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Home » banksy

Is Banksy Overrated? Some Street Artists Seem to Think So

August 14, 2014 By Fred Mitchell Leave a Comment

Every time when someone mentions even the slightest interest in street art, you can bet that the name of Banksy will also be mentioned within the next two minutes or so. Most of these times, it will be the first name that comes up from the world of street artists, especially with people who admire the field from a distance and aren’t really all that immersed into it. But while it’s easier to remember particular works than names – especially if you’ve seen the works firsthand or if they feature a topic or a reference you like – it’s still easy to remember the name of Banksy.

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I don’t know exactly what makes it so. Perhaps it’s his fame in the first place, perhaps it’s the elusive air of a concealed identity that contributed to the myth building and now he’s such a myth in the scene that we don’t really care or remember how it was before the Banksy craze even started. (For those of you which might be appalled of the go-to assumption of gender, please take note that there have been a few seemingly legit interviews with the artist and while he still withheld any identification details, he confirmed to be a man.) The concealed identity and the somewhat subversive message of his art – even more subversive than street art is in itself – definitely contributed to the image of a modern day Robin Hood patrolling the cities and symbolically sticking it to the man. Perhaps that is the main reason for which Banksy has become such a huge favorite. But could it be that his days of glory have passed? Is Banksy overrated? Let’s see what recent street art trends seem to indicate.

One of the nicest recent moves related to street art, which we also covered here, is transforming street art works into GIFs. This way, the merger of street art with the other relevant field of today, which is digital culture and digital art, can be complete. Our post about it also featured an awesome Tumblr account which focuses only on Banksy’s works and transforms them into ingenious and creative GIFs, almost like breathing new life into them. Therefore, we can assume that the artist is definitely still relevant at least to one insider of the street art culture, if we only count the maker of the GIFs and not his many fans as well.

But in spite of this rather distinguishable exception, the general impression is still that most people who are in the know about street art consider Banksy overrated and a bit passé. He seems to remain a cult hero or a name to drop for extra points only for those of us who are really completely outside about street art in general and have only recently come to terms with the fact that graffiti is not vandalism. As for the street artists themselves who are the most likely to predict trends and reflect the general feeling in the field, the number of those who consider Banksy overrated seems to be on the rise.

Little mischief acts like this one are becoming more and more frequent, in spite of the fact that his works are now protected by the law. In the eyes of many street art enthusiasts, perhaps that is just one more detail that makes Banksy overrated and no longer relevant, since the main purpose of street art should be, theoretically, to defy the space it will adorn. When the art itself becomes protected by law and its altering constitutes an instance of vandalism, it kind of lost its mojo, wouldn’t you say?

Filed Under: art, creative, street art, Uncategorized Tagged With: banksy, street art

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Street Artist Banksy

April 14, 2014 By Fred Mitchell Leave a Comment

We have already featured the legendary Banksy in many of our previous articles (See Best Street Artists and Best Female Street Artists ) but it was high-time that we said a little bit more about him. Since bursting into the street art scene 14 years ago he has become one of the most cherished, and talked about artists of our generations. His style is unmistakable, and although he has received both credit and critiques, his murals and works have definitely become an essential part of urban life. Here are a few interesting facts that you might not have known about Banksy.

1. The Elephant in the Room

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You probably know the saying “The Elephant in the room”, but at one of Banksy’s most successful exhibitions in Los Angeles, there actually was a real, spray-painted elephant in the room. Of course, the Indian elephant had non-toxic paint on him, and represented the world’s poverty. This was actually Banksy’s first exhibition and it was a wild success, even if some animal rights activists strongly protested against his “abuse”. They believed that the animal might be in pain, but they did nothing in the end, since the exhibition was almost over. Strangely enough Banksy consulted with the office of the city attorney and obtained LA’s animal services department approval before pulling off this stun.

2. Sneaking Work into Art Galleries

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Before being accepted into exhibitions and art galleries as a legitimate artists Banksy had the interesting hobby of hanging his works in other ones. Besides spray-painting his work on walls, he also liked to visit different galleries like the Tate Britain one in London, MoMA, the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Museum or the British Museum in order to glue his own paintings. In 2003 he glued a oil painting of a country house surrounded with police tape. An accompanying note explained that the house has become numb to crime due to press coverage. The painting hung unnoticed for several hours until finally fell. A few years later he hung a fake cave painting with a caveman pushing a shopping trolley. This artwork also had a sign that said “This finely preserved example of primitive art dates from the post-catatonic era”.

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3. He sold Prints Worth 30.000$ for 60$

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Banksy has always been an odd fellow, but this is probably one of the most outrageous thing he did. In October 2013 he gave many of his paintings to an elderly man that had set up stall in Central Park. Banksy’s fans knew that he was in town, so they thought his works would be selling for outrageous prices at some expensive gallery. Little did they know that he was selling original, authentic works at 60$ a pop. The man only made around 500$ that day, and Banksy stated that he won’t be repeating this stunt in the near future.

4. Banksy’s Identity

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It is actually surprising how Banksy managed to conceal his identity, considering the huge success he has had. Even when he gives interviews, he always wears a mask or hood. We don’t even know if he is actually a he, and all he ever said about himself is that he is nothing but an unemployed art school drop-out painter decorator. For all we know, he might be an art collective. Rumors say that Banksy is the alter ego of Damien Hirst, but recent news points the finger to Robin Cunningham, a 39-year-old artists who has been spotted at many of Banksy’s works, right before they were revealed. His team has neither denied or confirmed the statements.

5. The West Bank Barrier

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Similar to the Berlin wall, only three times larger, the West Bank Barrier is a monolithic wall which separates Israel from Palestine. It is without a doubt the most dangerous place that you can see in the Middle East, because people who go to close to it are often shot to death. How Banksy managed to perform his artwork on this site is still a great mystery. His large murals can be seen on both sides of the wall. They are not all political, some show green lush windows while others are more playful: two children escaping over the wall with the help of balloons and ladders.

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Filed Under: street art Tagged With: banksy, street art, street artists Banksy

Banksy has Tickets to the Olympics

July 27, 2012 By This Blog Rules Guest 1 Comment

As you can probably tell, we’re pretty excited about the 2012 London Olympics over here. And it seems Banksy is as well. He’s posted two new pieces of his famed graffiti art on his site.  This time, they depict a javelin thrower packing a little more firepower than usual and a pole vaulter escaping over a chain-link fence. While his messages may be polarizing, there is no denying that Bansky is one of the greatest cultural artists of our generation. Hopefully we’ll see more uploads from Banksy this week as the Games continue.

And be sure to check out this article on the politics of Banksy’s stunning art at The Atlantic Wire.

 

 

Filed Under: art, street art, Uncategorized Tagged With: 2012 london olympics, banksy, graffiti art, olympics

You Are Not Banksy: Street Art Turns Real-Life

June 4, 2012 By Vernon Gadson Leave a Comment

You may know of Banksy, a British street artist of unknown identity. Based mostly in England, where he has gained much fame and infamy, Banksy specialises in darkly comic satire, both social and political, which he presents through pieces of graffiti crafted with a technique involving spray paint and stensils. His work, which has appeared on brick walls and the sides of bridges, as well as in his very own public exhibitions, is often deeply subversive and highly comical: a piece depicting a pair of canoodling policemen and another displaying a flower-lobbing hooligan are among his most famous works.

If you enjoy Banksy’s work (if not, seek help), then you may be interested in British photographer Nick Stern’s new series, entitled “You Are Not Banksy.” The project sees Stern meticulously recreating a handful of Banksy’s masterpieces using real-life models and photographing their mimicking poses. The results are extraordinary. Stern himself is a fan of the elusive guerilla street artist: “I have always admired Banksy – I love his cheek and humour,” said the London-born photographer. “Much of art is a recreation or interpretation of real life, but this is the other way round – I wanted real life to recreate art. I hope he likes what I’ve done.”

Below is Stern’s series, along with Banksy’s iconic originals for comparison. [Read more…]

Filed Under: street art Tagged With: art, artists, banksy, britain, british, cool, funny, graffiti, models, modern artists, photography, photos, politics, real life, satire, street art, uk

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