(image via: howieluvzus)

When Banksy visited New Orleans in 2008, the renowned graffiti artist wasn’t just leaving behind his particular brand of social and political commentary on Hurricane Katrina and its effects on New Orleans culture – he was coming to do battle with the Gray Ghost. Two years later, only a single Banksy work has escaped the gray paint roller, and only because it’s behind plexiglass.

(image via: quazen)

Fred Radtke made it his mission to erase every bit of graffiti in the city long before Banksy’s arrival, sweeping down the street with his paint roller in hand. The anti-street-art crusader passed quietly through each neighborhood, obliterating all traces of spray paint with his own signature splotches of gray – hence his nickname. Some locals celebrated his dedication to keeping New Orleans clean, while others decried his assault against free expression.

(image via: fabricmag)

The Gray Ghost himself became the subject of some of Banksy’s New Orleans work, depicted as a bent figure blotting out color on the city’s walls. Where Banksy painted over huge swaths of Radtke’s gray paint, Radtke came back and painted over many of Banksy’s works of art (captured on video in one case) – without the permission of the property owners. Each Banksy reportedly increased the value of the building it adorned by $75,000 – $200,000.

(images via: aboxcarnamedruin, artbymags)

In 2009, Radtke finally went too far and painted over a commissioned mural. He pled no contest to a charge of criminal trespassing and agreed to get permission from property owners before performing his “community service.”

(image via: satanoid)

Not all of the Banksy obliteration came courtesy of the Gray Ghost. A man was actually photographed in the process of painting over ‘Boy on Life Preserver’. But regardless of who covered them, it seems that they’re all gone but ‘Rain Girl’, thanks to its protective plexiglass.

(images via: martin reis)

Last year, Toronto citizens asked themselves a question that led to an unprecedented law: Why should we have to look at so many billboards? In April 2010, the city instituted taxes and restrictions on public advertising, but some ad companies decided to break the law – and those rogue billboards were themselves subject of guerrilla action recently when activists covered them with art.

The large-scale urban street hack was organized by Toronto Street Advertising Takeover (TOSAT) and plastered 41 illegal advertising pillars and 20 10′-by-20′ billboards with 85 prints by a variety of artists, from graffiti-style urban art to whimsical drawings of birds.

Toronto has long had restrictions on billboards, but they were complex and difficult to enforce. April’s bylaw introduced a new tax on billboards that funds art in public spaces and pays for enforcement, but according to activists, companies like Pattison Outdoor Advertising – which was targeted by the guerrilla action – continue to flout the law.

“When you walk through the city and you know you have no control over that space, it’s like walking through a mall,” said ‘Posterchild’, a Torontoist.com contributor who was involved with the project. “It’s more about feeling at home. And it’s impossible for me to feel at home in my city if I don’t feel I’m a part of it.”