Look, we all appreciate street art. Even 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno, the new go-to graffiti blasting quotesman, has said it’s not street art qua street art he’s against, it’s the destruction of property aspect of it all. Whatever. If arting on a wall is destroying it, we have bigger problems. The fact is, Chicago’s infamous war on graffiti has only entrenched this city’s street art credentials. The biggest threat to street art is street art itself. Gimmicky and hypocritical marketing techniques, like those used this week by the Maxwell Colette Gallery and Pawn Works to pump up tonight’s Gaia show, aren’t just taking the “street” out of street art, they’re taking away the fun. more ›

The air is getting crisper, the leaves are turning, and the fall art scene is kicking into gear. Here’s a few contemporary exhibits we think you won’t want to miss: more ›

Vacancy rates for retail stores are (ever so slowly) on the rise in Chicago, with the most interesting new tenants coming in the form of pop-up art galleries and work spaces. The Chicago Loop Alliance’s initiative, Pop-Up Art Loop, is kicking off another strong (and temporary) exhibition, Love Flows Both Ways: Street Culture x Contemporary Art curated by Oliver Hild of Maxwell Colette Gallery. more ›

• The above is a piece of graffiti that some think is yet another example of Banksy's work. It was photographed in Pilsen earlier this week by Molly Kolecki and like that earlier work, appears on his own website in the "outdoors" section. For an interesting counter-point to the Banksy craze, check out what TOC's Laura Weinberg had to say.
• Former Blago Chief-of-Staff John Harris pleaded guilty to fraud charges for a second time.
• Add Midwest Bank to the list of failed banks taken over by the feds.

Yesterday, we brought you photos of the first confirmed Chicago work by famous graffiti artist Banksy. In the comments section, reader "dankru" posted a link to the above photo that was taken at location around the Loop last week. There's no "official" confirmation that it is, indeed, another Banksy work, but rats are a common Bansky calling card while this specific rat is the same one that's being used in conjunction with the Banksy-centric documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop" and its promotional posters. It's also identical to a work Banksy has posted on his site. We're 99 percent certain it's his, but If it's not an official Banksy work, it's a damn good rip-off. Here's another angle of it by frequent Chicagoist Flickr contributor TEFennell4. more ›

It looks like British graffiti artists Banksy has paid a visit to our city. Even as his work has been cropping up in San Francisco and Toronto as of late, he found some time to drop in and leave the above Untouchables-inspired work at the corner of Randolph and Peoria. The work has been confirmed as his on his own website. Art gallery Maxwell Collette put up several shots of the work here. Be sure to check it out before Mayor Daley catches wind of it and has it painted over. [via] more ›

Artist, musician, fashion designer, and documentarian -- Jeff Kilpatrick has been all of the above during his 20-year-plus artistic career, and in speaking to him one gets the sense that he's not going to stop experimenting with different artistic formats anytime soon. Tonight Kilpatrick has a piece in "The Open Door Theory," an exhibit at 54b Studio that features works by 37 artists. Kilpatrick and the others have painted doors that will be used in a labyrinth. This is 54b's grand opening, so don't miss it. more ›