Daily Visual Arts Feed: activist

Lady Liberty opened to the public once more, after an eight-month closure to repair the damage Superstorm Sandy had caused. The 151-foot tall structure, a gift to the United States from the people of France in 1886, has endured numerous closures over the years, for both repairs and security concerns. Thousands made the ferry trip to Liberty Island yesterday to visit the re-opened structure, a world-famous work of art loaded with symbolism and history. National Park Service officials welcomed the visitors, saying they were ready for anticipated millions of annual visitors, despite beefed-up security procedures. Gathered here are images of The Statue of Liberty, inside and out, covering more than 130 years, from her birth in Paris to the present day.

1. A view of the Statue of Liberty, as Liberty Island opens to the public on July 4, 2013 for the first time since Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New York area. The Statue of Liberty, one of America's most recognizable symbols, reopened just in time for the July 4 national holiday, after being repaired from damage inflicted last year by Hurricane Sandy.

2. In 1875, a photograph made of the structure of the hand of the Statue of Liberty, under construction inside a Paris studio. Designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the statue was a gift to the United States from the people of France.

3. Left: the hand and torch of the Statue of Liberty being built in a Paris studio around 1876. Right: the head of the Statue of Liberty, inside a Paris studio around 1880.

4. Workmen constructing the Statue of Liberty in Bartholdi's Parisian warehouse workshop, a quarter-size head at right, Winter of 1882.

5. The Statue of Liberty towers over Paris rooftops in 1884, outside Bartholdi's workshop.

6. The inauguration of the Statue of Liberty, "Liberty Enlightening the World", in New York Harbor, on October 28, 1886. A military and naval salute, marked the event, presided over by U.S. President Grover Cleveland.

7. The Statue of Liberty, viewed from Ellis Island, by a small boy and his parents, ca. 1930.

8. The ocean liner Queen Mary passes the Statue of Liberty as she enters New York Harbor after completing her first voyage to the United States, on June 1, 1936.

9. Tourists examine writing on the inside of the top of Lady Liberty's crown in New York on August 4, 1946. Many of the visitors to the monument left behind markings to commemorate their visit to New York.

10. The statue of liberty, gift of French school children, which 17 Congressmen from New York and New Jersey agree "stands in a slum", towers above rubbish and junk on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor on March 5, 1948. The Congressmen asked a House Appropriations committee for $1,000,000 for slum clearance on the Island.

11. Visitors peek out from under the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, on October 26, 1946.

12. The Statue of Liberty, foreground, with warships moving up the Hudson River past the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the New York Skyline in Operation Sail preliminaries, on July 3, 1976.

13. Visitors crane for a quick peek through the tiny window from inside the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York City, on September 7, 1976.

14. Small craft surround the Statue of Liberty, covered in scaffolding, as renovations of the statue get underway, on July 4, 1984.

15. A close-up detail of the statue's right foot, showing missing rivets, 1984.

16. Interior of right foot showing wrought-iron straps supporting toes, in February of 1984.

17. Interior view of east-side of statue looking up showing secondary iron frame and strap-iron armature supporting copper skin of toga. February, 1984.

18. A worker leans out of the Statue of Liberty during renovations, on April 4, 1985.

19. View up stair case of the interior of main frame, 1988.

20. The old flame and torch platform, looking east with New York harbor, Ellis Island and lower Manhattan in background.

21. A workman makes an adjustment to the torch from the Statue of Liberty at Liberty Island workshop in New York, on December 16, 1984 as the flame, in background, is lowered to a pedestal for a fitting before shipment to California.

22. Gilding of the new torch on Liberty Island, on October 31, 1985.

23. New torch and flame with Manhattan skyline in background, 1985.

24. The newly-refinished Statue of Liberty, with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the background, on May 20, 1986.

25. Nancy Reagan is joined by Kristeen Reft, 9, of Alaska (left) and Laurence Honore of France, as all three wave from the crown of the Statue of Liberty during reopening ceremonies on July 5, 1986.

26. Fireworks erupt over the buildings of lower Manhattan during celebrations on July 4, 2000.

27. On September 11, 2001, thick smoke billows into the sky from the area behind the Statue of Liberty, lower left, where the World Trade Center towers, now collapsed, had stood.

28. The "Tribute in Light" memorial shines behind the Statue of Liberty, on March 11, 2002 on the six-month anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks in New York City.

29. The base of the crown of the Statue of Liberty, viewed on June 2, 2009 in New York harbor.

30. A portion of the right arm of the Statue of Liberty is visible from the Statue's crown, on May 20, 2009.

31. The space shuttle Enterprise, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, flies near the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, on April 27, 2012.

32. A picture of Lady Liberty from one of her new TorchCams, during a large storm on October 29, 2011.

33. A storm-damaged dock, near the Statue of Liberty which, remained closed to the public six weeks after Hurricane Sandy, on December 13, 2012. The storm caused extensive damage to National Park Service facilities on Liberty Island, although the statue itself remained unscathed.

34. The Statue of Liberty, viewed against the buildings of lower Manhattan, on October 26, 2006.

35. A girl poses for her father as they visit the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island during its reopening to the public in New York, July 4, 2013. Under steamy summer skies, tourists in New York flocked to ferries headed for the Statue of Liberty, re-opening with an Independence Day ceremony after closing in October as Superstorm Sandy approached.

36. The sun sets behind the Statue of Liberty in New York, on May 26, 2013. Learn more »

Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.

His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique. Such artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

Banksy's work was born of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. According to author and graphic designer Tristan Manco and the book Home Sweet Home, Banksy "was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s." Observers have noted that his style is similar to Blek le Rat who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and Jef Aerosol who sprayed his first street stencil in 1982 in Tours (France), and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass, which maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s. However Banksy himself stated on his website that in all actuality he based his work on that of 3D from Massive Attack, stating, "No, I copied 3D from Massive Attack. He can actually draw."

Known for his contempt for the government in labelling graffiti as vandalism, Banksy displays his art on public surfaces such as walls, even going as far as to build physical prop pieces. Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti directly himself; however, art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder. Banksy's first film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie," made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in the UK on 5 March 2010. In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film.