The Story Behind Banksy

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/The-Story-Behind-Banksy-187953941.html

by rsobers • 13 years ago

99 25 13 years ago

It's also worth watching the film "Exit through the giftshop" on Netflix. Goes over Banksy in decent depth, as well as some other famous street artists.

muhfuhkuh2• 13 years ago

That was such a fascinating movie. Hopefully not spoiling much of it, but the way the subject of the documentary seesaws from Banksy to "the director" and back was really interesting.

I'm not sure what to believe by the end of that documentary, but it sure was a wild ride.

sharkweek• 13 years ago

I think that was the best part; the debate among friends at the end as to what we actually just watched

jjkmk• 13 years ago

I think the character "Mr. Brainwash" was made up for the film, his art work was actually Banksy's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Brainwash

damian2000• 13 years ago

His work is awesome, but I'd argue the fact he can sell a red phone box chopped in half for $605,000 makes him part of the art establishment, not against it.

muhfuhkuh2• 13 years ago

But, he didn't ask for that; he just put it out there and let the art world have at it. The fact that most of his preferred canvas is illegal (and by that nature, ephemeral) makes him firmly anti-establishment.

rhizome2• 13 years ago

Absolutely. A stencil on the side of a building is fundamentally unsellable (though walls have been preserved/sold before).

bennyg• 13 years ago

A lot of people live and work in the "system," if you will, but are still vehemently against it.

I work for the Man, and wish I didn't, ideologically. But I have health care, solid vacation allotment and decent coworkers, so I'll bide time until something way better and cooler comes my way.

majormajor• 13 years ago

“There’s a whole new audience out there, and it’s never been easier to sell [one’s art],” Banksy has maintained. “You don’t have to go to college, drag ’round a portfolio, mail off transparencies to snooty galleries or sleep with someone powerful, all you need now is a few ideas and a broadband connection. This is the first time the essentially bourgeois world of art has belonged to the people. We need to make it count.”

I think this is the key takeaway—that it's easier than ever to get exposure, and that you can get acceptance and even commercial success without playing by the traditional rules.

The irony, he added, that his anti-establishment art commands huge prices isn’t lost on him. “I love the way capitalism finds a place—even for its enemies. It’s definitely boom time in the discontent industry. I mean how many cakes does Michael Moore get through?”

rhizome2• 13 years ago

Anything called "art" has been termed so by an establishment.

bhickey• 13 years ago

Nice of them not to mention Blek le Rat (http://bleklerat.free.fr/)

analog4• 13 years ago

They don't mention that he went to an expensive public school either.

jhull2• 13 years ago

what difference does it make?

lylemckeany• 13 years ago

Warning: A little shameless self-promotion coming.

I wrote a blog post called What Street Artists Can Teach Us About Marketing, http://www.lylemckeany.com/2012/11/05/what-street-artists-ca...

When doing some of the research for it, I came across this great quote from Banksy:

>We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves.

equilibrium• 13 years ago

interesting rivalry between Banksy and Robbo http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/camden/camden4.html#

miketucker• 13 years ago

anyone else notice the inconsistency?

the final image: http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/camden/Images_Large/photo13-2.jpg

contains the feet from: http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/camden/Images_Large/photo6.jpg

but this was supposedly painted over in: http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/camden/Images_Large/photo8.jpg

perhaps this is actually the final image in the series: http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/camden/Images_Large/photo12.jpg

web64• 13 years ago

The final image (http://www.banksy.co.uk/QA/camden/Images_Large/photo13-2.jpg) you are referring to is actually a paste-up made from photoshopping together different images.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pranksy/6564545965/in/photostre...

The Story Behind Banksy

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