy can sell for tens of thousands, if not millions of dollars. However, as you’ll see in this trailer, a torn piece of paper that isn’t authenticated isn’t as impressive as a Banksy gallery piece.

There’s no doubt that Invader’s (also known as Space Invader) popularity has skyrocketed after the release of “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” However, this French artist is by no means new to the Urban Art scene. Born in 1969, Invader has been using small colored tiles to create mosaics of the Tomohiro Nishikado designed, “Space Invaders” video game since 1998.

Invader’s “Invasion” began in Paris, France and has spread to over 31 cities around the world. He is known for choosing locations for his mosaics that are both highly visible, yet inconspicuous. Invader made a visit to Miami during Art Basel 2010 and although his “Invasion” hasn’t been documented on his website, there is no doubt he was there.

However, as you can see from the last photo in the gallery, the “Invasion” in Miami Beach is quickly fading. I joked with friends on the phone about taking down the Space Invader Mosaic under the Alton Road bridge and keeping it for myself but it seems that someone beat me to it. Looking at the way it was taken down, two things seem pretty obvious. One, the piece wasn’t taken down by the city or else they would’ve cleaned up every tile. Two, whoever took down this Invader mosaic didn’t just go through a tough time to take it down (needing at least a chisel and ladder) but he or she also destroyed the piece in the process.

Space Invader does sell authentic Invader Mosaics in his Space Shop. They usually go for around 200 Euro (300 Euro signed) and sell out fast.