Graffiti Artist Calls New Trade Center an “Eyesore”

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A denial from the New York Times’ op-ed department didn’t stop British graffiti artist Banksy from lashing out against One World Trade Center on his website instead, calling it the “biggest eyesore in New York.”

(Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)
(Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)

The root cause of the artist’s beef with the gleaming new tower was not clear, but his scorn seemed to run deep, as did his apparent distaste for Canadian architecture and really tall kids at parties.

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“It looks like something they would build in Canada,” he wrote, in a letter pasted on a template resembling that of the Times op-ed pages.

“It reminds you of a really tall kid at a party, awkwardly shifting his shoulders trying not to stand out from the crowd.”

Among other jabs, he said the tower “lacks self-confidence” and called it a “betrayal of everyone who lost their lives on September 11th.”

The elusive artist, who has reportedly been sought by the NYPD in the past, is on residency in New York through October.

The Durst Organization is developing the 104-story building in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“There’s no accounting for taste,” said Durst spokesperson Jordan Barowitz.