Image: 148apps.com

If you haven’t been hibernating for the past two plus years, odds are you know who Banksy is. Well, actually – not who he is specifically, because somehow the elusive street artist has remained anonymous, but rather what he does.

Banksy LA billboard photo: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

All of the controversy he generates with his often politically oriented graffiti was actually eclipsed for a moment during this year’s Oscars, where his film Exit Through the Gift Shop was nominated for Best Documentary. All motivations aside, part of the allure of street art is the way in which we do – or sometimes don’t – find it. Stumbling upon a “piece” is part of the game; there’s just a certain thrill that goes along with finding a piece of art completely at random.

Image: 148apps.com

It happened to me about three years ago in a tiny town in Florida. I was on my way to the airport with a friend when we stopped at a Cuban restaurant for a quick meal. Then, on the way back to his car, we spied it: a bona fide Banksy mural in the middle of nowhere.

Bansky street art photo: http://weblog.evasee.com/

The release of a Banksy iPhone app this week throws a wrench into that happy mechanism. Now you can pinpoint locations of works by the British artist in almost any city around the world. Want to check out what he has on tap in Barcelona? Look no further. Spending a long weekend in Cleveland? He’s probably hit there, too.

Image: 148apps.com

Part of graffiti is definitely the artist’s desire to have his or her work found and appreciated (and maybe even hated). But doesn’t this kind of take the fun out of it? A case could be made for “cities as galleries” but I think I’ll stick to finding art in the streets the old fashioned way – with my own two feet. What do you think?